Cholera in the Time of MINUSTAH: Experiences of Community Members Affected by Cholera in Haiti
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Haiti Background
1.2. Cholera in Haiti
1.3. Purpose
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design and Setting
2.2. Participants
2.3. Data Collection
2.4. Analysis
2.5. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
3.1. Cholera Cases and Deaths
I had cholera, I was 8 months pregnant and was about to die from it. I had two children at home, they were also about to die from cholera, because I was severely ill…ID330 Female participant in Cité Soleil.
My neighbourhood was devastated by cholera… Many people died in their houses, they were all my family: wife, son, as well as daughter and her husband. All of these people are dead. I heard this thing [cholera] is MINUSTAH’s fault but I don’t know.ID799 Male participant in Léogâns.
I lived through the time of cholera, and it was dramatic. Every day I saw the cars going by, the ambulances going by… The frustration was boiling daily in the neighbourhoods.ID1284 Male participant in Saint Marc.
…the next morning, he came home with an IV in his arm. I told him he should’ve stayed in the hospital, but he replied, “No way I could stay there because out of four of us in the room, three died, all except me. So I decided to leave”.ID1959 Male participant in Hinche.
3.2. Accessing Care and Services
Well this older person had cholera… When I realized he couldn’t walk I had to carry him on my back because I couldn’t find a ride nor a motorcycle to transport him. Everyone was concerned and avoided contact with people with cholera for fear of becoming a victim.ID1959 Male participant in Hinche.
In our neighbourhood, a lot of people were infected with this illness, cholera. Some people even ended up dying from this disease because they could not get medical care, they ended up dying.ID1228 Male participant in Saint Marc.
It was an aunt that was a victim of cholera. Well, when we ran to the hospital with her, it wasn’t easy to find help. Because there were too many cases at the hospital so in order to get help quickly, that just didn’t happen.ID230 Male participant in Port-au-Prince.
I had a child that had cholera. I went to the hospital with him… MINUSTAH were in the neighbourhood and I didn’t see them do anything bad. They would run and grab and take a sick person to the hospital. They are always watching over us.ID911 Female participant in Léogâns.
My uncle was dead—he had passed 22 days after which he was out of excrement and he bled. They gave us a certificate in the hospital of Sainte Catherine… They zipped him and sent him out.ID578 Female participant in Port-au-Prince.
…when people died at the hospital, they dumped them in the field over there. This means that everyone was afraid of them, so that it’s the government who took care of their burial. And they say you have to hide all the holes in the human body, wherever water can enter. It’s a poison.ID1857 Male participant in Hinche.
3.3. Protests and Riots against MINUSTAH
All I know is that I had six people in my family who were victims of it: one adult and five children. This morning I heard on the radio that everyone who was a victim of MINUSTAH is going to protest on the streets… They must protest for justice… I would love to follow and participate to do just like everyone else who was a victim to show how deep it hurt…ID391 Female participant in Port-au-Prince.
A lot of Haitians lost their family, their mothers, their fathers, etc., but if I could revolt against them I would, so they can leave the country.ID2518 Female participant in Cap-Haïtien.
The population was upset and very angry, they throw bottles and stone at the agents. A lot of protest in the streets, barrels and tires burning, and people from everywhere, every part of the society… They understood what it means to have a relative catch cholera and die.ID1827 Male participant in Hinche.
A group of young men in the area said that MINUSTAH should go. These guys dug a deep hole in the streets’ intersection, and a MINUSTAH tank fell into it. But without hesitation when the tank crashed into the hole, the MINUSTAH kneeled down and shot two young men, one of them named [ ], he did not die, but broke his feet, and the other one died on the scene.ID2334 Male participant in Cap Haitian.
3.4. Compensation for the Cholera Epidemic
…according to research, they [MINUSTAH] are responsible for the cholera outbreak that was a tort that caused us to lose some family members. A lot of people were lost to it…It’s a really rough, unforgiving disease. I think that if they compensate us, the nation, it would be good, and we would not be so sorry that they came to Haiti.ID1311 Male participant in Saint Marc.
Everyone knows the problems brought by the disease that the Nepalese forces brought here with them, where many Haitians died because of the disease that the Nepalese forces brought with them. In spite of that, we see that there was no reparation [given] to compensate these people… this negative aspect is something Haitians will always remember, they’ll never forget that negative aspect of MINUSTAH…ID1056 Male participant in Saint Marc.
I am still waiting for compensation for my wife who had cholera. I have a paper that is my “record” so that if there is compensation, I will be able to collect my benefit… I am asking that the United Nation finds a way to compensate us because right now there are multiple children that are orphans. They are left without a mother or father because of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.ID1725 Male participant in Port Salut.
