22367: Blanchet: Fw: Haiti: Paul Farmer interview (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>
To: <Tttnhm@aol.com>


> Haiti now, from the inside
>
> After the flooding and the departure of Aristide, former Hernando County
> doctor Paul Farmer fights more difficulties in providing care to the poor.
>
> By DAN DeWITT, Times Staff Writer
> Published June 13, 2004
>
> In January, the St. Petersburg Times visited former Hernando County
resident
> Dr. Paul Farmer, who has provided health care in central Haiti for more
than
> 20 years. We interviewed him again recently to ask how his organization,
Zanmi
> Lasante, withstood last month's flooding and the political uprising in
> February, when U.S. troops arrived in Haiti and former President
Jean-Betrand
> Aristide departed.
>
> Q. The floods have been devastating in low-lying areas of Haiti. What has
the
> impact been in the Central Plateau?
>
> A. Mudslides and flash flooding have been bigger problems than groundwater
> flooding. The road to Boucan Carre (a town where Zanmi Lasante operates a
> hospital and several social programs) was impassable last week.
Impassable, at
> least, to the trucks carrying the building supplies for the housing
project. But
> the biggest problem for people in central Haiti is they can't stay dry
during
> the rainy season. The thatch huts just can't keep the heavy rains out.
These
> houses are just not worthy of the name and need to be replaced with tin
and
> cement.
>
> Q. The arrival of U.S. Marines seemed to some people in America to be at
> least a short-term solution to the chaos of the revolt this winter. From
what
> you've seen, have the Marines helped restore order?
>
> A. In central Haiti there have been no Marines, and there are no Haitian
> policemen. Many of the latter were shot by the "rebels," who are really
the former
> military who came in across the border near us. And although I hear there
are
> Chilean troops in Hinche (in the Central Plateau) the other cities and
towns
> you visited are all pretty much in the hands of former Haitian military.
They
> are the people who in the past stole our ambulances, took members of our
staff
> hostage, etc. They've been pretty tame recently, but then again, who is
there
> to stand up to them?
>
> Q. So at least the paramilitary aren't setting up roadblocks and hassling
> your workers the way it did when it controlled the country in the early
1990s?
>
> A. Actually, there have been numerous roadblocks since the beginning of
> March, and most of them have been paramilitary. The delivery of supplies
has been
> interrupted on a number of occasions, and we have been unable to travel to
> places like Hinche or Port-au-Prince. We have taken steps to prevent staff
from
> being harmed in any way. We remind our staff that they are not obliged to
travel
> on the road when they feel unsafe. We listen to the radio, try to be
prudent
> and do not travel at night.
>
> Q. Your treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis patients depends on residents
> delivering medication to fellow villagers, usually on foot. With the
roadblocks
> and flooding, have these community health care workers been able to keep
up with
> their deliveries?
>
> A. Yes, the workers have done a great job. On this score, we have
discovered
> that good community-based care can function even in times when roads are
> blocked. They've been keeping their neighbors alive.
>
> Q. We saw horrible deprivation among the people in the Central Plateau
when
> we visited in January. Has that changed since the arrival of the Marines
and
> the departure of Aristide?
>
> A. There has been no visible improvement from the vantage point of the
rural
> poor. The real crises in Haiti are humanitarian and political. As far as I
> know, the Marines are not involved in either the humanitarian crises -
although
> certainly they helped bury those drowned last week - or the political
ones. The
> humanitarian crisis will only be addressed by dealing with hunger, excess
> burden of disease, unsafe drinking water and dangerous roads. These were
the
> problems that were to be addressed by the aid that was blocked by the U.S.
> administration for the three years preceding Aristide's removal.
>
> Q. There was promise of restoring aid after the takeover. Has that
happened?
> Has aid made its way to the Central Plateau or to the governmental
department
> you work with most closely, the Ministry of Health?
>
> A. I don't know that the aid has been released. Some has been sent to
> Port-au-Prince, but has it filtered into the Ministry yet? I doubt it.
>
> Q. If the living conditions haven't improved and, as you often say, most
of
> the disease that you treat is caused by poor living conditions, I guess
the
> Zanmi Lasante hospitals and clinics are still overcrowded?
>
> A. We are overwhelmed. We are seeing people from southern and northern
Haiti,
> as well as from the area we seek to serve. The health crisis is far from
> over, and more bad weather will worsen it by polluting groundwater and
triggering
> more flash flooding.
>
> Q. You were trying to address the overcrowding with an ambitious expansion
> program. Has this proceeded as planned?
>
> A. Perhaps not as planned, but we have proceeded. On the day we were to
open
> our office in Hinche, one of our vehicles was commandeered by paramilitary
> forces. They're still around, but we opened the office anyway. And we are
> dedicating the Boucan Carre community hospital and microcredit bank on
July 8, pretty
> much on time. We're determined to continue our efforts to improve medical
and
> educational services to the people of central Haiti, and this is not work
we
> care to see politicized in any way.
>
> Q. You said the humanitarian process can be solved only with more
> international aid. How about long-term solutions to the political crisis?
>
> A. It's popular to say things like "The Haitians have to solve their own
> problems," but it's silly. The Haitians did not create slavery, chronic
> interference with their internal affairs, gunboat diplomacy, foreign
occupations and a
> long history of trade and aid embargoes. The Haitians did not create
unfair
> economic policies. These were created outside of Haiti. Erasing Haiti's
debt,
> restoring constitutional rule, ending arbitrary aid embargoes and sinking
> significant resources into public health, public education and public
infrastructure
> would be central to addressing and indeed solving Haiti's social problems.
> Haiti's flooding is a result of the ecological disaster (deforestation)
that's
> been worsening over the past several decades, and that could be addressed,
too.
> But exhorting peasants not to cut down trees for firewood is not the way
to
> address deforestation. How else are they going to cook their food?
>
> Q. According to a recent New York Times story, the Bush administration has
> spent about $191-billion on wars in Middle East. At the same time, the
U.S.
> government has cut back on the president's pledge to dedicate $15-billion
to fight
> AIDS. Do you ever think about what could be accomplished if some of the
> military funding had been redirected to health care?
>
> A. I think about it every day. I never fail to think about it. The program
> for rebuilding Haiti, and for taking on the diseases of the poor globally,
would
> cost peanuts compared to what it's cost to finance the wars you mention.
And
> of course I'm just talking about the financial costs. As a physician, I
think
> every day about the human cost of war, too. I can't imagine it's possible
to
> put a price tag on that.
>
> ______________________________________________
>
>
> This email is forwarded as a service of the Haiti Support Group.
>
> See the Haiti Support Group web site:
> www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org
>
> Solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for justice, participatory
> democracy and equitable development, since 1992.
> ____________________________________________