Haitians attack UN workers, blame them for cholera

waltky · Jul 21, 2012

UN needs to step up an' take responsibility...

UN 'should take blame for Haiti cholera' - US House members
20 July 2012 : Haiti's cholera epidemic has claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people

More than 100 Democrats from the US House of Representatives have called on the UN to take responsibility for introducing cholera to Haiti. It is the latest twist in the allegation that UN peacekeepers unwittingly introduced the disease. The United Nations' envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, has accepted UN soldiers may have brought cholera. But with more than 7,000 deaths so far, the UN said tackling the disease is more important than attributing blame.

Outbreak source

In a letter to the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, the 104 members of Congress stated clearly: "Cholera was brought to Haiti due to the actions of the UN." They call on Ms Rice to pressure the UN to "confront and ultimately eliminate" the disease. The letter says the UN should help Haiti mobilise enough money to build water and sewage systems to tackle the disease. While members of Congress often weigh in on foreign policy issues like Iran or Israel, it is unusual for so many members to sign a letter about a small Caribbean state like Haiti.

I gathered strong circumstantial evidence that UN peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti during a visit late last year:

+ The epidemic started near a Nepalese UN base
+ The UN base dumped raw sewage, which spreads the disease, near the country's main Artibonite River
+ Cholera spread down the Artibonite River and into the slums of the capital Port au Prince
+ Cholera was endemic in Nepal but had not been present in Haiti for a century

Mr Clinton has acknowledged that UN soldiers were the "proximate cause" of the cholera. But UN officials shy away from taking full blame or issuing an apology. They say tackling the disease is more important than apportioning blame. They may also be reticent because Haitian and US lawyers are trying to sue the UN for financial compensation for the victims of cholera.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18928405
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leftysergeant · Jul 21, 2012

The OP tried to use the outbreak and the rioting and blaming of the UN as proof that black people cannot govern themselves. That it turns out that foreigners did introduce the epidemic shows, instead, that foreigners with attitudes are not capable of successfully administering colonies or governing other peoples.

mikemikev · Jul 21, 2012

leftysergeant said: ↑

The OP tried to use the outbreak and the rioting and blaming of the UN as proof that black people cannot govern themselves. That it turns out that foreigners did introduce the epidemic shows, instead, that foreigners with attitudes are not capable of successfully administering colonies or governing other peoples.
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So Nepalese soldiers accidentally introduced cholera into Haiti. At least they were trying to help. It's a really sick and illogical kind of person that extrapolates from there to "foreigners are not capable". Why were the Haitians drinking out of open sewers in the first place?

leftysergeant · Jul 21, 2012

mikemikev said: ↑

So Nepalese soldiers accidentally introduced cholera into Haiti. At least they were trying to help. It's a really sick and illogical kind of person that extrapolates from there to "foreigners are not capable".
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They screwed up. Live with it.

Why were the Haitians drinking out of open sewers in the first place?
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Show me a source that states that they were.

waltky · Oct 22, 2012

UN likely caused Haiti cholera epidemic...

Haiti cholera epidemic 'most likely' started at UN camp - top scientist
22 October 2012 - New evidence has emerged about the alleged role of United Nations troops in causing a cholera epidemic in the Caribbean nation of Haiti.

A top US cholera specialist, Dr Daniele Lantagne, said after studying new scientific data that it is now "most likely" the source of the outbreak was a camp for recently-arrived UN soldiers from Nepal - a country where cholera is widespread. Dr Lantagne was employed by the UN itself in 2011 as one of the world's pre-eminent experts on the disease. The new evidence could have serious implications for the UN, which is facing an unprecedented legal and moral challenge in Haiti - as well as a multi-billion dollar compensation claim from victims' families.

More than 7,500 people have died from the cholera epidemic in Haiti since it started in late 2010. Hundreds of new cases are still being registered every week. t is by far the largest cholera outbreak in the world in recent years - with more cases than on the whole of the African continent.

Prior to this outbreak, and despite Haiti's many other problems - including a devastating earthquake in January 2010 - the country had not recorded a single case of cholera for over a century. Cholera is spread through infected faeces and once it enters the water supply it is difficult to stop - especially in a country like Haiti which has almost no effective sewage disposal systems. After studying molecular data known as full genome sequencing on the strain of cholera found in Haiti - and that prevalent in Nepal in 2010 - Dr Lantagne said: "We now know that the strain of cholera in Haiti is an exact match for the strain of cholera in Nepal."

Mountain of claims
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waltky · Feb 22, 2013

UN thumbs its nose at Haiti...

UN rejects damage claim for Haiti cholera victims
Feb 21,`13 -- The United Nations rejected a claim for damages on behalf of more than 5,000 Haitian cholera victims and their families on Thursday, citing diplomatic immunity.

