Cuban refugee 'Rita' caught in crossfire | Associated Press by Richard Head The Cuban refugee known simply as 'Rita' who was pulled out of the sea along with Elian after their boat capsized, was injured in a crossfire between Cuban Nationalists and Republican gorilla party members. Rita had been on a cross country tour of Cuba to promote his book 101 ways to breed goats and to raise money to build a bigger raft. Shortly after arriving at the small village of San Pedros, Rita stepped out of the tour bus and was shot several times by stray bullets. "I guess I'm lucky the bullets missed my vital organs," Rita had to say. "One bullet pierced my scrotum and the other two penetrated my colon. I guess I thought they were shooting to celebrate my arrival but in retrospect I guess they were not." Chief surgeon at Saint Peter's had the following statement. "We were able to remove both bullets but the damage to the colon was very severe. Rita will recover just fine but he will have no control of his bowels whatsoever and will be prone to episodes of uncontrollable flatulence and diarrhea." |