------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
Symbol of Vieques struggle 5-YEAR-OLD MILIVY DIES FAR FROM HOME By Berta Joubert-Ceci Philadelphia After battling cancer most of her short life, 5-year-old Milivy Adams Calderon died in Philadelphia Children's Hospital Nov. 17. She was far from her home in Vieques, Puerto Rico, where people young and old were mourning the little girl who has become a symbol of victims of U.S. military aggression. During her first years of life, Milivy underwent two bone marrow transplants and intense chemotherapy treatments. In her last week, doctors concluded her tiny body could not stand any more treatments. When she left Vieques to receive medical treatment in Philadelphia, activists established a peace encampment in front of the entrance of the Garcia base, the site of military exercises in Vieques. This encampment's activities are directed toward children; people collected funds to send Milivy's family to cover medical expenses. One of these fundraising activities was the Penny Campaign. The people from Vieques, where there is 50-percent unemployment, have few material resources. But everyone had the opportunity to contribute toward Milivy's treatment. The whole of Vieques and Puerto Rico felt like they were part of her support system. The suffering of this little girl and her family is the suffering of the residents of Vieques living under the constant threat of U.S. military bombing exercises. In a message from the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, spokesperson Ismael Guadalupe says: "Milivy became a symbol in the Vieques struggle. We have seen this demonstrated during these days of suffering when people have energetically expressed their rejection of the U. S. Navy on Vieques. "The people are convinced that the environmental contamination created by the U.S. Navy is responsible for the high incidence of cancer and the high death rate. Both have been especially highlighted in this moment of pain and loss caused by Milivy's death. She is the girl symbol of Vieques. "Today we feel a heightened obligation to carry out the demands of our people in their struggle against the U.S. Navy. Today we understand with much more clarity the urgency for the clean-up. Not only a toxic and military waste clean- up of the Vieques firing zone, but of the whole island. "Milivy, like many who have died of cancer in Vieques, never visited the firing zone. Never touched the land on the eastern tip of Vieques. Never worked with the heavy metals that are now abundant in that area. "Only the food chain, the predominantly east-to-west movement of the air that takes the contaminated particles into civilian areas, can account for the fact that our backyards are now contaminated. It is this contamination that has affected the health of our people. "Milivy's death sends a clear message, and that is to stop the deaths caused by this contamination. "Milivy's death leads us to reflect on our own future. We must not allow the Navy to leave Vieques without first cleaning up the lands it has contaminated. "Milivy has not died today, she continues to live in our hearts as the example of our unequal struggle, like David and Goliath, against the U.S. Navy. We must remember that others could die if we do not demand from those who have contaminated our soil to clean it up. "Our slogan should be: 'Clean up and leave!'" said Guadalupe. The cancer rate in Vieques is 27 percent higher than in the rest of Puerto Rico. Rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and many other major illnesses are also higher. It has been shown that the loud noise of the bombings causes a cardiovascular illness called "Vibroacoustic Disease." In a comparative study, performed under strict scientific guidelines by the Ponce Medical School on 53 fishers from Vieques and 42 fishers from Ponce, it was found that 79 percent of the Viequenses had thickened pericardium, the membrane that covers the heart, and 75 percent had a wider aortic valve. These are indicators of future heart ailments. However, the U.S. government and the Navy refuse to validate these findings or take any responsibility. In fact, the United States has only responded with lies, contempt and more threats of bombing. Many health studies are being conducted in Puerto Rico and in the United States about the effect of the bombings on the islanders' health. The military practices were supposed to temporarily stop until all results were evaluated. In order to go around this study's results, the Navy paid John Hopkins University Hospital $46,000 to evaluate not the study by the Ponce school, but of data provided by the U.S. Navy itself. As a consequence, John Hopkins officials stated that there is no health danger from the bombings. The U.S. Navy used this statement to justify restarting bombing practice. Milivy's death comes at a crucial time in the struggle against the Navy's presence in Vieques. In October the U.S. Department of Defense admitted that it had conducted chemical and biological warfare in Vieques, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Canada, the Marshall Islands and Britain. The chemical trioctyl phosphate was sprayed on troops at the firing range in Vieques in May 1969. The CRDV says that this substance could damage skin, eyes and respiratory system, and is known to cause cancer in animals. The CRDV has demanded from the United States, under the Freedom of Information Act, a full disclosure of the use in Vieques of chemical weapons and an immediate cessation of bombing. n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
