Haitian Immigrants At Risk In Delaware Poultry Industry

The Haitian immigrant community, the majority workforce in Delaware and Maryland’s poultry industry, has been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic amid an order by the US President to return to work in meatpacking plants essential workers. Coronavirus cases have recently spiked in the poultry farms and plants like Perdue’s, which employs many Haitians who can’t afford to miss work for fear of losing their jobs and a paycheck.

Among them is Tina, a 27-year-old mother works shifts at the Perdue packing plant in Georgetown, Delaware. She told AFP that she says a little prayer every time she heads to work at the Delaware poultry plant, but feels she has little choice but to clock in for her shifts, despite the risk to her and her family.

“I want to go home, I have three kids at home, a baby, but I can’t do that,” she told AFP, speaking behind a mask. “I have no choice; bills are coming from left to right.”

The number of coronavirus infections has recently soared in the Delmarva peninsula, which reaches south out of Delaware to eastern Maryland and the northeast of Virginia. Small Delaware towns – like Seaford and Georgetown – are now reporting some of the highest numbers of cases statewide, poising Sussex to push past more urban and populated New Castle County for the most confirmed cases. The Haitian community makes up about 8% of Seaford’s population.

The small town of Salisbury, the historic base of Perdue, is home to a community of some 5,000 Haitians, at least 40 percent of whom are infected, according to Habacuc Petion, the owner of Oasis radio, which broadcasts in Creole to an estimated 20,000 listeners in the Delmarva area. Many work for Perdue, and are refusing to stay home for fear of being sacked.

“Even if they have fever, they take a pill and go to work,” Petion told AFP.

Haitian-born nurse practitioner Emanie Dorival told AFP that back in April, a Haitian immigrant, who works in a chicken processing plant and lives in the Seaford area – had tested positive for the coronavirus, adding to the almost two dozen patients of those she has confirmed with the virus. She added that all of her COVID-19 positive patients work at a chicken processing plant.

“I am really worried,” Dorival, whose practice primarily serves the Haitian community in Seaford, was quoted as saying. “I am really worried for the Haitian and Hispanic community, and I don’t feel like there are protections in place.

“I am feeling helpless.”

Perdue Farms in a statement, meanwhile, said it remains “… focused on the health and safety of our associates, farmers, customers, consumers, communities, and business partners, as well as ensuring the continuity of our supply chain during the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

They added that they have “enacted numerous proactive measures to protect our associates during this uncharted time.” These, according to the company’s statement includes practicing social distancing not only in common areas, such as break rooms and cafeterias, but also on the production lines where possible and temperature checking at all production facilities.

Wyclef and other Haitian musicians unite against COVID-19 with virtual concert

Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.

Because this is a virtual event, artists will be performing from their home base, which in this case includes South Florida, New Jersey and Port-au-Prince. The line-up stars Grammy winner Wyclef Jean, along with konpa bands, Klass, NuLook and Harmonik. There’s also Belo, Darline Desca, Ram, Paul Beaubrun, Vayb and Buyu Ambroise Jazz ensemble. They represent racine, jazz, twoubadou, folk and other genres. 

Garry Pierre-Pierre, the publisher of the Haitian Times, said the cross-section of Haitian genre was intentionally chosen to highlight the country’s diversity, and unity. 

“This is as much a celebration of our culture as it is a fundraiser,” said Pierre-Pierre. “We want to share our culture at the same time we’re asking for help. Haiti’s culture is rich and diverse and I believe people will get a glimpse of that.”

The goal of the event, he said, is to raise money for those in the Haitian diaspora who have been hit hard by the pandemic, and for Haiti. Infections in the country are rapidly rising and are expected to peak either later this month or June. Public health experts are predicting as many as 432,000 infected Haitians will be in need of hospitalizations, which would surely collapse an already weak healthcare system. The number of deaths are expected to be in the tens of thousands.

Along with the musical performances, well-known Haitian-Americans and others will share encouraging words of hope during the livestream.

“We felt that it is important to do something like this,” said Dr. Jean Claude Compas, a retired family practice physician and AMHE member. “The models of COVID-19 that we’re looking at for Haiti are flashing red and if we don’t do something, it will make the devastation from the earthquake look small in terms of human lives lost.”

The concert will be hosted by Carel Pedre, a prominent Haiti media personality.

Organizers have set an ambitious goal of $500,000 to be donated to the Haiti Global Health Alliance, which has been tasked to lead the response to the pandemic in the country. The funds will be collected via a Gofundme page created by the Haitian Medical Association Abroad, a non-profit working in the U.S.

As region eases restrictions on fighting coronavirus, PAHO expresses concerns

Major U.S. cities are now the only ones in the region that are starting to open up. All across Latin America and the Caribbean this week, governments have started to ease restrictions and gradually reopen their economies.

But the Pan American Health Organization is continuing to issue warnings that the global pandemic, which has infected more than 1.4 million people and killed some 80,000 in the region, still has not peaked in many countries. 

“It has now been three months since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Americas,” Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of PAHO said at its weekly press briefing Tuesday. “Three months is a long time, and there is growing debate about when countries can start to reopen, when can they ease social distancing and resume regular activities.”

CRUISE LINES FINALLY REPATRIATING WORKERS STRANDED BY COVID-19. NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY

By Jacqueline Charles and Taylor Dolven 

May 12, 2020 07:10 PM

Crew stuck on cruise ships in Miami, some without pay

After cruise companies canceled all new cruises on March 13, most passengers got to go home, but many crew members, hoping to do the same, are still not allowed to get off the ships, even for a short break on dry land. By DAVID SANTIAGO | Al Diaz

After weeks of delayed efforts to repatriate crew members to their home countries amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, cruise companies are embarking on a Caribbean-wide tour to drop off stranded — and now unemployed — workers.

But not everyone is happy with the arrangements — or leaving it up to the cruise lines to determine if workers are infected.

The repatriation of 85 Haitian nationals to northern Haiti on Tuesday created consternation on social media, as the workers onboard Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Sea and Vision of the Seas ships were allowed to disembark in the port of Labadee and head home without the Haitian government’s required quarantine and COVID-19 testing.

Coronavirus: Madagascar President Rajoelina hits out at tonic 'detractors'

• 12 May 2020
• Share
• Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has said criticism of an untested herbal tonic that he is touting as a treatment for Covid-19 shows the West's condescending attitude towards Africa.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against using untested remedies.
• Mr Rajoelina's tonic has not gone through clinical trials.
• The African Union has also said it wanted to see the scientific data on the "safety and efficacy" of the product, known as Covid-Organics.
• "If it was a European country that had actually discovered this remedy, would there be so much doubt? I don't think so,"Mr Rajoelina said in an interview with French news channel, France 24..
• Madagascar has reported 193 Covid-19 cases and no deaths.
• The tonic was tried out on fewer than 20 people over three weeks, a presidential aide told the BBC, when the product was first launched last month - which is not in line with WHO guidelines on clinical trials.

Despite the reservations, several African countries, including Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia, have already ordered Covid-Organics, which is produced from the artemisia plant - the source of an ingredient used in a malaria treatment - and other Malagasy plants.

WHO has said Africans deserved access to medicines that have gone through proper trials even if they are derived from traditional treatments.

• BBC Africa Live: Updates from the continent
• How close to developing a vaccine are we?
• Coronavirus in Africa tracker 

In the television interview, Mr Rajoelina said "African scientists... should not be underestimated."

But there is no peer-reviewed data to show that Covid-Organics is effective.

A meeting of 70 experts on African traditional medicine has agreed that clinical trials for all medicines must be carried out, the WHO's Africa region has tweeted.