The book "Historias secretas de medicos cubanos" (Secret Stories by Cuban Doctors), by journalist and writer Hedelberto Lopez Blanch, aroused the interest and sympathy among those who attended its launching in this capital.
 
The volume collects unpublished stories until recently, kept in the silence of humility and modesty of 15 physicians who complied with the sacred duty of saving lives between guerrillas and civilians in several African countries, missions for years kept in secret.
 
Passing through Namibia where he will launch another book, Lopez Blanch shared yesterday night in the Argentine-Cuban House of Friendship with those who came to learn about this new work that highlights the participation of Cuban health professionals in circumstances of war.
 
The interest to publicize and save for the knowledge of future generations these missions whose protagonists squandered humanism with a great deal of courage and altruism "with the sole interest of fulfilling the entrusted mission," motivated the author to do it.
 
The book is made up of interviews made to 15 physicians who changed their white coat for the fatigues, not only to accompany guerrillas who fought for the liberation of their countries, but also to assist civilian victims of poverty and colonial subjugation.
 
Screening a film about the Cuban internationalist mission in Angola and engaging a discussion on the little known presence among citizens outside the island, was also proposed.
 
Among the doctors who tell their harsh experiences are doctor Rafael Zerquera, who accompanied commander Ernesto Che Guevara to the then Congo Leopoldville, and doctor Rodrigo Alvarez Cambra, director of the "Frank Pais" Orthopedic Hospital.
 
The stories of doctors Zoila Italia Suarez and Sara Perello, and their colleagues Pablo Zerik, Omar Prudencio Martinez, Pedro Luis Pedroso and Julio Tiburcio Hernandez, who in addition of working in African soil provided medical aid in Vietnam, are also included.