I was recently on vacation in Aruba, and a few days in my husband and I rented a Jeep to travel to the much-hyped Baby Beach on the other end of the island. Upon entering the area, I was completely taken back by the extraordinary eyesore that is the Valero oil refinery. Sitting as a callous backdrop to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world were stacks of furious fire and black smoke. I was so curious about the refinery and how the locals felt about it that I began asking around to gain some sort of consensus on the corporate presence. I, for one, found it offensive.

When we asked the locals around the beach about the refinery, one pointed to the dozen or so seemingly-homeless dogs running around on the beach. “Those dogs were abandoned by previous Valero employees. They just leave them here when they leave because they only come for a specified amount of time to work at the refinery.”

While that does not speak to Valero as a company and its impact on the economical and social issues of Aruba and its people, it did hit a nerve with me, and obviously did with some of the locals. I also found blaring irony in the Valero-sponsored garbage cans that dotted the beaches, urging tourists to “keep Aruba’s beaches clean.” This as the Valero smoke stacks littered the air.

When I returned home, I researched the refinery, sure there was some sort of story here. I discovered that when Valero acquired the refinery in 2004, it initiated all sorts of feel-good programs, including scholarship programs for students, skills training programs for local workers, and charity and volunteer committees aimed at improving the local community. I then came across a post on the subject from someone who seemed to be a previous employee:

“Valero has been absolutely awful for Aruba. All the previous oil companies that were there like Exxon, Coastal and El Paso invested in their workers and the community. But Valero measured every single dollar. Personally I have begged Valero many times to give me a scholarship and instead they gave scholarship to rich kids that were not even from Aruba. While we Aruban students here studying in the U.S. with plans to return to Aruba struggle to pay tuition and fees. We are very happy to see Petrobas come in and fill the huge gap left by Valero.”

Petrobas is the Brazilian state-run company that is set to purchase the Valero refinery. An anonymous source, presumably an employee, was quoted in a Caribbean Net News article saying “Whoever buys [Valero] is buying a lot of headaches.”

Besides being a tremendous eyesore, the Valero refinery’s existence seems slightly narcissistic, evidenced by the fact that its gung-ho idealisms and promises to improve the Aruban economics seem to have been completely abandoned shortly after their inception.

It is essentially the same old hegemonic concept the government never tires of: move in to a less fortunate, economically developed, or socially stable geographical area that is in some way beneficial to the invasive party and “spread democracy,” promising a better life, better access to needs, and educational, economical, and political opportunity. Too often these “programs” and initiatives are poorly thought-out, poorly executed attempts at distracting from the real reason for the presence.

Pictures to come

There’s talk that a new microbicide for HIV prevention is being developed.  The testing audience are developing countries. 

As usually researchers have found a few people that are immune to the current disease –HIV for this century-.  IRIN Plusnews reports that Canadian researchers have found proteins (i.e. dots on genes) in HIV immune female sex workers;  what this means is that there is an ability to extract, investigate and replicate genetic coding –DNA-, but someone has to be the guinea pig.  The problem with story is that (as paragraph six informs us) vaccine researchers have previously encountered setbacks; in September 2007 a major vaccine trail was halted because candidates of the trails “may have” incurred increased risk of being infected.  Why does one halt a trial, unless there is evidence to indicate that people ‘may have’ actually gotten the disease where they did not have the disease?

Why is it that we never see the advertisements to earn a few bucks to participate in HIV clinical trial vaccines –for non infected people- in the USA?  The vaccines aren’t only tested on the infected, but also those not infected.  I’ve seen the ads in the developing world, and it is very disturbing. 

Perhaps you have seen the Ads in the USA, but I’ve been working in and out of NY hospitals for 10 years and I haven’t seen them.  [‘Come lets us test HIV vaccines on you for a few hundred dollars…’.]  Why are developing countries always the guinea pigs?  In response, the justification that the rate of spread is higher is false, because the numbers are crunched in ratios of people and per square mile, so if a country has less people in numbers the rate of proliferation is vast.

Can you put your safety at risk for a few hundred US dollars.  American’s won’t rush to do it -being uninfected- so why expect any less from those overseas?

