Haiti Photos Provide Shocking Glimpse Into Suffering
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The death toll from Haiti's cholera epidemic rose above 1000 this week with no signs of abatement. Now, haunting images of the suffering the nation is enduring have also been released. In the photograph below, a woman and a man collapse nude on the street as passersby continue walking.
The cholera epidemic has led to deadly protests against the U.N. after fears arose that relief workers were spreading the disease, which the U.N. denies. According to the A.P.:
The U.N. denies responsibility, and a mission spokesman said the protests were politically motivated. Haiti's national elections are scheduled for Nov. 28.Cholera is transmitted by feces and can be all but prevented if people have access to safe drinking water and regularly wash their hands.
But sanitary conditions don't exist in much of Haiti, and the disease has spread across the countryside and to nearly all the country's major population centers, including the capital, Port-au-Prince. There are concerns it could eventually sicken hundreds of thousands of people.
Haiti's presidential elections are scheduled for this month, but are not expected to have much impact on the nation's ongoing crisis, says the Telegraph. While current President Rene Preval, who is prevented from running, was considered ineffectual in the aftermath of the earthquake, the crop of contenders does not hold much promise. As the Telegraph notes:
Those jockeying to succeed him are from the political elite that has pushed the country to its knees. One measure of their standing is the widespread regret within Haiti and beyond that the rapper Wyclef Jean was barred from standing by resident rules.
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First Posted: 11/18/10 01:28 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:15 PM ET