Haiti voodoo leaders prepare temples for coronavirus sufferers

PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti's voodoo leaders have trained priests of the Afro Caribbean religion to concoct a secret remedy for the novel coronavirus and to prepare the sacred initiation chambers of their temples to receive patients.

In Haiti, where Western healthcare services are scarce and too expensive for many, inhabitants often rely on the herbal remedies and ritual practices of their voodoo “houngan” priest or “mambo” priestess.

Draped in necklaces of colorful beads, Haitian Voodoo "Ati" or supreme leader Carl Henri Desmornes said in an interview at his "gingerbread house" in Port-au-Prince he knew there would be a deluge of patients at their temples.

While the virus took root slowly in the poorest country in the Americas, in the last 2 weeks the number of confirmed cases has nearly quintupled to 865 while reports of a mysterious "fever" are spreading.

"Voodoo practitioners - the Houngans and Mambos in particular - have the responsibility to look after the wellbeing of the population," said Desmornes, 60, who was a music promoter before becoming the Ati. "They have received the powers and the knowledge to put in practice."

More than half of Haiti’s 11 million people are believed to practice voodoo, a religion brought from West Africa centuries ago by enslaved men and women and practiced clandestinely under French colonial rule.

Ever since the first cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed in Haiti in mid-March, Voodoo priests have been serving up teas with ingredients including moringa, eucalyptus, ginger and honey to strengthen the immune system.

"We live in a country where the health system is not able to respond to the challenge of the pandemic, so we rely on natural remedies instead," said Mambo Lamercie Charles as she ladled out potion. "I consider my temple a clinic".

Voodoo deputy leader Euvonie Georges Auguste said the community, inspired by the "Loas" (spirits), has also come up with a potion for COVID-19 symptoms that they had taught priests virtually to prepare and administer.

The community had identified 1,000 voodoo temples that had a "Djèvo" - a sacred chamber used for initiation rituals - that was separate to the worship chambers and could be used to isolate up to 15 patients each, she said.

CORONAVIRUS MESSAGE

Auguste said it was a shame President Jovenel Moise had highlighted Madagascar's self-proclaimed, plant-based “cure” for COVID-19 rather than Haitian voodoo treatments.

"This attitude shows he is a victim of the system that still bears the scars of slavery," she said.

Voodoo is closely identified with Haiti's struggle for independence but has worked hard for legitimacy. It only won recognition as an official religion in 2003 under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Haiti's voodoo practitioners in the past have criticized Moise for appealing publicly to Christianity's god rather than to Voodoo's spirits.

Sometimes misrepresented in Hollywood and pulp fiction as a black magic cult, it suffers from stigma. Some evangelical preachers blamed the 2010 earthquake on voodoo while mobs lynched at least 45 houngans and mambos they blamed for bringing about the subsequent cholera outbreak with their spells.

Voodoo priests have appeared on television and radio shows to make clear they are not responsible for coronavirus and are ready to fight it.

Still, Desmornes said maybe the pandemic carried a message for the world - one difference between voodoo and Western medicine is that it seeks meaning in illness. Perhaps it was a warning sign, Desmornes said, that humans were like a virus to other beings on earth.

"My hope is that after corona ... instead of transforming all we touch, transforming nature, we look instead to live in harmony with it," he said. 

-reuters-

'Gathering to kill me': COVID-19 patients in Haiti fear attacks, harassment

PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haitian pastor Burel Fontilus feared for his life in late March when he contracted the new coronavirus.

It wasn’t the COVID-19 respiratory disease that frightened him, he said, rather gun-toting vigilantes in his neighborhood near Port-au-Prince who were threatening to lynch him.

Word that Fontilus, 42, had fallen ill while traveling quickly morphed into accusations on social media that he was carelessly spreading it.

"They were gathering to kill me," Fontilus told Reuters. "Neighbors said they had seen groups preparing."

Reuters was unable to verify independently Fontilus' claims that an armed mob in his suburb of Carrefour was organizing to harm him.

Carrefour Police Commissioner Charles Maunaude said authorities took the alleged threats against Fontilus seriously. Police were dispatched near his home to preempt any potential aggression, Maunaude said, while a squad car escorted the ambulance that took Fontilus to the local hospital.

Around the world, sufferers of coronavirus and health professionals have faced stigma due to fear and ignorance. Medical workers in the Philippines have had bleach thrown at them. Doctors in India have been forcefully evicted by their landlords over infection fears.

In Haiti though, the poorest country in the Americas, that stigma has become a major concern among health authorities trying to contain the outbreak. Haitians have long been distrustful of their institutions, wariness that a corruption-fueled political crisis, food insecurity and a surge in gang crime have only exacerbated. Now, fear of contracting coronavirus has some taking matters into their own hands.