The argument from researchers is always the same… (page 2) “It is this type of basic research that will help us develop new tools to stop the spread of HIV”.  My response:  PREVENTION ALSO COMES TO MIND!!!

Stop versus prevent…which one holds better results…keep in mind viruses naturally replicate and develop unique strands when  you develop a vaccine.  They are what you call ‘assimilative’ and ‘adaptable’.

Surreal world analogy:  Think the Borg in Star Trek!!!

Original Article:  Sex workers offer hope for HIV prevention at http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80228

The effort of three House of Representatives members have not gone unnoticed; It’s time to pass THE RESOLUTION to cease China, Russia’s (and everyone else’s) arms sales to Sudan, but we need more supporting congress members.

This is where you take action! Call 202 225 5635 –representative Nadler- and ask to speak to the person who works on issues related to Darfur.

Tell them YOU WANT & NEED your congress man/woman to cosponsor Resolution 1462.

What you need to know:

Previous efforts to stop the influx of weapons of mass destruction via the Security

Council Arms Embargo was not successful…YOU CAN CHANGE THAT

People are being assaulted & murdered –locals and relief workers…. not just the locals!!!

-Darfur is only an area in Sudan…all of Sudan needs to be protected

War doesn’t affect only those living in the area…it’s a disease that spreads…WE TAKE ACTION to stop it or it eventually comes knocking at OUR DOORS.

Read more: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org

This is a commentary on the reports of the multitude of deaths from bottled milk in China.

A long time ago I read the reports on Brazilian children dieing after there was a push for baby formula because mother’s were too weak to breast feed. The problem with the push, was not that their was poison in the feed but that it was unaffordable. Today, more than 10 years later Western culture has managed to convince the world that ‘less breast is best’. For anyone with a medical sciences background, they quickly acknowledge the absurdity of moving away from breastfeeding to the bottle.

Children are sick and dieing because we’re ‘modernized’/'westernized’ -whatever you want to call it- in our eating and ‘feeding techniques’. We’ve moved away from maternal instincts and natural body productions that are designed to protect infants -though acceptance of natural defense factors called antibodies- to more commerical and ’sophisticated’ means of ‘nutrition’.

I won’t get into the different types of antibodies; what the reader who’s not medical oriented needs to know is that a baby is not born with natural defenses against antigens-foreign invaders-, but obtains the necessary protective factors from breast milk, which they will NEVER get from a bottle. In social sciences terms…babies get ground level support from the mother.

Rich Euro-Western society decided long ago that ’sophisticated’ bottle feeding is better, that only the ‘lower classes’ breast feed. Their convictions that have traveled through nations have continue to create a ripple effect in child heath and now we can add one more problem to the list. That said, 53,000 babies wouldn’t have been in danger of bottled milk poising if we weren’t so fixated on a ‘better body’ and ‘less breast is best’, ‘preserve the shape of your breast’ and trust technology over that which was created as a natural system that knows when to change according to an infants needs. A mother’s body & instincts knows what her child needs and puts itself into motion to provide those needs, whether or not the mother is aware or wants to. Don’t believe…watch the changes as she gets pregnant, and watch the changes as the baby reaches 6 months.

We’ve trusted infant health (internal) ‘ground level protection’ -breast milk natural growth factors- to machines and chemical engineers- a lot of whom probably don’t have any breasts (last line sheds a bit of humor on the situation). In the end ’sophistication’ has cost us more than 53,000 lives…I wonder what would have happened if mothers had stuck to proven method that have worked for centuries! If it’s not broke…don’t fix it!!!

WHO reports that there is a decrease in Malaria outbreaks and child mortality since 2001.  They credit the decrease to increase in Anti-malarial medicines, sprays and bed net usage.  They also acknowledge that more funds have been poured in to efforts to aid in reduction of efforts to cease child mortality; obviously more money does mean more aid. 

Since I’ve read the prior efforts, fieldwork on the limitations of community involvement from Anthropological Public Health perspectives (see Anthropology in Public Health), the miscommunication and limits in understanding and finances regarding the usage of bed nets per person versus per family, I have to ask the pertinent questions. 

