Back Home, with Mission Accomplished (+ Photos)

So many people would have wanted to hug them. Relatives, friends, the Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who gave them a virtual welcome and said: We’d like nothing more than to hug you one by one to express our gratefulness. Even those who don’t know them personally, those who saw them drive by on the highway after a long trip.

It’s pride. It's that simple. That somewhere else in the world there’s recognition for what Cuba does out of solidarity, that someone is grateful for the work of a doctor who was trained here and who has traveled far to offer his services, that so many people applaud in awe for such commitment… that fills one’s chest with pride.

The spirit of the nation we’ve built, without the slightest idea of profit in-between.

Today they are back home. Yesterday they were in Italy. In Lombardy, which was the epicenter of this terrible pandemic.

They were not there for the mere wish to see the world. They were there to assist. There were many risks and they were aware of them all. And they also knew the threat they represented.

They did it well. They don’ say it: the health authorities of that country speak for them, the press says it, and – what’s more important - the citizens say it.

So many displays of affection prove it.

They are already in Cuba. And the people welcomed them: from the balconies, windows, from the sidewalks ... Applauses, flags, signs.

Hundreds of thousands watching on television. They saw the airplane land. They saw them come down the stairway, step on Cuban soil.

They will have to wait to finally reunite with their relatives. It's time to put hugs on hold.

But they arrive with the conviction of mission accomplished, which is the best way to return home.

They are just a few of the thousands who remain in so many countries, writing daily pages of sacrifice and generosity.

Some say they are slaves to a tyranny. Many more - millions, everywhere - know they are heroes.

Homeland welcomed them and honors them.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff

Photo: Roberto Suárez / Juventud Rebelde

Photo: Abel Rojas Barallobre / Juventud Rebelde

Photo: Roberto Suárez / Juventud Rebelde

Photo: Abel Rojas Barallobre / Juventud Rebelde

Photo: Roberto Suárez / Juventud Rebelde