Cuban doctor amazed by a taxi driver's gesture in Havana: "You don't have to pay me"

"You don't have to pay me, you are a doctor," were the words of a young Cuban taxi driver that moved a fellow doctor from his homeland due to the nobility of the gesture.

"I would like to share what happened to me today. First of all, I am a doctor; I have been working since March at the 'Managua' Polyclinic," began Dr. Daykel González Rodríguez, a doctor in the Emergency Department of said Polyclinic, not without first clarifying that he doesn't usually publish this type of stories.

"Today, after an exhausting shift, I was heading to the bus stop to wait, as usual, for a bus that would take me as close to my house as possible (I’m from Reparto Eléctrico), but there was nothing at all, so I headed to where the cars that almost always go to the entrance of the area where I live are, and I got in and made the usual trip," reported the doctor in the Facebook group "Managua, Frank País, and Las Guasimas."

The doctor reported that when it was time to pay the driver for the trip, he refused to accept the money.

"I would like to express my respect for that young boy who has feelings of altruism, kindness, and warmth. Thank you for performing that act of kindness towards me today. A thousand times thank you, and may you and your family have a wonderful and fruitful day," the doctor wished at an event that apparently moved him due to its uncommon nature within the Cuban context.

He also shared the car's license plate number "so that, in one way or another, they can thank his family on my behalf for the lessons they give that boy every day," he pointed out.

The interaction with his post has been significant, especially from Cubans supporting the doctor's words and appreciating the driver's attitude, including the young man's mother who identified the young driver as Edennis Álvarez García.

"Edennito, as I call him, acts this way because it is his heart that holds all that kindness and good feelings. This happens every day, all the credit goes to him, I am very proud and grateful to life for the children I have and thanks to the people for their beautiful comments," wrote Ailin García, the mother of the young man.

The young driver also responded to the words of praise made on his behalf. "Thank you very much for the dedication... you doctors do quite a lot for the people," he wrote.

Actions like these, although uncommon, have gone viral on social media as a ray of light amidst a backdrop of prolonged crisis and increasing violence on the island.

In February of this year, a Cuban grandmother took to social media to thank a public transport driver in Havana for the help he provided to her daughter, who was in labor.

"Driver of route 222 who was working in the early morning of Thursday, February 15, thank you infinitely," said the woman named Dalia Lissette Masaguer.

Cuban internet users recognized a driver of the P13 route who diverted the bus to help a child having a seizure inside the vehicle.

A few days ago, another public transport driver in Havana demonstrated an act of humanity and solidarity with a passenger who fainted during the journey.