Cuban internationalist medical workers have treated more than 4,600 people after the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks in Nepal. The brigade, composed of 49 volunteers, including 25 doctors and 10 nurses, arrived May 12.

“Our people are very glad the Cubans are here because the doctors are very friendly, they are experts, energetic and are true comrades,” Surendra Raj Gosai, president of the Cuba Solidarity Committee Nepal, told the Militant by phone June 1.

The Cubans set up a field hospital on the grounds of the university campus in Kirtipur outside of Kathmandu. They have also traveled to other areas, including Bhaktapur, another of the hardest hit neighborhoods, at the initiative of the Cuba Solidarity Committee, and in Lalitpur (above).

More than 8,000 people died in the earthquake and hundreds of thousands are living in tents or staying with relatives as the monsoon season begins. “We are busy removing mountains of debris and clearing roads,” Gosai said.

Nepalese doctors and paramedics are assisting the Cubans and other local residents are translating, Dr. Luis Orlando Oliveros, head of the brigade, told Prensa Latina.