OCCHIUTO Claims that “The Cuban Doctors in Calabria Are Completely Free,” But Cubanet Found The Opposite To Be True.
Miami, United States. – Roberto Occhiuto, President of the Calabria Region in Southern Italy, you have defended the Healthcare Cooperation Agreement that has Broucht, So Far, 372 Cuban Doctors to the Area. “The Cuban Doctors in Calabria Are Completely Free, [and are] Perfectly Integrated Into the Communities where they work; Som Have Even Gotten Married, ”OCCHIUTO SAID IN STATEMENTS TO IL SOLE 24 ORE. ACCORDING TO HIM, THOSE WHHO ACCUSE THE Doctors of Being “Slaves” or “Controlled by The Regime” Are “Talking Nosense.”
However, to Recent Cubanet Investigation by Journalist Annarella Grimal, Based on Direct Testimony, Internal Documents, and Official Reports, Forcefully Refute tohe Claims. What is Portrayed in Official Speeches As humanitarian cooperation is, in practice – And According to Experts and International Organizations – to work exploitation network operated by the Cuban State on European Soil.
To humanitarian façade for model of exploitation
Italy Pays Cuban Doctors A Gross Monthly Sallary of Around € 4,700. But Cubanet DOCUMENTED THAT, EVOUCH THE FULL AMOUNT IS DEPOSITED INTO THE DOGS ‘personal accounts, they are require Cuban Medical Services Marketing SA (CSMC)The Cuban State Enterprise That Manages Medical Missions.
In the report From Havana to Calabria: The Trafficking of Cuban Doctors in Italy, Cubanet Highlightd:
“Of the € 34.50 Per Hour that Italy AGREED TO PAY AS BASE Wage, The Doctor [interviewed] Only Receives € 6.68 – Just Two euros More than What an undocumente Farmworker Earns in Nearby Foggia. ”
OCCHIUTO – WHO ALSO SERVES AS CALABRI’S HEALTH COMMISSIREON AND IS CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR CORRUPTION – CLAIMS OTHERWISE: “They receive around € 4,700 gross per month into an Italian Bank Account, Just Like ES As an incentive. “
But Cubanet-Reviewed Documents show the existence of to dual-contract system. One, Signed with Italian Authorities, Reflects The Full Salary; The other, drawn up by CSMC, Limits The Amount the Doctors Can Keep to € 1,200 per month.
“For Us, It’s € 1,200. The Bank Statements Don’t Lie,” Said One of the Interviewed Doctors.
MOROVER, that amount is subject to at least € 200 in monthly deductions for Six months, brringing their average take-home pay Down to € 1,100.
Far from “Free”: Surveillance and Control
Far from Being “Free,” as Ochiuto Claims, Cuban Doctors in Calabria Are Subjeced To a regime of Surveillance and Control More reminiscent of an intelligence operation than medical collaboration. According to CubanetDoctors Must Request Permision to Leave The Cities where they are assigned, they are forbidden from joining Italian work unions or participating in protest, and they must report any romantic relations or marriage plans to the Cuban Medical Mission Leadership in Italy.
“They wted me to report every relationship i had.
Doctors Are Also Forced to participate in political activities and propaganda campaigns Organized by the Cuban Regime in Italy. An internal document cited by Cubanet Reveals That a Group of Doctors Acts As “Social Media Monitors,” Reporting Weekly on Colleagues Who Fail To Engage With Official Mission Content Online.
Ironically, OCCHIUTO HIMSELF ADMITTED IN 2022 THAT THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT HAD TO BE MODIFIED BASTE THE INITIAL CONTRACT He Now Maints, “The Facts Show these are free and Well-Integrated People.”
Arbitrary deductions and ghost taxes
One of the Most Egregious Findings from Cubanet is the Illogal deductions imposition From the doctors’ Salaries. For Example, CSMC Withholds Up To 71.5% of Overtime PayCiting at 43% Tax – Amount That does not exist Under Italian Tax Law.
“Italy’s tax on overtime is entirely different;
In December 2024, The State Company Also Took Over 80% of the So-Called ’13th month’ bonusto Legally Mandated Year-End Bonus equivalent to one month’s salaryry. Doctors Who Proteted Were Ignored. In an audio obtained by CubanetCrotone’s Provincial Coordinator, Iván Martínez Rivera, Initially Express Seed Disagreement But Backtraldo after video with senior Cuban Officials.
