Haiti: UN-caused Cholera Epidemic Killing Thousands

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti dealt a devastating blow that the country has not yet recovered from, and most likely never will under this current profit system. Not only did the earthquake destroy tens of thousands of homes, kill hundreds of thousands and displace many hundreds of thousands more, it also intensified another plague already afflicting the Haitian people: foreign “aid.” Hundreds of non-governmental organizations descended on the country, supposedly to help it rebuild, and United Nations “peacekeepers” intensified their deadly attacks on Haitian workers.
Many in Haiti have wondered, “Why do we need peacekeepers when we’re not at war? When there are still tens of thousands living in tents?” The answer is that the imperialist powers need to control Haitian workers and create inroads for international businesses. For example, the U.S. State Department has used $224 million in earthquake relief funds to subsidize a South Korean clothing manufacturer in the Caracol Industrial Park in northern Haiti (one of the fertile areas in the country), which was unaffected by the earthquake. This project has nothing to do with earthquake-related reconstruction, like clean water and sanitation infrastructure. In fact, the plant presents a further threat to already overburdened water resources in the region and the bosses have already been accused of cheating the workers there out of their meager wages (NYT 10/5/13). In addition, the Red Cross is using money donated for earthquake relief to build a luxury hotel in Port-au-Prince.
To most Haitian workers, UN troops are an occupying army — even before it was discovered that the troops brought cholera to Haiti. Prior to 2010, Haiti had not seen a cholera outbreak for a hundred years! But when UN troops from Nepal were deployed to Haiti in the fall of 2010, they brought cholera with them. Nepal has an active cholera epidemic that was known prior to deployment, but the troops were not tested for it. They turned out to be carriers, if not actually sick. The waste matter from the camp leaked into the Artibonite River, which serves as a source of bathing, cooking and drinking water for the surrounding working class populations. Cholera has now infected more than 600,000 and killed more than 8,000, with the toll rising daily. Although the source of the cholera has been proven beyond a doubt (it is the same strain as the cholera in Nepal) and is even acknowledged by the UN’s own investigators, the organization denies that it owes any compensation for this devastating epidemic. The UN is hiding behind a standard immunity agreement signed by the Haitian government when the troops first began arriving in 2004.
In the face of the largest cholera outbreak in memory, and despite widespread support by its members, the leadership of the American Public Health Association (APHA) recently rejected a resolution calling upon the UN to take financial responsibility for the epidemic, including vaccinations for the entire population, adequate cholera treatment centers (most were closed after the initial outbreak), and building a modern clean water and sanitation system. The resolution will be revised and resubmitted for next year’s meeting. It will be important to build more support in the membership around this critical issue.  
Those of us in Progressive Labor Party, along with other members of APHA, know that getting this resolution passed is not enough. No resolution can save workers’ lives from the death machine of capitalism, or even prevent the next epidemic. We are working in Haiti and elsewhere to raise consciousness about the role of capitalism and imperialism in the destruction of workers’ lives around the world. We say that the only road to public health for all workers is to destroy the rotten profit system and replace it with communism, a society that values the life of every worker and will use resources for the good of all.