"The only way they feel they can be saved from COVID-19 is by eliminating those who have it," Fontilus said. He said he has recovered. But he refuses to return home, instead relocating with his family from the home of one friend to another so that his would-be attackers can’t track him down.

Fontilus has good reason to be cautious.

Violence erupted during the last major epidemic, a nearly decade-long cholera outbreak that began in 2010; more than 800,000 people were sickened and around 10,000 died. At least 45 priests of Haiti's voodoo religion were killed, some hacked to death, by mobs who blamed them for causing it with their spells, the government said at the time.

Coronavirus so far has proven far less lethal than cholera. Haiti has registered just 182 cases to date and 15 deaths. But harassment of patients such as Fontilus poses a major challenge to authorities trying to get those who contract COVID-19 to come forward for treatment.

"The fight against stigmatization is our greatest battle," said Laure Adrien, General Director of Haiti's Health Ministry and co-chief of the commission managing the outbreak.

President Jovenel Moise said in an April 27 address to the nation that the government would not tolerate violence against coronavirus sufferers. Yet Haitians say the state is too weak to stop the perpetrators.

One of Haiti's few well-equipped hospitals, the Bernard Mevs in Port-au-Prince, canceled plans to open a center for treating coronavirus patients due to opposition by local residents who feared it would be a vector for contagion, an administrative staffer told Reuters.

Other Haitian hospitals and clinics face similar opposition, according to Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), an international body devoted to improving public health in the Americas.

People "are actually obstructing the access to be able to set up COVID health facilities, and threatening to burn them and to attack the healthcare workers," Etienne said during a weekly regional briefing on Tuesday. "The lack of security at those facilities is a huge issue."

COVID-19 survivor Gyliane Woel told Reuters the state ambulance service recently sent her home in the dead of night from the hospital that treated her in Mirebalais, just north of the capital, stressing it was for her own safety.

Didie Herold, director of Haiti's National Ambulance Centre, denied that. He said some drop-offs occur at odd hours because the service has only four or five ambulances devoted to transporting COVID-19 patients in the area around Port-au-Prince.

NOWHERE TO BURY CORPSES

Haiti’s relative isolation and last year’s political unrest have helped keep its case count low to date, health experts said, as international travelers have stayed away. But they said the outbreak could yet explode in the vulnerable, densely populated Caribbean island nation of 11 million. Thousands of Haitian migrant laborers are now returning from the neighboring Dominican Republic, one of the worst-affected regions in Latin America, after losing their incomes during lockdown.

Basic sanitation is a challenge in Haiti’s vast slums and rural hinterlands. Health care services were already collapsing before the pandemic due to lack of financing. The country had just some 100 ventilators before the crisis, according to Adrien of the health ministry, although it just received 100 more from China.

Fear and loathing, however, are not in short supply.

In the northeastern coastal city of Fort Liberte in early April, a bereaved man asked city officials to help him find a burial spot for his wife who had died of COVID-19, after a mob armed with stones, machetes and guns tried to prevent her internment in an old cholera graveyard on the outskirts of town, according to Mayor Etienne Louis Jacques.

Louis Jacques said a spot was secured in the city's cemetery, but authorities had to fire warning shots to scare off stone-throwing locals so the family could lay the woman to rest. He said the grave was dug 30 feet deep and covered with concrete to allay contagion fears.

In Saint-Michel de l'Atalaye, a town on the central plateau, an orphanage was stoned after its Belgian director was diagnosed with coronavirus, said Michelot Dorcenat, a local health ministry official for Saint-Michel and neighboring Marmelade.

"They were furious, saying the Belgian brought the illness to Haiti," said Dorcenat, adding that Saint-Michel residents were barred from attending a popular market at the nearby town of Saint-Raphael by residents there.

A person at the orphanage, who declined to be named, confirmed Dorcenat's account of events.

DENIAL

The International Monetary Fund and the U.S. government have respectively announced $111.6 million and $16.1 million in funding to help Haiti tackle the outbreak and its financial fallout.

Some Haitians suspect the government and local authorities are inventing coronavirus cases to rake in more financing, leading some citizens to ignore health precautions such as wearing masks and engaging in social distancing.

"They do believe the pandemic is political gimmickry and they do not appreciate the severity," PAHO's Etienne said.

Secretary of State for Communication Eddy Jackson Alexis denied allegations that public officials were seeking to profit off coronavirus. He said Haitians were beginning to acknowledge the illness thanks to efforts to raise awareness by the government, civil society and the media.