The Control System is Further Enforced Through Direct Threats. Doctors Who Fail To Transfer The Required Portion of Their Salary Are Laboled “Probletic” or “Ideologically Deviant.” If they refuse to return to Cuba at the end of their contract, they face legal sanctionsincluding an Eight-Year Ban from Entering The Country and the Loss of Their Professional License.
“It’s out of needy – The Give You No Other Choice,” Said Dr. Campos. “Having to Report Where I Go, Who I’m With, Who I Laugh With … It Goes Beyond A Work Relationship: It’s Like a Master-Slave Dynamic.”
Italian Media and Parliament Take Notice
IL SOLE 24 OREin its Coverage of the ISSUE, reported that Desertions have already occurredwith sum Cuban Doctors Choosing to Work in Private Clinics or Leaving the Country Altogether. “Subm Doctors have Completely Vanished from the radar,” The Paper Note. The Case Has Also Reashed The Italian Parliamentwith mp Anna Laura Orrico Calling on Ochiuto to Guarantee The Labor Rights of Cuban Doctors.
Even Members of Ochiuto’s Own Political Bloc Have Raised Concerns. Mimmo TalliniOf Calabria’s Center-Right, Questioned “The Salaries, Dignity, and Protections of the Cuban Workers.”
Wage Theft, Coercion, and Human Rights Violations
OCCHIUTO’S STATEMENTS ARE NOT ONLY CONTRADICTED BY First-HAND TESTIMONIES AND INTERNAL DOCUMENTS BUT ALSO BY THE ANALYSIS OF IL SOLE 24 OREwhich reveals to Landscape of EXPLOITATION, CONTROL, AND PRECARIOUS LABOR CONDIONES. The Official Narrative of “Freedom” and “Integration” stands in Stark contrast to a reality of Wage Expropriaction, Coercionand Systematic Human Rights Violations.
As One Doctor Told Cubanet:
“I Feel Like A Slave,” She Said, Admitting She Lacks The Courage to Break Free for Fear of Never Seeing Her Family Again.
“It’s impossible to Embace Freedom When You’ve Never Known It.”
Legal Expert: “A Form of Modern Slavery”
In a conversation with Cubanet, Laritza DiversentDirector of the Cuban Legal Watchdog CubalexArgued That What Cuban Doctors Face On International Missions – Including in Italy—Fits The Definition of Modern Slavery Under International Labour Organization (Ilo) Conventions and International Law.
“Forced Labor and Modern Slavery Are Defined, Among Other Things, by The Extreme Vulneability of the Person,” Diversent Explanred. “And Anyone Living in Cuba Today is in a state of vulnerability, Even If They Hold A University Degree.”
She Added: “When You Thread Subuone’s Salary or Thread to Send Them Back To a Place With Worse Conditions, You Are Abusing Your Power.”
“You create an entire system in which the threat is to return them to a place with 72-hour blackouts, no food, no medicine … that’s exploitation.”
Diversent, who have interviewed numerous cuban doctors from missions aroune the world, Says the IS SYSTEMATIC CONTROL: “After 6:00 pm, [in some countries]it’s like to Curfew. It’s Not Written Anywhere, But Mission Supervisors Call their Residences and Do Roll Call. ”
Punishments Range from “Public Reprimeands” to 10% Salary deductions. Doctors Must Report Their Movements and Are Even Required to inform on colleagues who have defined.
“If that’s not control and lack of freedom, I Don’t Know What is,” The Lawyer Said.
She Also Poated Out The Political Dimension of Forced Participation in Propaganda Activities:
“BeSe Medical Missions influence voters (…) When Deployed to Rural Areas Oher Doctors Avoid, They Impact Elections. That Benefits Whoever’s in Power.”
Diversent Concluded: “They’re not sharing their salaries voluntarily – They do it beset they’re poor. That’s the root of slavery. It’s it’s Modern Slavery. You have to read the ilo conventions on forced work to understand that whatsse doctors are living this isn’t cooperation –it’s –it’s exploitation.
“They [Cuban doctors] are the last link in the chain, “ She Said. “The only solution is for them to eat forward and speak out. Unfortunately transnational repression – But the Only Thing They Can Do Is Keep Talking To The Independent Press. “
“If This Man [Roberto Occhiuto] Insists on Denying reality, The Doctors Must Continue Provideing Evidence and Testimony to End This Exploitation, “ She concluded.
Opinion article
The opinions expressed in this article are of exclusive responsibility of those who issue them and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Cubanet.
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