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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Haiti, of forgetting to anger York Times

Haiti, the wrath of oblivion

The lack of assistance and the Government's inaction despair to the people

MAYE FIRST | SENT SPECIAL - Port au Prince - 19/11/2010
Dominic knows how to count their tragedy in four languages. One for each episode: the earthquake that struck Haiti in January, the hurricane and the cholera epidemic that broke out in November, and the dead and wounded this week in demonstrations against the UN troops deployed in Haiti. It is the only way to survive in Haiti, said: know many languages and work for those coming from abroad to watch or help. Every day is tragic in Haiti, but those who are Dominic misses the days of the earthquake, when he lost his home, some relatives and the right foot of his wife. The strange because I never, as then, the world turned to look at them.
The epidemic has already spread to seven of the ten departments
With cholera has not been the same. Need help in the delivery of drinking water, lack of sanitary measures by the Government to curb the epidemic and on the dead, which until recently numbered 1,110: 729 who have died in hospitals and 381 who have fallen in shelters or elsewhere . Gradually, the disease has been gaining ground from the north to the capital of the country: of the 10 departments in Haiti, only three have reported no deaths from this cause. But given the conditions, is expected to grow the number of infections even further. Among other reasons, as pointed out by the Center for Infectious Diseases, Atlanta (USA), because no cases of cholera were registered for more than a century, and the population is not immunized.
At least where the park used to be Shanmas, which is now covered with thousands of tents, water reaches them in a truck once a day. At this time leave the shelters dozens of children and women to fill buckets and bottles. The remaining water, which can not carry is stored in a large yellow bag, lying on the floor. A three meters of sewage are the remains of lunch, the smell of urine.
The origin of the epidemic, the Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) would rather not talk now. Haitians begin to suspect, however, that the strain has brought the Nepalese troops, who also attribute Mirbalais river pollution, which supplies water to some villages in the north. That suspicion has killed three people shot in the midst of protests against MINUSTAH have been organized in the north: a fall in the Quartier Morin, near an airport in the UN, and two in Cap Haitien, 130 kilometers north of Port au Prince, where does a base of blue helmets in Chile.
The protests inside the country, the UN and the Government attach to groups interested in the cancellation of presidential elections on 28 , had yesterday its replica in the capital. One hundred protesters went to the headquarters of the Ministry of Health to demand the resignation of the minister, and as they marched through the ruined streets of the center, were growing in number. On their way to the headquarters of MINUSTAH, the police dispersed them with tear gas. The protesters responded by throwing rocks and bottles.
Dosu Merilien, professor of philosophy at the State University of Haiti, said he was the leader of the protest, which he had the support of teachers' unions, students and grassroots organizations and the same movement that has spoken out against the MINUSTAH in inside the country. Yesterday, precisely one year Haiti celebrated its independence, which for Merilien, was the ideal day to protest: "Today is a historic day in which we fought against the French soldiers. Now we want to go to the minister and go the UN mission, "he said.
With Merilien up front, the protesters surrounded the park shelters Shanmas. Crossed in front of the demolished Palace of Government, perhaps the only street of Port free of debris and musk leaving the mess. Then the Haitian police began firing tear gas, which went to shelters. About three hours later, the protest was diluted in small swarms of people who burned tires and horns painted posters of Jude Celestin, son of Prime Minister René Préval, and leading candidate in next week's election.
After the heart back to normal: the sale of whiskey at 50 gourdes (1 dollar) a bottle at the corners of the park, to offer all kinds of second hand clothes, sent from the U.S., a colorful vans, called top-top, full of people going or coming from any work, to the groups of supporters of one party or another running spasmodically through the streets, campaigning for their candidates. So until now, perhaps, think of a protest or an old tragedy to tell the world.


Haiti, of forgetting to anger York Times