How Cuba beat damage

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to hurricane-hit tobacco

By TELMO LOPEZ MONTERO

HAVANA (PL) — Presently
engaged in a fruitful tobacco
harvest, Cuba seems to be head-
ing for that industry’s total re-
covery after a good start late
in 1971.

A national mobilization was
necessary for the harvesting of
57,300 hectares of top quality
tobacco, because most of the
available labor force was _ in-
volved in the sugar harvest.

Cuban people do not easily
become disheartened and pre-
sent efforts are a repetition of
the ones being carried out since
October 1971, when the country
committed itself to promote a
broad, difficult cultivation plan
now near completion. ‘

Thousands of permanent or
occasional volunteer workers go
to tobacco-growing areas, stu-
dents from all over the country,
to begin the complicated handl-
ing that tobacco harvesting in-
volves.

The tobacco harvest is far
from over, but the first leaves
are already picked in the most
developed fields. Those who did
not see the havoc wrought by
hurricane Laura on the planta-
tions, have no idea what efforts
it took to get back to normal.

a

the world. |

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1972—PAGE 10

Rolling the world-famous Havana cigars for export to all parts of

As soon as Laura’s rains and
winds stopped, thousands of
men poured into the fields to
mend the damage, because to
obtain the best result, tobacco
must be closely watched and
cared for at sowing time.

A report of the National
Institute of the Agrarian Re-
form on Dec. 1, 1971 stated that
1,000 out of the 2,000 hectares
sown in Pinar del Rio province
(the country’s leading tobacco
region) had been totally de-
stroyed by the rains. “In order
to reach the planned levels,” it
said, “we will not only have to
resow and condition the dam-
aged fields, but to add new
cultivation areas.”

On Feb. 25, 1972, a newspaper
headline read: “More tobacco
planted in Pinar del Rio than
in the three previous years.”

The pace was stepped up in
the other provinces where to-
bacco growers increased their
sowing targets in order to com-
pensate the Pinar del Rio losses.

Shortly after the sharp de-
crease in 1971’s harvest, con-
sumption had to be rationed.

Then the recovery campaign
was launched which this year
has achieved the highest levels
in the country’s history.

By MONICA WHYTE

MOSCOW — From the win-
dows of our flat the tops of sky-

scrapers lining Kalinin Prospect .

can just be seen. There are
advantages and disadvantages
to living within a 10-minute
walk from Moscow’s newest
and most modern _ shopping
avenue. The advantages include
the beautiful cinema “October”
where the latest and most im-
portant films are shown, a
supermarket, the biggest book
shop in Europe, all kinds of
cafes and restaurants, the big-
gest hairdressing salon and the
biggest bakery and the biggest
florist’s shop in town etc., In
fact, most of the establishments
appear to be the biggest. As a
result, it sometimes seems as
though half of the city’s popula-
tion and all the tourists have
picked on the precise day and
hour you want to do some quick
shopping to do the same thing.
That is one the disadvantages.

On my way to get my hair
done I often passed the glass-
fronted place next door known
as the Institute of Beauty. But
I had never been inside until the
other day my curiosity drove
me to ask for an interview and
find out what it was all about.

Not what I had expected.

“We have a section we priv-
ately call the ‘room for women
who want to find their personal-
ity’ but it forms an insignificant
part of our operations,” Dr.
Inna Kolguenko told me.

The doctor is an attractive
woman who is “about to be-
come a grandmother.” Her hus-
band is an actor and she herself
is a candidate of medical sci-
ences and a specialist in the
field of gerontological cosmetol-
ogy, or in other words, making
older people look younger. She
has been chief of the Institute
since it opened its doors in 1968.

An average of 1,200 people
are handled daily by the staff
of 300, which includes 53
doctors. :

In a certain sense, the Insti-
tute. resembles a_ specialized
clinic for cosmetic surgery more
than it does one of our Cana-
dian beauty establishments. The
main work is plastic surgery, re-
moval of non-malignant growths,
warts, birth marks and other
defects, face and chin lifts and
various procedures to improve
muscle tone and skin elasticity.
Excellent results have been ob-
tained with a ray midway on
the spectrum between X-rays
and ultra-violet rays. ‘Before

Dr. Inna Kolgunenke, head of the Institute.

and After” pictures of a young
woman who was born with a
huge, purplish blotch covering
her face were most impressive.
By the end of her treatments
only a slight discoloration was

visible, which the director assur--

ed me would disappear com-
pletely. “We took the picture at
her last session because we were
afraid she wouldn’t turn up
again,” Dr. Kolgunenko explain-
ed. “She was getting married to
a boy she met right here.”

