How it didn't happen earlier is a miracle. Or not. The pottys in the camps did not drain into the water supply. Simple as that. Started in a less concentrated location than Port-au-Prince, where the vast majority of the population lives. It was the Artibonite valley, the lovely land that until the American-financed dam was placed across the Artibonite river, was home to lush rice paddies and was the feed basket for Haiti's national cuisine as well as export center for other countries' rice supplies. Now the streams are rich with bacteria, and form part of a static lake that drowned the paddies rather than a flowing stream that nourished them.
Partners in Health's hospital is doing what it can to treat the disease, but where is the Government structure to build the edifice of a country where this wouldn't happen in the first place?? Where is the chance for decent housing and city planning with running water, plumbing and waste management? When will we stop seeing children dying of diarrheal disease -- not just cholera, but many other ailments.
Some think it's naive to ask these questions. I say that when we stop asking these questions we are naive and complacent. Would we expose our own children to these conditions?? No way! So why is it all right to sit by while others are forced to live in this sub-human manner? One very simple answer -- it ISN'T.
Do something! Donate to Partners in Health, go down there and work, get groups together including Haitian diasporan leaders to build clean towns and housing. Get up off o' that thing, and get on the good foot!! Make it happen.
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