58 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 18 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Life Arts    H2'ed 11/9/10

Haiti: Testimony From Camp Corail as Cholera Looms

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Georgianne Nienaber
Become a Fan
  (47 fans)
While Haiti was spared severe wind damage from Hurricane Tomas, flooding killed eight people and threatens to worsen a serious cholera epidemic. 1.3 million people are living in unspeakably crowded and filthy condition eleven months after an earthquake killed as many as 300,000. On Monday, the Haitian Ministry of Population (MSPP) released new figures indicating at least 8,138 cholera patients and 544 deaths in five regions or "departments." Artibonite, Centre, Nord, Nord-Ouest, and Ouest all registered cases. This is serious news, since it means that the contagion has spread from the "epicenter" of the outbreak in Artibonite, to the north and northwestern parts of Haiti. The epidemic is a little more than two weeks old.

Anger is increasing under shredded tarps, which the media insists on identifying as "tents." Residents of Camp Corail-Cesselesse, Haiti's flagship IDP camp, were evacuated prior to Tomas from what the government and aid groups once called "hurricane-proof" tents. The previously white nylon tents are now looking more and more like the dirty shredded tarps found in adjacent Camp Canaan, whose 5,581 residents were not offered the luxury of protection as the storm approached. They may have been better off than the people of Corail, who offered testimony that they were moved to an abandoned hospital and housed no better than some of the farm animals that joined them there.

Camp Canaan, the "Forgotten Camp"

Man repairing his "hurricane proof" tent in Camp Corail

If cholera should enter any one of these camps the outcome will be catastrophic.

We have written volumes about conditions in these two camps, and will continue to do so.

For now, listen to testimony from Camp Corail and ask yourself where the money has gone, why 1.3 million people are living in these conditions, and why upwards of 16,000 "charitable" organizations find themselves unprepared for an outbreak of diarrheal disease. Cholera was unpredictable and we will look at its origins in the coming days, but an epidemic of disease was inevitable.

Here is the story from a man living in Camp Corail, taken on November 6. It is time we started listening to the Haitian people. The truth resides with them and in their testimony. Listen as he asks if media organizations have been paid to lie about life in the camps.

Hopefully, you will be outraged as he describes aid workers arriving in expensive SUVs while he "lives in misery."

"It is only God's will that we are still alive."

This was our third visit to Haiti since the earthquake, and what this man says is completely accurate.


Photos and video by G. Nienaber November 6, 2010. Please take and use.

Cross-posted HERE on Huffington Post.

Rate It | View Ratings

Georgianne Nienaber Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter Page       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram Page

Georgianne Nienaber is an investigative environmental and political writer. She lives in rural northern Minnesota and South Florida. Her articles have appeared in The Society of Professional Journalists' Online Quill Magazine, the Huffington (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Recently Leaked Documents Confirm Clinton Haitian Gold Scheme

Dian Fossey and the Gorilla Killings

Should the World Boycott the Beijing Olympics? The Horrific Story of the Falun Gong

Haiti Watch: Disease Threatens Infants and No Plans to Stop It

Murder, Mayhem and Mexican Mafia Stalk the Bakken Oil Fields

Bakken Oil: Fighting for Control of Fort Berthold and the Three Affiliated Tribes

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend