Needless Deaths in the Andes
A front-page article in Sunday’s El Comercio exposed the criminal indifference of local and state governments to the deaths of children in the Andes.
- Some Peruvians are outraged at the country’s indifference to the preventable deaths of children in the Andes, as this widely circulated cartoon shows. Others shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s Peru.”
This year alone, 144 children under age 5 have died of respiratory disease brought on extreme cold in the high sierra, reported El Comercio. Thirty-five of the young victims were from Puno, where temperatures plummeted to -15 degrees C in the last 21 days. (Note that temperature extremes — winter getting colder, summer getting hotter and drier — are an expression of climate change, says Peru glacier expert Cesar Portocarrera.)
It’s not like these extreme temperatures were unforseeable, however. Mortally dangerous cold fronts have been sweeping through the puna for years. In fact, the government of Puno was allotted 24 million soles to combat the problem in 2009.
Guess how much of that money was spent on mitigation and distribution of food, blankets, clothing and anti-pneumonia treatments?
A paltry 3.3 percent. Puno is just sitting on the rest of the money.
Special correspondent Vanessa Romo Espinoza exposes the criminal indifference of local bureaucrats, who each year neglect to draw up a plan to bring aid to those suffering in the highest regions. Poor people whose children are dying of pneumonia struggle to pay out of their own pockets for medicine and respiratory masks — items for which the local government has already received funding. Hospitals are open to receive patients but are so under-staffed they cannot provide good care.
And the babies and toddlers keep dying in the sierra, where 40,000 cases of respiratory infection have been registered in Puno in the first three months of 2009.
How do Peruvian readers in the capital respond to the tragedy? Most people I ask shake their heads and sigh, “Corruption. That is Peru’s problem.”
There’s nothing to be done, their attitude suggests. Peru will never change.
Not all Peruvians agree, however. El Fotografo — a native Peruvian who lived 27 years in the United States and was a professional disaster specialist for the Red Cross — can barely swallow his anger at the senseless deaths, many of which could be prevented with advance planning. Long-term mitigation is needed, he insists.
Other Peruvians are raising their voices in outrage, at least online.
Meanwhile, it is winter in the Andes and kids are dying and I’m sure that many people reading this article want to help. So here are a few short-term ways that you can make a difference:
* Drop off clothing and blankets at the main square in Barranco;
* Donate blanket and clothing to the Union Church of Lima (1155 Angamos Oeste, Miraflores), which is conducting a drive especially for the Puno victims.
* The Catholic charity Caritas has finally jumped into the game and is accepting clothing, food and cash donations. Here’s information (in Spanish) from a June 1 article in El Comercio about the campaing “Bringing Warmth to Puno”:
Para llevar adelante esta iniciativa se pide a apoyo con frazadas y ropa de invierno nuevas o en buen estado, y alimentos no perecibles como cereales, menestras, azúcar, aceite, atún, entre otros productos.
Se solicita, además, ayuda económica para realizar campañas de salud, atención a enfermos en comunidades rurales alejadas, mejorar viviendas contra el frío, recuperar cultivos y medios de vida.
La ayuda humanitaria podrá ser llevada a partir de hoy al almacén de Cáritas del Perú (calle Omicrón 492, Parque de la Industria y Comercio del Callao), a Cáritas Ayaviri (jirón Tacna 147), Cáritas Juli (avenida San Pablo 187, Chucuito) y Cáritas Puno (Edificio San Martin, jirón Ciudad de la Paz 145, Puno, y avenida Rosa Merino s/n, Juliaca).
Mientras que las donaciones económicas pueden efectuarse en el Banco de Crédito (cuenta en soles: 193-1807864-0-51), (cuenta en dólares: 193-1807514-1-26).
En el BBVA Banco Continental la cuenta en soles: 0011-0444444444444444 y la cuenta en dólares: 0011-0444444444444446, y a través de Scotiabank la cuenta en soles: 9999930 y la cuenta en dólares: 6666670.
It’s not much, but it’s a start.
Barbara
I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.
9 Comments
Peruanista
Barb, as your husband must be aware, donations in Peru usually end up in the wrong hands. While I am glad to see bloggers in Lima that care about the Andean children, I find it contradictory when they try to help our Indigenous peoples of the highlands but they remain silent on what is happening with the Amazonian peoples and their struggle against free trade policies.
