congressional_record: CREC-1998-11-12-pt1-PgE2330-3
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| CREC-1998-11-12-pt1-PgE2330-3 | 1998-11-12 | 105 | 2 | 144 | MIGUEL AND CARMEN COSSIOS ARE SUCH A SUCCESS STORY | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | ALLOTHER | E2330 | E2331 | [{"name": "Jack Kingston", "role": "speaking"}] | 144 Cong. Rec. E2330 | Congressional Record, Volume 144 Issue 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998) [Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E2330-E2331] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] MIGUEL AND CARMEN COSSIOS ARE SUCH A SUCCESS STORY ______ HON. JACK KINGSTON of georgia in the house of representatives Thursday, November 12, 1998 Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, patriotism--love of country--is a quality that seems to be particularly characteristic of Americans. What is even more remarkable is that those born abroad who choose to make America their adopted country often come to share the same patriotic spirit that Americans display in their daily lives. Immigrants who come to our shores seeking a better life often find that their new lives are a struggle, but a struggle that pays off more than they could ever have dreamed. There are so many places around the world where hard work does not result in real opportunity and success. But American success stories are all around us--especially from those who came from overseas and started from nothing but a desire to make a better life for themselves. Miguel and Carmen Cossios are such a success story. Dr. Cossios and his wife fled their native Cuba in 1968 after witnessing first-hand how thoroughly socialism crushes the human spirit and corrupts the soul. These two brave freedom-lovers fled Fidel Castro's communist tyranny and decided to start all over again. Penniless but determined to achieve their dreams in a country that encourages everyone to pursue his dreams to the fullest, the Cossios built a new life for themselves in Baker County, Florida. Their life stories are an inspiration to all Americans, present and future. Miguel and Carmen are great Americans. [From the Baker County, FL Press, Feb. 23, 1995] The Sheer Determination To Start All Over--Retirement of Cossios but Part of a Remarkable Refugee Saga (By Jim McGauley) Imagine yourself a young man of 42 with an intense love of your native country, a proud heritage steeped in the military, a medical degree and a lovely family including four young sons who all bear the same first name out of deference to their distinguished ancestors. Now imagine yourself with nothing. No job, no country, no home, no possessions, no money--none of the things that in 1995 link us to survival. Nothing except a proud determination to begin again and transplant the traditions of your forefathers to another shore where the freedom to do it all over again is to you ``like oxygen.'' It's the stuff that has made real patriots of people like Cuban born Miguel Cossio and his wife Carmen, who retire this week from Northeast Florida State Hospital in Macclenny after a combined 48 years of service, he as a psychiatrist and she a pharmacist. Patriots in love with two countries, their native land where they hope someday freedom returns, and their adopted land that rewarded them for grit and determination. The Cossios were feted last Thursday to a reception and retirement ceremony at the hospital where Miguel has filled a number of roles on the medical staff since he first reported there in 1971, including clinical director. During a brief ceremony they accepted plaques from the state and co-workers, and Dr. Cossio told the group he would like to be remembered as a ``Cuban Baker County redneck.'' Though Dr. Cossio has some reservations about the conversion of NEFSH from an accredited ``medical model'' to the present UTR system, he credits the institution as central to the family's re-emergence in its adopted country. ``Everyone here has been so gracious to us. We think of the hospital and Macclenny as our home town. I am very glad to say our headquarters will continue to be in Baker County.'' The Cossios recently bought a house in Macclenny, unique in itself because most of the medical staff lives outside Baker County since the closing of on-campus housing several years ago. The road to last Thursday and this week, which marks the Cossios' actual retirement date, began shortly after Miguel and Carmen landed in Miami as penniless refugees in December, 1968. Cuba had been Fidel Castro's a full decade by then, and the repressive regime was ridding itself of a meddlesome intelligentsia, family by family. It was Dr. Gustavo Arias, then clinical director at NEFSH, who first summoned Miguel Cossio down here from Binghamton, [[Page E2331]] N.Y. to interview as a staff psychiatrist. Public and private medicine, particularly on the East Coast, was by the early 1970's dotted with refugees from the island nation just off Key West. It was the kind of network that brought Dr. Cossio back together with Arias, a former supervisor at the military hospital in Havana and at the big psychiatric hospital there. For nearly three years, Dr. Cossio crammed for the qualifying exam for foreign physicians (he had to learn English first), which he passed on the first try. Carmen, his high school sweetheart, supported the family in New York as a pharmacist (she held a doctorate from the University of Havana). When Arias, a former partner in private practice in Cuba, had an opening on the staff here, he called his old friend. ``Our struggle to leave Communist Cuba was extremely difficult,'' says Dr. Cossio with a shake of the head. ``I look back now at what we went through, and it could easily be the theme of a mini-series, I tell you.'' Before signing on at NEFSH, Dr. Cossio had to re-take a residency program in psychiatry at a New York mental hospital. The move to Macclenny was also the family's first experience in a rural area. The boys, Miguel, Eduardo, Carlos and Roberto, were still a bit weak in English but assimilated well into Baker County schools. They mirrored the friendly demeanor of their parents and were excellent athletes. Miguel was an all conference pick and most valuable player on the Wildcat baseball squad, and along with his brothers lettered in several sports. All the boys went on to college and medical school, and now practice in Georgia: Micky and Eddie as internists in Madison, Carlos an endocrinologist in Athens and Robert a pediatrician in Savannah. They all have the first name of their father, as do the male grandsons, because Dr. Cossio wants to preserve the memory of his father and grandfather, who he calls ``men of strong principles.'' ``They fought for freedom and independence of our motherland. In September, 1933, my father was a prominent officer in the Cuban Army and died in a battle in Havana during a rebellion. ``He lost his life fighting in defense of national principles. For my ancestors, like for us, freedom has been as important as oxygen. This is the basic reason we are in the USA.'' Carmen and Miguel plan to keep their licenses current though are unsure now how active they will remain in their professions. Several years ago, the 69-year-old Miguel gave into the pleas of his sons and underwent a multiple heart bypass operation at Emory University in Atlanta, and credits it with renewed energy that he plans to devote to politics and his beloved Cuban clubs in Jacksonville and Miami. It was through the Republican Party in South Florida that Dr. Cossio became involved last year in the Jeb Bush campaign for governor. ``Rest? I doubt it. I cannot imagine my husband sitting at home watching TV day and night. He has always been very active,'' observes Carmen. Along with politics and keeping up with his pals, Dr. Cossio plans to see more of his sons and the couple's eight grandchildren (another is expected this spring). He may even start on his memoirs. One of the plaques last Thursday was presented by Dr. Alfredo Romeu, a childhood friend with a similar refugee background who also plans to leave NEFSH along with his physician wife Esther in the near future. They are near the last of a line of Cuban born doctors that have worked at NEFSH in its three and a half decades of existence. Like most of his contemporaries, Dr. Bossio yearns for the day that Cuba tosses off the Castro regime and rejoins the American community of nations. ``Before we die, we would like to see freedom and prosperity in Cuba again. We still have close relatives and friends there, living in horrible slavery and poverty. ``As soon as that happens, we can say, `God, thanks again for everything, now we can rest.' For us it will then be time to face eternity. Our mission on Earth has been accomplished.'' Words from the mouth of someone who truly knows what it takes to get there. ____________________ |