The claim was filed in November 2011 by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, a Boston-based human rights group that contended the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to adequately screen peacekeeping soldiers. It cited studies suggesting that the disease was inadvertently brought to Haiti by a U.N. battalion from Nepal, where cholera is endemic. A local contractor failed to properly sanitize the waste of a U.N. base, and the bacteria leaked into a tributary of one of Haiti's biggest rivers, according to one study by a U.N.-appointed panel.

Cholera has sickened nearly 500,000 people and killed over 7,750 people since the outbreak began in October 2010, according to the Haitian government. About half the people in the country of 10 million have no bathroom at all and sanitation access is the worst in the Western Hemisphere. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said the United Nations informed representatives of the claimant of the U.N. rejection on Thursday. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called Haitian President Michel Martelly to inform him of the decision "and to reiterate the commitment of the United Nations to the elimination of cholera in Haiti," Nesirky said.

Brian Concannon, the institute's director, said that after 15 months, the rejection was a single sentence, based on the world organization's immunity, which said the claims are "not receivable" because they concern "a review of political and policy matters." "Our case is about the U.N. dumping contaminated sewage in Haiti's waters that has caused thousands of deaths," he said. "Under this definition, any harm that the U.N. does to anybody would be a matter of policy." Concannon told The Associated Press: "We're disappointed because the U.N. is passing up a chance to stop cholera's killing, and to show leadership in promoting the rule of law."

MORE
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waltky · Jul 29, 2013

UN cholera rampant in Haiti...

Deadly health menace seeps into Haiti
Sunday 28th July, 2013 > Cholera is likely to be a public health problem in Haiti for many years to come.

Cholera spreads via contaminated food, water and fecal matter. One of the essential parts of the government's 2.2-billion-dollar National Plan for the Elimination of Cholera in Haiti is financing for sanitation systems nationwide. Cholera was brought to Haiti in October 2010 by soldiers from the United Nations Stabilisation Mission, who were there in the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

The disease quickly spread throughout the country with almost 3,000 people per month presenting themselves at hospitals for treatment. To date, over 600,000 people have been infected and at least 8,190 have died. UNICEF has made some inroads into the problem over the past year with the help of other organisations. The organisation has overseen the creation of fecal treatment centres for the capital region. It hopes to build 22 others.

The waste treatment centres will cost about US$2.5 million dollars apiece and will have the capacity to treat 500 cubic metres of excreta per day, which is the equivalent of what 500,000 people produce. Waste material is recycled, transformed and sent to places in the country where it is used it in agriculture. About half of households in the countryside, and 10 to 20 percent in the cities, lack access to a proper toilet.

Source
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waltky · Aug 21, 2013

Granny told Uncle Ferd not to go kissin' onna Cuban womens...

US issues advisory for Cuba over cholera cases
21 Aug.`13 The United States has issued an advisory for travelers to Cuba after several foreign visitors were sickened by cholera in recent weeks.

In a security message dated Tuesday, the U.S. Interests Section in Havana recommended visitors and U.S. citizens living on the island avoid untreated water, street food and under- or uncooked dishes such as ceviche. "We urge you to follow public health recommendations and guidelines, such as safe food and water precautions and frequent hand washing to help prevent cholera infection," the diplomatic mission said in a statement published online. The 51-year-old embargo against Cuba bars most American tourism to the island, but hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans make legal family visits each year and increasing numbers of U.S. citizens are visiting through licensed cultural exchanges.

According to the Pan American Health Organization there have been five confirmed cholera cases "associated with a history of travel to Cuba" in July and August: an Italian, two Venezuelans and two Chileans. At least three of them visited Havana. Authorities last summer acknowledged a rare cholera outbreak originating in eastern Cuba after many years when it was unheard of on the island. They said at the time that the disease had run its course after afflicting 417 people and killing three. In January the government announced 51 more nonfatal cases in the capital, but there has been no official word of new cases since then. Authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

In Havana, resident Carlos Rodriguez was not concerned. "If there were to be cholera, the Health Ministry has an action plan with a super-strict system of isolating (infected) people," Rodriguez said. "So far I haven't had any news about there being cholera." In the past, diplomats on the island have expressed dismay at what they called Cuba's lack of transparency on cholera statistics. Tourism is a vital part of Cuba's wobbly economy, bringing in more than $2.5 billion in 2011 according to the most recent statistics available. Cholera is a waterborne disease can kill its victims quickly through severe dehydration, but it is treatable if detected in time.

Cuba has a well-organized civil defense system and scrambled to fight last year's outbreak, with workers handing out chlorine and water purification drops and quarantining hospital patients with diarrhea. The government also mounted a campaign to raise awareness about good hygiene. Meanwhile many Cuban doctors and nurses have experience diagnosing and treating cholera from aid missions in Haiti, where the disease has killed thousands in recent years. "In Cuba, authorities maintain active and strict clinical-epidemiological surveillance of acute diarrheal diseases, studying every suspected case," the Pan American Health Organization said in its report.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-issues-advisory-cuba-over-cholera-cases-160739789.html
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OhZone · Aug 23, 2013

The wiser thing to do would be a total Ban on travel to and from Cuba, and of course Haiti.

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