Haitian anger - rage after U-17 football team sent home

[Shola]

Baugh admits Haitian situation could have been handled differently
BY COREY ROBINSON Observer staff reporter robinsonc@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, February 21, 2011


THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs will today meet with Haitian officials in an effort to soothe growing anger over complaints that members of the French-speaking Caribbean country’s Under-17 football team were ill-treated after local doctors found that several of them had malaria during the early stages of the CONCACAF championships now on in Montego Bay.
The meeting comes as an Internet petition condemning the incident and calling for a boycott of Jamaica gains momentum.

“Haiti has arranged for three officials who are involved to come to Jamaica to meet with us; myself and Minister (Olivia) Grange,” Dr Kenneth Baugh, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, told the Observer yesterday. “The minister of foreign affairs in Haiti is aware of the team [of persons coming]; she and I have had discussions twice, and she has approved the visit. We are anxious to see what the results are going to be.”
According to an Observer source, fears about a potential cholera outbreak escalated after several of the Haitian players, who arrived in Jamaica earlier this month to compete in the tournament, fell ill. Others had symptoms including fever and headaches. Eight of the players were tested and three were found to have malaria. They were slated to be admitted at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, but there were no beds there, the source said.


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1EauvnGDI

[Mosiah]

Major international blunder again! (Remember the shooting of Honduran fishermen?)

Why is Jamaica acting like Malaria is smallpox or something? Didn't we recently have some cases ourselves recently?!?

I am no doctor, but from what I know, malaria is not contagious. Only a mosquito can give you the virus. I am a survivor myself! Look how well I turned out!

The way I see it, Haiti should have been given the option to pull out of the tournament if that is what they wanted. They should not have been booted from it. If they brought the malaria mosquito in their suitcases to Jamaica, well, they are already here.

We need to stop treating our Caribbean brothers and sisters, particularly those from Haiti, so scornfully. Wi nuh bettah dan dem! And den wi tun round and cuss T&T when dem behave chupid. Wi chupid tuh!

[Farmah]

It was handled very badly, to say the least! If the ministry of health were so concerned with the problem they could've sent home the three players and allowed the rest of the team to continue on.

This boils down to how some of us view the Haitians and the complexes harboured. I constantly hear Jamaicans in South Florida saying "mi nuh eat Haitian food," or "yuh nah ketch mi eat that." Yet, the same people can be seen regularly nyamming up Chinese food. Seeetdeh! Them will nyam up di Chineyman food but will not eat the food prepared by their own Black brother! Go figure.

The Ministry of Health and the JFF need to tender a formal letter of apology to the Hatians for the matter was handled, and promise that any such affair in the future will be dealt with just as how they would've handled a team from Europe etc. Respect due!

[Time]

It was handled very badly, to say the least! If the ministry of health were so concerned with the problem they could've sent home the three players and allowed the rest of the team to continue on.

This boils down to how some of us view the Haitians and the complexes harboured. I constantly hear Jamaicans in South Florida saying "mi nuh eat Haitian food," or "yuh nah ketch mi eat that." Yet, the same people can be seen regularly nyamming up Chinese food. Seeetdeh! Them will nyam up di Chineyman food but will not eat the food prepared by their own Black brother! Go figure.

The Ministry of Health and the JFF need to tender a formal letter of apology to the Hatians for the matter was handled, and promise that any such affair in the future will be dealt with just as how they would've handled a team from Europe etc. Respect due!

We and the Haitians are best friends. We help to start their revolution and we were there first after the earthquake. The real issue is that we treat Malaria as a big deal and they dont, That is why the Haitian coach could not understand how Jamaica was dealing with his team.

With benefit of hindsight all they had to do was to get the Jamaican team doctor to rewrite the three prescriptions that the haitians took with them and put those three players in insolation.

[Mosiah]

We and the Haitians are best friends. We help to start their revolution and we were there first after the earthquake. The real issue is that we treat Malaria as a big deal and they dont, That is why the Haitian coach could not understand how Jamaica was dealing with his team.

With benefit of hindsight all they had to do was to get the Jamaican team doctor to rewrite the three prescriptions that the haitians took with them and put those three players in insolation.

From this layman's point of view, malaria is not the plague. Yes, it can kill you, but so can the common cold!

Why would we want to isolate them, Time? Farmah, help us here. How is isolation going to protect or harm anyone? Is the malaria-infected mosquito still attached to their person?!? The common cold demands isolation, not malaria victims!

I took the time to google the issue before I spread all sorts of wrong info on the forum. And here is what I found:

Do infected people need to be isolated?

Isolation is not necessary with patients with malaria and they do not need to be excluded from either work or school, as the disease is not contagious. If you do have a history of malaria you should not donate blood or organs.

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/malaria.htm

I didn't go to medical school, yet our learned doctors acted the fool! Our govt. and CONCACAF should apologise to them, at the very least!

[Muadib]

what about Cholera ?

How dat one guh ?

[Mosiah]

what about it?

what about swine flu?

[Muadib]

Dem nevah mention Swine Flu innah di article..

Yuh read di article ?

[Time]

Mosiah, mi nu know, mi nuh doctor. I so Jamaica deal with the thing. What if the insect bite the infected party, can it start to spread that way?

Let me qoute Dr Baugh;

“There is a difference between how I perceive the Haitians deal with malaria and how we deal with it,” he added. “A case of malaria in Jamaica is actively dealt with, meaning that the person is admitted in hospital, treated, and then tested to make sure he is free before he is allowed to go back home. In Haiti, apparently they give them three days’ treatment, they are ambulatory sometimes, and then they are followed up in that respect. It is a matter of the process and the process can be frustrating at times

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1Ebx4C14s

cho, a just a little misunderstaning between two best friends. We dont need to go to war over it.

[Muadib]

Dem vex seh dem side 'disqualify'...

Facts are not relevant at this point..

[Sickko]

I agree that they should have been sent home maybe not the way they were but it would risk the others teams here plus the staff and guests at the five star all inclusive hotel they stayed at.

As you said it can only be spread if a mosquito bite them then bite the other person, you dont see any risk of that happening?

I recall in 2003 when I returned from a mission trip to Nicaragua and showed some symptoms and after seeing four doctors in one day from my personal physician, to one at type five to two at CRH and late that night they took a decision to quarantine me as we had no cases of malaria then.

Thank God the blood test showed I had Dengue fever and was released.

[Sickko]

I agree that they should have been sent home maybe not the way they were but it would risk the others teams here plus the staff and guests at the five star all inclusive hotel they stayed at.

As you said it can only be spread if a mosquito bite them then bite the other person, you dont see any risk of that happening?

I recall in 2003 when I returned from a mission trip to Nicaragua and showed some symptoms and after seeing four doctors in one day from my personal physician, to one at type five to two at CRH and late that night they took a decision to quarantine me as we had no cases of malaria then.

Thank God the blood test showed I had Dengue fever and was released.

[Jawge]

Mo I could have posted this many days ago (as I was confronted about it by a Haitian coworker). I ended up having to defend the govt.'s decison based on the fact that this happen in Mobay (a place with a high concentration of tourists). In the tourist game it's not the facts, it's about rumours spreading the way wild fire would. Just imagine if the word went out that there's an outbreak of Malaria in Mobay (the bee line and chaos at snagsters plus Cnn) Come on Mo, do better.

[Don1]

Mi hear Termite cyan gi yuh malaria tuh... nuff ah dem deh bout

[Jawge]

Granted the handcuffing of the coach wasn't necessary. The whole thing was handled poorly but I support the decision.