Now if we are going to talk about cooperation, for instance in sports, Haitian football [soccer] is a thousand times more sophisticated than Cuban football. Cuban football players are healthy and strong and can run and kick the ball, but they just don?t have the same level of strategy and tactics. They don?t play football in as excellent a manner as Haitians do.
So I think that?s one area where there can be exchange. And in fact, during Préval?s first term in office, there were exchanges between football teams of young children and teenagers.
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Kim Ives: Anna, can we look at some of the other domains of Haitian-Cuban cooperation? We know that the Cubans helped revitalize the sugar plant in Darbonne, near Léogane in Haiti, during the 1996-2001 administration of President Préval and also have been helping in the domain of fishing, trying to provide more protein to the Haitian diet. What can you tell us about these two areas?
Anna Kovac: In fishing, one plan went down the drain and I don?t have all the details as to why. But after Préval?s term in office, Cuba had sent a couple of fishing boats ? what they call mother boats. The mother boat goes out with a group of fishermen in their small boats. They go out on the high seas where there are fish banks. They have refrigerators in their hold. The small fishermen bring in their catch every single day and after two or three weeks go back to port, and can sell their fish. Well, the Cuban boats were in Haiti for about six months but they never went out to sea. I don?t know why they never went out to sea. There was a whole big fight over this, but I don?t know why. Anyhow, finally the Cuban boats went back home because they were doing nothing. So we hope that maybe a similar plan to help poor Haitian fishermen can be launched
There is also aqua-culture, which means raising fish in ponds, artificial lakes and reservoirs. That is another plan which they do in Cuba. That?s another possibility.
There is also sports. I think that would be great if there were a new sports accord.
There are lots of other things, for example, in computers and computer technology. Préval went to the Infomatics Science University in Cuba. In Cuba, all schools in the countryside and the city have computers. In other words, everybody can learn how to use a computer ? and we?re talking about a poor and underdeveloped country.
Kim Ives: We know that Haiti used to produce a lot more sugar but that has been severely curtailed in recent years. Is the revitalization of Darbonne going to be one of the projects?
Anna Kovac: Well, I don?t know. I think it would be great. As I said, Préval has not yet spoken to the press about these projects... But he certainly is exploring many different areas, and not only the traditional areas. I think in commerce too, there are possibilities between the two countries. In all, they are looking at about ten areas of cooperation ...
Kim Ives: Finally, can you tell us how people can find the Creole language service of Radio Havana Cuba and when you broadcast each week?
Anna Kovac: Well, it?s every day! We broadcast at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30. You can get us on the internet on the Radio Havana Cuba web page which is
www.radiohc.cu. We also have
www.rhc.cu, and you can listen to us on shortwave on the 49 meter band and the 31 meter band at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30.
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