the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jul 18, 2011
Since the introduction of the cholera bacteria in Haiti in October, 2010, the epidemic has killed more than 5,400 people in eight months, with more than 340,000 people infected. Even if cholera seemed to be retreating, the arrival of the rainy season provoked a new explosion of the epidemic.
In the region of the capital Port-au-Prince, hundreds of thousands of refugees continue to crowd into temporary shelters set up after the January 2010 earthquake. According to the World Health Organization, from May 2nd to June 12th this year, there were 18,000 cholera cases registered in the capital. But the situation is worse in rural areas, for these areas are inaccessible due to flooding.
Several scientific reports have established that the bacteria responsible for the epidemic was introduced into Haiti by soldiers from the country of Nepal. (Haiti didn’t have cholera before these U.N. soldiers arrived.) They came as part of the U. N. “Mission to Stabilize Haiti.” Up to now, the United Nations hasn’t recognized its responsibility for the introduction of the epidemic, and has done nothing to remedy the situation.
Obviously, cholera occurs with poverty. The state of destitution of the Haitian population provides a particularly favorable ground for the spread of the disease.
But the Haitian government and international organizations are indifferent, at best, to the condition of the Haitian population. Their scorn for the poor population also contributes to this situation.