Yet three weeks ago, in southeastern Côtes-de-Fer, the family of a 41-year old COVID-19 sufferer refused to believe his diagnosis and insisted on removing him from the local hospital where he was in a coma, the facility's epidemiologist Jean Daniel Laguerre told Reuters.

The hospital did not have sufficient security to fend off some 50 people who arrived to take the patient away, he said, highlighting the weakness of the state. Mayor Francoeur Dalexis told Reuters he had reinforced police patrols since the incident but resources were tight.

Laguerre said the man died the following day and his family held a large wake.

"I fear there will be a massive outbreak” in the area Laguerre said. "But until now, none of those in (the victim's) entourage have wanted to be tested, and they have even put barricades on the road."

VOODOO CAMPAIGN

With the attacks on voodoo priests over cholera fresh in their memories, leaders of that religious community are appearing on radio and television to dispel any notions that they may have conjured the coronavirus.

Health experts agree more education is needed to explain the virus. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it has helped the government produce 500,000 flyers, 250,000 leaflets and 100,000 posters as well as videos and audio spots.

But nearly half the population is illiterate, and many rural residents have no access to the internet, television or radio.

Popular musician Jean Jean Roosevelt, who recorded a song with UNICEF called "Corona Can Cause a Lot of Damage," said he travels to remote regions with around 40 volunteers and megaphones.

"We try to help people understand that someone who is infected with the virus is not necessarily a danger for the rest of the community if this person follows the rules," he said.

But even these messengers are at risk. In the mountainous northern town of Marmelade, a young man trying to educate the community about the virus was beaten by locals and had his wrist cut, said Dorcenat, the local health ministry official.

Fontilus, the recovered COVID-19 patient, said he’s trying to set up a foundation to raise awareness. But with death threats still coming in, the pastor said he’s looking to relocate to the United States.

"I'm impatiently waiting the day embassies are working again," he said, "so I can apply for visas for my family and save my skin."

-reuters-

Oxfam investigates new sexual misconduct cases as MPs grill bosses

LONDON - Oxfam revealed Tuesday it was investigating 26 new cases of sexual misconduct since the crisis erupted over its handling of a 2011 prostitution scandal in Haiti, which the British charity called a "wake-up call."

Chief executive Mark Goldring told a parliamentary committee in London that the cases varied in their seriousness, while 16 related to its international operation.

"They range in time frame from more recent events to long historic events where people did not report them at the time," he said.

Goldring added he believed the latest cases had emerged as "a direct response to the publicity" around the Haitian scandal. 

"We really want people to come forward," he added.

The Oxfam chief was unable to provide further details on the cases when pressed by British lawmakers. 

The committee said it would be conducting its own inquiry into abuses in the foreign aid sector.

Three of Oxfam's most senior leaders repeatedly apologized for the charity's handling of an internal investigation into the use of prostitutes by staff in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake. 

Caroline Thomson, chair of trustees, said: "It's right to admit this has been a real wake-up call."

The charity revealed 7,000 regular donors had been lost since the scandal emerged following reporting by The Times newspaper.

It said safeguards had been put in place following the 2011 probe, but admitted they had not gone far enough.

Thomson vowed to take "personal responsibility" for ongoing reform: "I have decided that we need to have more focus on safeguarding."

Last week, Oxfam unveiled an action plan to tackle sexual harassment and abuse, including creating a new vetting system for staff.

The charity formally also apologised to Haiti on Monday over the scandal and for failing to report the matter adequately. 

"Oxfam should have reported the matter to the Haitian authorities," Goldring told lawmakers.

"It was not for Oxfam to decide whether a crime had been committed... that was the wrong decision."

TIP OF THE ICEBERG?

Oxfam had made public Monday its 2011 report into the episode, revealing that three staff had physically threatened a witness in the prostitution investigation.

The report, compiled in the year after the workers were deployed to Haiti, found that a total of seven staff were accused of using prostitutes at an Oxfam-funded residence.

Four staff were fired for gross misconduct and three others, including then country director Roland Van Hauwermeiren, were allowed to quit.

Stephen Twigg, chair of the international aid committee hearing the testimony Tuesday, was blunt in his assessment. 

"Demonstrably, you have got to get your house in order," he told its leadership.

As part of its broader probe into sexual misconduct in the sector, the panel also questioned Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children UK.

He revealed tentative figures that the charity dealt with 193 cases of "child safeguarding" issues in 2016, leading to 53 full investigations, 20 case referrals to police and 11 staff dismissals.

"The difficult thing to know in these circumstances is whether you're catching the tip of the iceberg or whether you're catching the iceberg itself," Watkins said.

The BBC reported on Tuesday that one of Watkins' predecessors left the charity while facing three complaints of inappropriate behavior towards female staff.