Is the drastic reduction a result of more money given to the locals or NGOs enabling families to have a bed net for each person, or is there a better pricing for bed nets?  Is the drastic reduction a result of community involvement in ‘spreading the word’?  Is the drastic reduction a result of workers being paid more and working harder to ensure the gaps in communications are filled? 

Although multi-disciplinarians would say all of the above and it’s about collaboration, as much as I acknowledge the contributions and progress collaboration brings, you really have to wonder what is the main contributory factor in a rise from 3% to 23% in usage of anti-malarial drugs, and why there is still such a large gap reported – 125Million protected by bed nets in 2007, but 650 million at risk-.   You have to wonder why some countries report a 50% decrease and others only 23% if the same efforts are being implemented by the WHO. 

 
There is clearly something changing in the field of communication because I see a change in numbers indicating access and usage.  The report says increase in ‘procurement’ of reducing factors, but if it was about procurement and not usage, the rates of infection would still be high.  What good are drugs if they are not used in prevention…holding them in your hands isn’t going to keep the mosquitoes away…procurement without usage is limiting, thus something in the communication field changed.  I want to know what it is!!!

 Source of information and statistics: http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/

Despite economic hardships and temporary set backs a subsistence farmer –, Makoanyane Letsoara of Ha Tsui- continues to realize and inform readers that, support, collaboration, and discourse in solutions, is beneficial to everyone;  not much progress can be made without supporting the needs of others.  After a hard year in which micro-enterprise efforts were destroyed by sickness and there were no open markets for Apples -secondary forms of micro-enterprising-, this community supporter and local farmer informs reporters that he continues to remain optimistic , but believes that collaboration and networking is needed for new ideas & solutions to avoid continued pitfalls.

Extraction:  “It has been a difficult year. We did not produce enough maize, but I planted all my seeds because I did not want to restrict my ability to help others in the village. The bigger harvest I will have will help me help others… I tried to sell apples, but there are no outlets for us. We need someone to help us market our produce… it is good to talk and find solutions. We learn from each other.”

Bottom line:  It’s time for greater support and collaboration.  You’ve heard it not from an organization, but from the person living in reality.  Who knows what he needs, better than the man who’s problem you are trying to solve.

Original Source: Makoanyane Letsoara: “I want to be able to help others who don’t have food.” IN Irinnews, Thursday 18^th, September 2008

http://www.irinnews.org/HOVReport.aspx?ReportId=80446

PlusNews has few articles on the Caribbean and HIV, so although the article I am choosing to comment on is a bit old, the problems and cross-cultural dialogue it speaks on is very current, and thus I’ve chosen to reflect and comment upon it.

The article reports that going to a specific ‘cultural’ healer ‘may be’ dangerous and contributing to the spread of HIV among Haitians. It also informs us that this is a practice replicated in parts of Thailand and Uganda. It may not be in the form of an injection, but lay shamans/quacks/local healers exists in most parts of the ‘non-euro American’ world. Maybe it exits in some European cultures, but since I haven’t studied that, I leave that for those who do know about it, to comment on it.

At the end of the article I am left with the desire to know, are Haitians really at risk for HIV at any higher levels because of the ‘picuristes’ or ‘injectionists’ - a specific type of localized ‘healer’- in comparison to any other users of local healers or fans of ‘injection based ‘cure’ ’, or is the “maybe” just attempted fabrication of contextualized stories and inferences to discredit what Westerners are unaccustomed to?

Every culture in the world has rituals and folk remedies, but when ‘poorer’ countries practice them we- westerners- investigate it and try to link it to some health risk or say it’s ‘uneducated ways’. I’m not discrediting the research, or saying that there isn’t a health risk; there may be correlation and a hidden connection between localized spreading, economics and cultural practices.

What I’m saying is that in order to ‘cure’ –ailments and thoughts- Westerners seek to reclassify issues/identities into their boxes and change behavioural patterns instead of seeing how they can merge their understanding and better proven medical practices, with traditional practices and understanding. It would be almost a cross-cultural dictionary in communications for the same illnesses (in different terms) with all healthy proven remedies that have long term solutions.

This is key, because as Rahill –the researcher- notes, the reclassification attempts (of those outside US boxes into the US ideologies/boxes) has resulted in Haitians being placed under Africa-American labels, which means that the subculture isn’t being investigated and targeted directly.

