Our blue helmets in Haiti

It is unfortunate that Nepali peacekeepers – who are part of a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSTAH) based in Haiti to help rebuild the country following a devastating earthquake in January that claimed over 250,000 lives – were targeted by local protestors blaming them for a cholera epidemic that has already claimed over 1,000 lives and sickened about 15,000. What is really disheartening is that that the Nepali blue helmets became the target of the rioting locals despite a clean-chit by the United Nations that our peacekeepers were not responsible for introducing the South Asian strain of cholera to Haiti as was earlier suspected.



Cholera has not been seen in the Caribbean nation in the last 100 years and we would have had some basis to understand the frustration of the Haitians, reeling under the after effects of the January earthquake, if the latest riots were not politically-motivated. But analysts suspect that the rioting groups were instigated by political forces that are bent on stirring unrest ahead of the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for Nov 28. The Haitian government must ensure that our mission, which is there for such a noble cause, is not made a soft target for political reasons. While we understand the limitations of the government of the Western hemisphere’s poorest state, we urge it to do all it can to give special protection to our blue helmets considering that they are being specifically targeted.



That said, we are confident of our mission’s ability to defend itself. Nepali peacekeepers have earned name and fame around the world for their bravery, commitment and resoluteness (see today’s main article Success of Nepali Peacekeepers) and we are confident that these qualities will help them come out unscathed in Haiti too.



The least the Haitian government can do is to first help the locals (besides the politically-motivated rioters who definitely give a hoot to any rhyme or reason) to do away with the misconception that it was the Nepalis who brought cholera to their country. Besides, it must make them understand that the peacekeeping missions from around the world, including the Nepali mission, are there to help them rebuild their nation as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, we hope and are confident that the 1,000-strong army of Nepali peacekeepers in Haiti will be unfazed by the latest attacks and keep on selflessly providing their invaluable services to the Haitians that will help them to seamlessly hold the upcoming elections and rebuild the country at the earliest.

Related story

Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000