Nose plastic surgery is one
of the commonest operations. It
seems that many people are
dissatisfied with the one pro-
vided by nature and want to do
something about it. Nothing
easier. (Incidentally, men form
about 30% of the Institute’s
clientele.) Receding and prot-
ruding chins are also corrected.
The principle of eradicating
wrinkles and pock marks left
by a bad case of eczema is
the same: over many sessions
the skin layers are gradually
peeled away until the patient
acquires a new epidermis.

“The main advantage of our
Institute is that we have con-
centrated all the services affect-
ing looks,” Dr. Kolgunenko
went on. “In the West, and I
have travelled to over 20 coun-
tries in connection with my
work, it is common that if you
want plastic surgery, you have
to go to a clinic specializing in
that, if you have a skin dis-
order you go to a dermatologist
and so on.

“Here, the first step is a con-
sultation at which several spe-
Ccialists may be present. The
patient may. want a face lift,
but it is quite possible the con-
clusion will be reached that
other, less radical methods can
still achieve the desired results.

“Another difference is in cost.
Although we charge for our
services, the prices are neglig-

Birthday gifts for Kim Il Sung

The people of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea cele-
brated the birthday of Premier
Kim I] Sung, who was 60 years
old on April 15.

In a press release Hilda Mur-

ray, secretary of the Canadian-.

Korean Friendship Association
notes that this date coincides
with a breakthrough in the 20-
year deadlock, since the end of
the 1950-52 war, which prohib-
ited travel, family visits and
postal exchange between the
people of the north and south.

The north has consistently of-
fered to end this inhuman set-
up, but the south twisted and
hedged about, placing first one
obstacle in the way and then
another.

Recently there have been

meetings (19 of them altogether)

between the north and south
Red Cross Societies to discuss

ways of ending the deadlock
and there is hope of a peaceful
settlement.

Premier Kim Il Sung said re-
cently, “In order to remove ten-
sion in Korea, it is necessary to
replace the Korean Armistice
Agreement with a peace agree-
ment between the north and the
south. We hold a peace agree-
ment should be concluded and
the armed forces of the north
and south be cut drastically un-
der conditions where the imper-
ialist aggressor U.S. troops are
withdrawn from South Korea.”

The Canadian-Korean Friend-

ship Association has sent birth-

day gifts of a plaque designed
by a Toronto artist, depicting
various beauty spots of Canada,
and a Canadian polar bear skin
on the head of which is a plate
engraved with greetings and the
name of this Association.

‘a young girl should oP

ible compared to the wal

initial consultation iS “4
pecks (about 55 cen
A facial massage is ©
run between 30 and 50 Kol y
Nose plastic surgery ©
tween 30 and 50 roubles
face lift around 50 ©
compared to between 1 Ww
2,000 dollars in the 4
States. So it is not sa
that we have had patien® =
37 countries so far.”
Thé social breakdown 2 (j
ents is interesting: we
employees (which meal
collar and profession@ af
ers), 15% workers, f
sioners, 6% students.
the pensioners, the doct?
ed out that most were
active in social an
work and conscious °F ~~
ance. ra
“I wanted to know 2H
single profession was clic
numerous among thelf i
privately thinking it gut
aging actresses. Dr. fh
laughed. “Everybody
it’s actresses, but Me
guess — teachers. We
to the conclusion 6
kids are so demandi”f,
know, it’s not easy if Yl
some kind of a physic?
that excites comments ,
Last year the Inst! gi
ceived 15,304 letters “Most Of
mail bag to handle. wat"
cerned surgery, acne I
freckles, baldness.
mied us — like one ¥ 4 t
know how to give PF re
beautiful baby. Not #” 0 &
we are asked how 3 ey?
that the baby has blue“ |
prey: cate? 4 (
Another aspect of Y js”)
carried out by the §
tures given in 1a
various enterprises: | yp!
with hygiene and make /
rule. “Although we be

nol!

(
er

up very sparingly,
gunenko added.
However, in the
ant” section, proper
for work or an
theatre is taug ‘ ie &
out for every individu (i
Also suitable hairstY ity
wigs are designed. "elt
hair can be remove of
lysis. Advice is Biv® if
and figure control. 0
“Our Institute bee;
society’s needs. An
appearance and bea
ways connected wit
developed standard At
Dr. Kolgunenko —
“Back in 1922, in
period in our hi
proposed to shut 4
fume plant. It seeme
there were more
things to worry 068
Lenin opposed the time |
and said that the — ay
come when cosmett ff,
fumes would be !
imrortance. That time
coine.”

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