[Peace-discuss] Oliver Stone: Help the UN rectify its cholera blunder in Haiti

Carl G. Estabrook galliher at illinois.edu
Thu Jan 10 04:09:59 UTC 2013 

[From <http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20100309.htm> March, 2010]

KB: Any comments on the US media regarding Haiti following the earthquake? For example, Pat Robertson's 'pact with the devil,' David Brooks' 'progress-resistant culture,' pleas with transnational capital to create more sweatshops (Kirstof), Aristide being a despot and a cheat (Jon Lee Anderson). Even Amy Wilentz has compared Aristide to Duvalier in the New York Times.

NC: It's been mainly awful, but I haven't kept a record. The worst part is ignoring our own disgraceful role in helping to create the catastrophe, and consequent refusal to react as any decent person should-with massive reparations, directed to popular organizations. Same with France.

KB: I guess my final question is for the future: there have been a discouraging two decades, from 1990-2010, about the popular mobilization for political change in Haiti, and how to proceed, and I guess now that the Haitian people have struggled so hard through parliamentary democracy for 25 years and have so little to show for it, what are the lessons learned and possible strategies now that they've exhausted this parliamentary, democratic approach? Two coups d'etat and thousands tortured and murdered in this process.

NC: The lessons are, unfortunately, that a small weak country that is facing an extremely hostile and very violent superpower will not make much progress unless there's a strong solidarity movement within the superpower that will restrain its actions. With more support within the United States, I think the Haitian efforts could have succeeded.

And that applies right now. Take the aid that's coming in. There is aid coming in-we have to show we're nice people and so on. But the aid ought to be going to Haitian popular organizations. Not to contractors, not to NGOs-to Haitian popular organizations, and they're the ones that should be deciding what to do with it. Well you know, that's not the agenda of G7. They don't want popular organizations; they don't like popular movements; they don't like democracy for that matter. What they want is for the rich and powerful to run things. Well, if there was a strong solidarity movement in the United States and the world, it could change that.


On Jan 9, 2013, at 10:01 PM, "E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森" <ewj at pigsqq.org> wrote:

> I was blaming Haiti's problems on the Spanish and then the French.
> 
> But I would agree that the problems are cultural and political.
> 
> "She killed Papa Doc with her vudou."
> 
> On 01/10/13 11:05, Carl G. Estabrook wrote:
>> Didn't Romney in Israel blame the desperate state of Gaza on cultural problems?
>> 
>> It seem to me that in both cases - Gaza and Haiti - the problems are not so much cultural as political: oppression from a neighboring state.
>> 
>> And US oppression of Haiti has of course the much longer history.
>> 
>> See e.g.<http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20100309.htm>.  --CGE
>> 
>> 
>> On Jan 9, 2013, at 8:11 PM, "E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森"<ewj at pigsqq.org>  wrote:
>> 
>>   
>>> It's ridiculous to blame the UN for a funda mental cultural problem.
>>> It's also a bit difficult to discern the motivation for going after
>>> the UN on this. I guess it is to induce the UN to fix the problem.
>>> WHO's necks in line.
>>> 
>>> I doubt very much that even the UN can change the
>>> behaviour of Haitians.  Maybe if they could get some Muslims in there
>>> then Obama could go after them with drones...
>>> 
>>> Haiti doesn't have its human waste system and its
>>> water supply separated very well.  This situation of poor sanitation
>>> is exacerbated by a catastrophic event such as an earthquake,
>>> a widespread fire, typhoon, tsunami, hurricane, or war.
>>> 
>>> Many travelers from Cholera problem areas go to the industrialized
>>> countries every year and develop clinical or sub-clinical cholera.
>>> This does not result in epidemics because the industrialized countries
>>> have established a sanitation system that prevents the spread of the disease.
>>> 
>>> There was an outbreak of Amoebiasis in Chicago after the great
>>> fire due to human feces in the drinking water.
>>> 
>>> No doubt O'Leary's cow must have been named Georgina.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 01/10/13 9:37, Carl G. Estabrook wrote:
>>>     
>>>> http://ijdh.org/archives/30243
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Jan 9, 2013, at 7:13 PM, "E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森"<ewj at pigsqq.org>   wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>       
>>>>> Haiti was a pristine land of excellence in sanitation before
>>>>> all them filthy UNers came in and trashed the place with
>>>>> their VooDoo.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 01/10/13 8:25, Robert Naiman wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>         
>>>>>> This petition has more than 10,000 signers.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>>>> From: Oliver Stone, Just Foreign Policy<noreply at list.signon.org>
>>>>>> Date: Wed, Jan 9, 2013 at 3:18 PM
>>>>>> Subject: Help the UN rectify its cholera blunder in Haiti
>>>>>> To: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Dear Robert,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> We all make mistakes. Sometimes our mistakes badly hurt other people. When we make a mistake that badly hurts other people, it's our responsibility to do what we can to rectify the harm caused by our mistake.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The United Nations made a terrible series of mistakes in Haiti that badly hurt hundreds of thousands of Haitians. First, the UN sent troops to Haiti who were carriers of the deadly waterborne disease cholera, which was previously unknown in Haiti. Then, the UN didn't make sure that UN troops were using proper sanitation procedures. As a result, UN troops who were infected with cholera dumped their contaminated waste in a river that was used by Haitians for drinking water. Then, when people complained about sanitation problems at the UN base, the UN didn't do anything about the complaints.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> As a result of the UN's mistakes, since October 2010 cholera has killed thousands of people in Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians have gotten ill, in a country with poor health care infrastructure to take care of them.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Now the UN has an opportunity to try to rectify the situation. The anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti is coming up in a few days, and that's a time when the world will turn its focus towards Haiti. It's also a time when the UN could make an announcement about what it's going to do about helping Haiti get rid of cholera. The government of Haiti and the UN have a plan, but so far the plan isn't funded. A plan that's not funded can't do anything. We need public pressure NOW on the UN and other donors to come through with money to implement the plan.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Can you help us build pressure on the UN and other donors to produce the money to get rid of cholera in Haiti? I've initiated a petition at Avaaz which has been signed by thousands of people from around the world. If we get enough signers, Members of Congress will present this petition to the UN.  Please sign and share my petition at this link:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/End_Haitis_Cholera_Epidemic_with_UN_Action_Now_1/
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thank you for helping me help Haitians who've been hurt by cholera to raise their voices to the UN.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> –Oliver Stone, on behalf of Just Foreign Policy
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> This message was sent to Robert Naiman by Oliver Stone, Just Foreign Policy from the SignOn.org system. MoveOn.org Civic Action sponsors SignOn.org, but does not endorse specific campaigns or the contents of this message.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> Robert Naiman
>>>>>> Policy Director
>>>>>> Just Foreign Policy
>>>>>> www.justforeignpolicy.org
>>>>>> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
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>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>           
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>         
>>>> 
>>>>       
>>>     
>> 
>>   
>

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