Former CEO Justin Forsyth was accused in 2015 of sending inappropriate texts and making comments on what female staff were wearing.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Megan Young in accident in Haiti

MANILA – 2013 Miss World Megan Young figured in an accident while visiting an orphanage in Port Au Prince Haiti last Thursday.

According to an article published on the official site of Miss World, Young went to the orphanage along with Miss World chairman Julia Morley to visit 78 children who were having their class on the second floor of a building.

The children reportedly ran towards Young when they saw the beauty queen, just in time when the floor collapsed.

Morley was seriously injured as well as another student, while Young suffered minor bruises.

The article said Morley and Young fell through the floor which was eight to 10 feet high.

Morley and the student had to be taken to a hospital so they could be given immediate medical attention.

The Miss World article said Morley suffered a significant fracture high in her hip area and was immediately brought to Miami for a surgery.

Young is now back in the United States with her family, saying she is still shocked at what happened.

Speaking to the staff of Miss World, Young said she heard a loud crack prior to the floor collapse.

"Nothing like that has really happened to me before. It was such a shock. I felt like a deer in the headlights. I didn't really know what had happened or what to do. We had all fallen down, but I was still on my feet. I had the crown in one hand and the other hand instinctively holding up one of the decks in place with two people. There were lots of kids under the decks still and we just instinctively held on,” she said.

Young said she is hoping for the quick recovery of Morley and the student.

"My thoughts are with them at this time. It was a real eye opener and just shows how much work needs to be done in Haiti. I want to go back and continue with the work that we have started, and make sure nothing like this can happen again," she said.

Meanwhile, Miss World Philippines director Cory Quirino told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday that she is now in touch with the Filipina beauty after the accident.

She said Young felt overwhelmed when some of the children even ran towards her to protect her when the floor was already sliding.

Calling it the “Megan Magic,” Quirino said this just goes to show how the children in Haiti appreciate Young.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cholera outbreak feared in rural Haiti — 135 dead

ST. MARC, Haiti – At least 135 people have died in a suspected cholera outbreak, and aid groups are rushing in medicine and other supplies Friday to combat Haiti's deadliest health problem since its devastating earthquake.

The outbreak in the rural Artibonite region, which hosts thousands of quake refugees, appeared to confirm relief groups' fears about sanitation for homeless survivors living in tarp cities and other squalid settlements.

"We have been afraid of this since the earthquake," said Robin Mahfood, president of Food for the Poor, which was preparing to fly in donations of antibiotics, dehydration salts and other supplies.

Many of the sick have converged on St. Nicholas hospital in the seaside city of St. Marc, where hundreds of dehydrated patients lay on blankets in a parking lot with IVs in their arms as they waited for treatment.

Catherine Huck, deputy country director for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the Caribbean nation's health ministry had recorded 135 deaths and more than 1,000 infected people.

"What we know is that people have diarrhea, and they are vomiting, and (they) can go quickly if they are not seen in time," Huck said. She said doctors were still awaiting lab results to pinpoint the disease.

The president of the Haitian Medical Association, Claude Surena, said the cause appeared to be cholera, but added that had not been confirmed by the government.

"The concern is that it could go from one place to another place, and it could affect more people or move from one region to another one," he said.

Cholera is a waterborne bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to dehydration and death within hours. Treatment involves administering a salt and sugar-based rehydration serum.

No cholera outbreaks had been reported in Haiti for decades before the earthquake, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Haitian officials, including President Rene Preval, have been pointing to the lack of severe disease outbreaks as a hard-to-see success of the quake response.

With more than a million people left homeless by the disaster, however, experts have warned that disease could strike in the makeshift camps with nowhere to put human waste and limited access to clean water.

At the hospital, some patients including 70-year-old Belismene Jean Baptiste said they got sick after drinking water from a public canal.

"I ran to the bathroom four times last night vomiting," Jean Baptiste said.

The sick come from across the Artibonite Valley, a starkly desolate region of rice fields and deforested mountains. The area did not experience significant damage in the Jan. 12 quake but has absorbed thousands of refugees from the devastated capital 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of St. Marc.

Trucks loaded with medical supplies including rehydration salts were to be sent from Port-au-Prince to the hospital, said Jessica DuPlessis, an OCHA spokeswoman. Doctors at the hospital said they also needed more personnel to handle the flood of patients.

Elyneth Tranckil was among dozens of relatives standing outside the hospital gate as new patients arrived near death.

"Police have blocked the entry to the hospital, so I can't get in to see my wife," Tranckil said.

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince issued an advisory urging people to drink only bottled or boiled water and eat only food that has been thoroughly cooked.—AP


source: gmanews.tv