Yes, I caught cholera... They had sent everyone to make a copy of their birth certificates, especially those who had been hit by cholera in order to get indemnity. Nothing had been done. It is not only me, so many people experienced that hardship… We haven’t seen any reparation, any compensation.ID1782 Male participant in Hinche.
…I heard it on the radio, now it’s Radio (Telezene) on 3 Martinal. I heard several countries in the United Nations were planning to send money for people who were victims of cholera. After that, they said there was money they had already sent. Well, there’s money also they’re going to send. I don’t know what the president is going to do with that.ID1284 Male participant in Port-au-Prince.
3.5. Anti-Colonialism
Instead of getting better security, we became less safe in the country. I think that if it was the armed forces of the republic that were present, none of these things would not have occurred.ID2445 Male participant in Cap-Haïtien.
…Sometimes they show outright disrespect. Sometimes when they’re dumping their toilets, they come right by you and do it… Our children are eating rubbish because of the bad situation they are in. MINUSTAH officers take out their phone or cameras to film these children and show how they live in abject poverty. Our government must get rid of MINUSTAH because the nation can take charge of its own responsibilities. We demand that MINUSTAH leave the country.ID1793 Male participant in Hinche.
They’re the ones who dropped poop in the waters—that’s why we have what they call cholera…in Haiti they came to provide us backup in terms of security… We can’t work together, we’re under occupation.ID1025 Male participant in Léogâns.
They are the one who brought it [cholera] here…We are Haitian, we are under Haitian administration. We are not in the country of the white people. We cannot be under their administration. The Haitian government has to talk to MINUSTAH in order to know whether they will let them kill us all… Because there is no Haiti without Haitians. But if they end up killing us all, they will take over the land.ID1818 Male participant in Hinche.
After giving us the sickness the Haitian government just sat and watched, they never said anything but they know very well that the MINUSTAH gave it… The UN is waiting for the state get involved in the matter, they see that the state says nothing so they also deny everything too because if our own people are unable to say something, they do not have to raise their voice for us.ID511 Male participant in Cité Soleil.
4. Discussion
4.1. Cholera-Related Reactions to MINUSTAH
4.2. Legacy of Colonialism
4.3. UN Response
4.4. Strengths and Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Micro-Narrative Prompts
- Describe the best or worst experience of a particular woman or girl in your community who has interacted with foreign UN or MINUSTAH personnel. What happened?
- Describe how living in a community with a UN or MINUSTAH presence has provided either a particular opportunity or a danger to a particular woman or girl in the community. What happened?
- Describe the negative or positive experience of a particular women or girl who requested support or assistance after interacting with foreign UN or MINUSTAH personnel. What happened?
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Demographic | n (%) | |
---|---|---|
Sex | Female | 27 (35.1) |
Male | 50 (64.9) | |
Age | 11–17 | 7 (9.1) |
18–24 | 12 (15.6) | |
25–34 | 23 (29.9) | |
35–44 | 18 (23.4) | |
45–54 | 8 (10.4) | |
≥55 | 7 (9.1) | |
Prefer not to say | 2 (2.6) | |
Location | Hinche Cité Soleil Saint Marc Léogâns Cap-Haïtien Charlie Log Base/Tabarre Port Salut Morne Casse/Fort Liberté | 16 (20.8) 13 (16.9) 12 (15.6) 12 (15.6) 10 (13.0) 7 (9.1) 6 (7.8) 1 (1.3) |
Education | Some primary school | 14 (18.2) |
Completed primary school | 8 (10.4) | |
Some secondary school | 22 (28.6) | |
Completed secondary school | 13 (16.9) | |
Some post-secondary school | 9 (11.7) | |
Completed post-secondary school | 4 (5.2) | |
No formal education | 7 (9.1) | |
* Income Level | Poor | 29 (37.7) |
Average | 45 (58.4) | |
Well-off | 3 (3.9) |
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Bartels, S.A.; Fraulin, G.; Etienne, S.; Wisner, S.C.; Lee, S. Cholera in the Time of MINUSTAH: Experiences of Community Members Affected by Cholera in Haiti. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 4974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19094974
Bartels SA, Fraulin G, Etienne S, Wisner SC, Lee S. Cholera in the Time of MINUSTAH: Experiences of Community Members Affected by Cholera in Haiti. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(9):4974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19094974
Chicago/Turabian StyleBartels, Susan A., Georgia Fraulin, Stéphanie Etienne, Sandra C. Wisner, and Sabine Lee. 2022. "Cholera in the Time of MINUSTAH: Experiences of Community Members Affected by Cholera in Haiti" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 9: 4974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19094974
APA StyleBartels, S. A., Fraulin, G., Etienne, S., Wisner, S. C., & Lee, S. (2022). Cholera in the Time of MINUSTAH: Experiences of Community Members Affected by Cholera in Haiti. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 4974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19094974