Sometimes I read Lima blogs and I find very few exceptions of independence and honesty when it comes to Peru’s social issues. Now I see information on bank accounts and donations centers posted online. We should take the 2007 earthquake experience to know that some of those donations WILL NOT reach the Andes.
What I believe must be done, is to demand the governments of Lima and Puno to send immediate emergency resources including hospitals and heating systems to the area, by helicopters or any other way. Peruvians should demand a reform in the way economic resources are distributed in Peru, with more investment in social infrastructure.
Donations and internet campaigns can only do so little when the big guys feel they can do whatever they want, in a country that exports annually $37 billion dollars in natural resources mostly from the Andes and the Amazon forest, you have to realize there is a racist policy on taking that richness away from those regions and ****ing forget about the people that live there. An internet campaign to donate sweaters and money won’t change that.
Barb
You’re right that an Internet campaign to send material goods won’t change the corruption, but as I said, it’s a start.
Your idea of the people demanding that emergency resources be sent in by helicopter is a good one.
Have you heard of any groups pressuring for more immediate and serious aid? Post a response here so people can read where to help or protest. I will be in the puna this week so I can’t post here much but if you hear of something that people can do to take direct action, I would appreciate your sharing that.
Barb
About donating money to the bank accounts: It is a judgement call as to whether your money (or most of it) will reach the needy. Caritas is a legitimate charity in Peru and does good around the country, but I don’t know what percentage of donations goes to the cause vs their overhead. I have not heard of outright stealing of donated dollars, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.
I do know a pastor at Union Church, who is a sincere and hardworking man. When he collects blankets and coats, they will go to the needy.
Ward Welvaert
You can’t just blame governments, incompetent and corrupt as they may be. The local and national government of Peru are to a degree representative of the people.
I don’t think government will change Peru. The middle class should, business leaders, religious leaders, union representatives, students, etc. etc. etc. Again, I don’t mean to generalize, but the apathy here can be mindboggling.
Ward Welvaert
Just to add to my last comment, some of the problems that contribute to the death of these kids are easy to fix:
* Lack of doctors? Let the academic bureaucrats lower the requirements to get into med school at UNSAAC.
* Lack of nurses? Pay them more than S/.800 (~ $270) per month.
* Lack of blankets? Gimmie a break. Lousy building standards and poor people who work outside (with their babies in tow) is more like it.
As for the medical establishment, if you go to Clinica Pardo (a private clinic) in Cusco, as a gringo, the first thing they ask you (grinning) is whether you have US health insurance… Poor people go to the back of the line.
etc. etc. etc.
A lot could be done to fix these kinds of problems, and it isn’t just the government bureaucrats who are responsible.
Enough with my soapbox now…
Barb
Ranting is fine, Ward. Those of us who love Peru get so frustrated. The solution needs to be shared by both the government and by the middle/upper class.
In all this, I keep thinking, ‘What would I want people to do if I were a mom in the puna with a kid dying of pneumonia?’ I would want people to bring aid immediately, whoever or whatever group/person/interest they represented. Understanding and fixing the root causes of the problems is critical but what these poor people need now are immediate (short-term) solutions until the bigger problems are solved.
I don’t think it’s a waste of time giving people blankets and food. The people I know around Ausangate are frickin’ hungry all the time and their kids don’t have warm jackets and solid shoes. That stuff can really help them.
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Peruanista
Barb, those in Peru who want to keep things the way they are – they accuse community leaders as terrorists, or Indigenous movements as ‘racist separatists’ and they are the last ones to share a cent for the needy. Most of the rich in Peru KNOW well of the poverty and suffering of the Andean people but they don’t give a thing for the indios, unless they want to use their tragedy for some fund raising. You are aware of this with Pisco.
Costs of sending huge donations of shoes, blankets and sweaters to highland towns are contra productive. The journalists that went to video record the deaths of children should have brief the government in Lima and Puno on what to do next. The government of Peru should send help through its military engineering squads.
I encourage everyone who can to help the needy in Peru, DO IT. But beware and research before you donate to government agencies. Meanwhile, I am suggesting in my blog to take a more urgent step which is to push for a political change, regardless of what party is in charge. Peru needs a change.
Patricia
Hi , I trully appreciate your concern about our poor people at the Andes. I personality have been to Puno a few times and I felt very sorry for all of them , more now that I live in Missouri. The wheather here is also bad in the winter time but we have a good heater systen everywhere.
I am ready to work for any organization or as we call ONGS, getting the help for those sweetheart that need of our charity asap.