Seeing the subgroup as practicing the same medical psycho-social patterns as African-Americans leads to gaps and limitations in interventions.

Bottom line! Language is a lot of who we are, discrediting that part of our identities to blend colour boxes as a form of identity (much like the US has already done) doesn’t change the subject’s reality, ONLY YOURS! It’s like when colonialist moved the boarders of tribes in Africa to make partitions for ‘new countries’, and tried to blend tribes without asking them. The people’s identity weren’t changed because the colonialists views changed, the actions simply caused a war, and gaps in understanding were further perpetuated; now it’s just medical knowledge and preventative efforts.

In the end, whether second or fourth generation, the Haitians in Rahill’s studies noted that understanding the local healers words and description of illness offered greater comfort and psychological healing (affecting the body) than going to a Western doctor/nurse. It didn’t matter who spoke English, French, Creole, it was the usage of words that we identify with, the contextualization and connection between ideas and identities.

Original Article: (Source) PlusNews, Haiti: high risk and underground

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79128

The article says YEMEN is building HIV/AIDS response capacity!  A reporter writes that the association is the only local association in Yemen that is fully dedicated to deal with HIV/AIDS issues, with a program costing 10.6 million USD.  It is also reported that there were only 2,431 registered cases of HIV/AIDS in Yemen, but then I wonder how many people really have HIV. 

 If the numbers are that low in reality, and there wasn’t cause to believe that the growth rate was exponential, why would you spend $10.6 million USD on health education dedicated to raising awareness, understanding and positive social response.

 I also have to ask, how many people are involved at the ground level in this program designed to create changes, with such an enormous economic investment, which is undoubtedly aimed also at long term prevention?

Why did on-lookers take so long to decide a communications program was needed?

Who is reporting on these people’s living experiences to create awareness, and thus create desire to participate in mobilization efforts and increase awareness of cause-effect relationships?

 In the end, the lack of reporting slows community knowledge, thus affecting advocacy and mobilization efforts.  The result is this low recorded numbers, which may or may not reflect the truth.  This is important because if there is no ground level advocacy the multi million dollar communication efforts are in vain.  If you decide to read the article you will notice it says ‘registered cases of HIV/AIDS in Yemen’; that does not necessarily equal the reality of existing cases. 

 Without ground level advocacy and mobilization, resulting from awareness and reporting of people’s living experiences to allow for support, formation of common identity, understanding and diminishment of some fears, those numbers of ‘reported/registered’ HIV cases will continue to be low, testing will continue to be low, and thus preventative efforts will be limited in success. So again I ask, who is reporting?  Where are the anthropologists, sociologist, journalists and media gurus on this project who are dedicated to recording living ‘truths’ as they occur. 

Original Article:  http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80377

It’s a disgrace when a mother has to watch her children die of something preventable.

IRINNEWS reports on the living experiences of a mother (in Somalia) who, in search of a better life, pulls her family out of a war zone only to have them claimed by death (a shorter time later) through lack of food and sitting in the open rain storms for ‘over 18 hours’.

Why is it that the world is not short of economic assets, financial funds, wood and ‘man power’, yet many like this woman have to eat wild shrubs in hopes of stopping hunger for 1 day, and many have no shelter to cover them from the storms. A wooden shelter and a meal is all she, like many seek, yet despite the search, in many places this cannot be found.

How much –time or money- does a shelter of wood cost (literally) that it could not be built to secure the safety of living beings from death by Mother Nature? Is the life of someone worth less than the thirty minutes it takes to build a shed?

To have your children survive a war zone, but die because there was/is ‘no room in the inn’ (allegorically speaking) during the rain storms… what is humanity’s justification?

A mother raises a child, then buries that which she pours her hopes, dreams, and trials into. She hopes to see a better future for her children than she received for herself…she knocks on the door of hope and pleads to humanity and no one lets her in. She hushes her children in her arms and says that things will get better after the storm, and so they sleep during the storm, but two of them NEVER WAKE UP; they will never get to see the sun (literally and metaphorically).

Original Source: Http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80393

Monday September 8^th, IRIN news reporter asked ‘how heavy is human trafficking?’, but the answer is not what is important. 

In paragraph two the writer reports that “ ‘trafficking is worth between US $7 billion and $12 billion dollars annually, making it the third most lucrative criminal activity after the narcotics and weapons trades…(yet) penalties for human trafficking in most countries are less severe, or non-existent’” . This serves to inform global readers that societies continue to value money more than people.  Humans are ready to sentence a man for 3-5 years for selling cocaine to someone who chooses to engage in hazardous behaviour to their own health and livelihood, but we fail to forcefully seek after prosecution for people who violate the bodies, minds and freedom of others for money (among other things), in the ‘developing world’.

Why are we only concerned when industrialized nations exhibit the above behaviour, or when people die internationally and locally?  A death is a sad thing, but the dead don’t feel pain like the living, so why are we so removed from addressing and seeking justice for ‘living issues’ outside of our immediate vision and affected spheres? 

Is it another episode of ‘I think therefore I am’, known also as…my reality is what I make it,

I –people- choose not to acknowledge the loss of dignity since there is no financial impact on “my sphere”?  Of course I’m not speaking about myself, but generally in regards to self identity and mass identity.  It leaves me to ask, how healthy is our construction of our own narrow spheres, to the well-being of others and how significant do we view others in relation to ourselves?

ISSUE 2

As we continue down the article, the fifth paragraph informs readers that “ ‘South Africa is commonly regarded as the main country of destination for trafficked persons in the region…women and children lured in search of jobs, education and marriage…’ ”  That statement speaks to the continued social expectations placed on women (i.e. “do what you have to do to get married!”… “marriage equals wholeness for a woman!”), and the economic constraints which continue to limit self and community development, leading men and women to explore ‘forbidden’ territories and endanger their welfare.  If there were existing economic opportunities men, women and children would not continue to migrate in search of domestic labour, farming, and other (non institutionally oriented) forms of economic ventures to provide family support.  So where’s the program for solution to the identity issues entwined with agricultural and economic issues?

The statement must be discussed because it is hidden with key facts.  It speaks to pressure a woman faces and the risk she takes to ensure that her ‘duties’ are fulfilled…. “first comes work, then comes marriage, then comes self sacrifice and the baby carriage.  O Wait…perhaps the order is reversed.”  Enough with the cynicism, I have no issue with choices of children, marriage, work or such endeavours.  My point is that the economic and continued social expectations placed on women continue to put them at risk for assault, trafficking, and challenges that diminish their capacity to live an equal life to their counterpart.  My point is also that such expectations continue to limit self development and community development; the expectation, needs and hopes continues to force migration and IF a survivor (of trafficking) returns, who is to say the community welcomes that which they do not want to address –violation of the body, human rights, rape of someone’s wife etc. 

I’m not creating suppositions I’m stating a fact, that in many places in the world, we –people- do not welcome “inside-outsiders” who have broken social expectations, whether it be by choice, or by force.     

ISSUE 3

If you think my thoughts are bold, imagine reading paragraph eight which states “Blackman told the workshop that three elements had to be present for the activity to be defined as human trafficking: recruitment, deception, and exploitation….(yet) the Palermo Protocol defines trafficking in detail. The question is not who is Blackman, the question is then is it being boldly stated that if someone is kidnapped off the street and sold it ceases to be trafficking, because there is no recruitment?  Are we limiting the ability to prosecute by changing the boxes, or are we limiting people’s response by changing their understanding of the boxes?

ISSUE 4

Wait, the best part has yet to be read, paragraph eleven states that “ ‘in the late 1980’s the rise of HIV/AIDS and activities such as sex tourism brought the trade (trafficking) under scrutiny’”.  As we can infer from such a statement, it takes a pandemic that affects everyone regardless of race, culture, age, sex and gender, for human rights specifically affecting women for it be addressed as a major issue.   It’s not as if trafficking didn’t exist before the pandemic (nor is it as if men weren’t affected by trafficking)!  This is just another illustration of where research and investigative efforts (in things related to health) continue to focus on things that affect the upper ‘echelon’…I don’t think I need to say anymore. 

Original Article:  IRIN Plusnews; South Africa: How heavy is human trafficking?  Monday 08, September 2008, ReportID=80229