democracynow--2020-04-15--"I Want an Apology": Black Doctor Who Tests Homeless for Coronavirus Handcuffed by Miami Police

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
We ’ re broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic , New York City , but we ’ re going to end today ’ s show in Florida , where the Miami Police Department is under fire after a video surfaced of an officer handcuffing and detaining an African-American doctor outside his home on Friday .
The man , Armen Henderson , was wearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shift helping protect homeless people from the spread of COVID-19 , when a patrol car pulled up to his home .
Surveillance video from Dr. Henderson ’ s house shows him loading a van with supplies before the encounter .
Dr. Henderson says the police officer handcuffed him after accusing him of littering , and then asking for identification , which Henderson did not have on him .
The officer was not wearing a mask ; Dr. Henderson was .
He had to yell to his wife inside their home to present identification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On Saturday , Miami police chief has ordered an internal investigation into the incident .
The officer involved has not been identified .
The encounter sparked widespread outrage and comes as African-American men report fears of increased racial profiling when they ’ re following CDC ’ s suggestion that people wear masks in public .
For more , we go to Miami to speak with Dr. Armen Henderson , an internal medicine physician , assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami , also an organizer with Dream Defenders .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
, Dr. Henderson .
Tell us , in your own words , what you were doing on Friday , and then what happened .
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : Yeah .
So , I was pretty much just putting tents in my car , and I was loading other supplies into my van .
And , you know , when I was doing that , I noticed that the police officer rode down the street at a cross-section of my block , one way , really slow , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ street the other way and basically turned down my block .
And he pulled up next to me , questioning me if I live there , if I worked here .
I told him that I live there .
I told him what I was doing .
I told him that where I was putting the boxes was where the city of Miami comes to pick up our trash every week .
For example , they ’ re here this week , and people on my block are putting trash in the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday .
And he just — at some point , he just didn ’ t believe what I was saying , or he thought that I was being disrespectful , and decided to get out of the car and escalate the situation .
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : Once he got out of the car — go ahead .
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : Once he got out of the car , he asked me for ID , which I said I didn ’ t have .
And , you know , I was trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation and remain steadfast in what I was doing , which was to be at downtown Miami delivering food and tents to homeless individuals that live downtown .
And so , I pretty much went ahead and continued to do what I was going to do , because I didn ’ t know where this encounter was going .
And then he just decided to put cuffs on me , basically .
Once he put cuffs on me , I called for my wife .
She came out and pretty much deescalated the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he was like inches from my face , basically , yelling that I should call him sergeant , I should call him sir , and with no mask on .
He had no gloves on .
I could feel his saliva on my lips .
It was just a crazy encounter .
AMY GOODMAN : I mean , this is such a horrific situation .
It reminded me so much of professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard , who was on his front porch when the police came and challenged him and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So , you ’ re wearing a mask .
The police officer is not wearing a mask or gloves .
And he then handcuffs you .
AMY GOODMAN : What ultimately led him to release you ?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : So , I mean , I pretty much — while he was in my face , I pretty much kept quiet , and I was just waiting for my wife to come , basically .
Once she came outside , she basically asked why I was in handcuffs , and she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said , “ Well , I ’ m going to need to see some ID .
Go get it for me.
” And so she went in the house , got her ID , showed him that we actually lived here .
And at that point , he pretty much just let me go .
AMY GOODMAN : I mean , this is astounding .
Are you satisfied with the police department ’ s response ?
And then , Dr. Henderson , if you can talk about — I mean , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you before .
I mean , a number of people have done pieces on you .
You have been working with the homeless , giving all kinds of mutual aid , and also have been testing them for COVID-19 .
If you can talk about your work , and then what you want of the Miami Police Department ?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : Well , I mean , firstly , I want the officer held accountable .
You know , it ’ s no way that you racially profile me , and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and then during a pandemic where you have no mask on , where hundreds of police officers throughout Miami-Dade County have tested positive , and you ’ re up in my face , you know , spitting on my lips , when we ’ re supposed to be practicing social distancing .
You know , he just broke a number of protocols and violated my rights .
So , firstly , I want him held accountable , and I want an apology , as well .
But outside of that , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was going to serve homeless individuals throughout Miami-Dade County , that basically , you know , the city has said — and cities across the United States have said the same thing — where we have to shelter in place , we have to socially distance .
And for someone who doesn ’ t have a house , for someone who lives unsheltered , it ’ s very impossible to do those things .
And in a pandemic , these are the most vulnerable individuals .
These are the individuals who we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attention to , because these are the individuals that sleep on buses , on bus stops , on benches .
And , you know , because of that , when you ’ re talking about a public health response to a pandemic , you have to focus on those individuals who are using the public spaces the most .
AMY GOODMAN : And can you talk about you testing them , and the response — AMY GOODMAN : — of unhoused people to you testing them ?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON : Right .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s been hard to get testing if you ’ re not a basketball player , if you ’ re not a rich person .
And so , literally , we ’ ve just been going out , and , first of all , we did a survey of individuals to see what their symptoms are , and we identify people who needed to be tested .
But then , you know , because we are the epicenter of the epidemic and this is the most vulnerable population , I just figure that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as well , to sample population sizes , to see how far this virus has spread already .
And honestly , though , this is supposed to be the city and the county ’ s job in doing this , in providing necessities and testing individuals that are in this vulnerable population .
And I think it just speaks to the fact that I even have to do this .
You know , it shouldn ’ t be my job to volunteer out there to make sure that homeless individuals are cared for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , at the surface , it feels like a feel-good story , but it ’ s really not .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , Dr. Armen Henderson , I want to ask if you can stay with us for a few more minutes .
We ’ re going to continue our conversation about your work with the unhoused and your detention .
Dr. Armen Henderson , internal medicine physician , assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami , handcuffed by the New York police [ sic ] — by the Miami @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ ll put Part 2 at democracynow.org .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We’re broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic, New York City, but we’re going to end today’s show in Florida, where the Miami Police Department is under fire after a video surfaced of an officer handcuffing and detaining an African-American doctor outside his home on Friday. The man, Armen Henderson, was wearing a mask and preparing for a volunteer shift helping protect homeless people from the spread of COVID-19, when a patrol car pulled up to his home. Surveillance video from Dr. Henderson’s house shows him loading a van with supplies before the encounter. Dr. Henderson says the police officer handcuffed him after accusing him of littering, and then asking for identification, which Henderson did not have on him. The officer was not wearing a mask; Dr. Henderson was. He had to yell to his wife inside their home to present identification, before the officer finally released him. On Saturday, Miami police chief has ordered an internal investigation into the incident. The officer involved has not been identified.
The encounter sparked widespread outrage and comes as African-American men report fears of increased racial profiling when they’re following CDC’s suggestion that people wear masks in public.
For more, we go to Miami to speak with Dr. Armen Henderson, an internal medicine physician, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami, also an organizer with Dream Defenders. He was recently profiled by the Miami Herald.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Dr. Henderson. Tell us, in your own words, what you were doing on Friday, and then what happened.
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Yeah. So, I was pretty much just putting tents in my car, and I was loading other supplies into my van. And, you know, when I was doing that, I noticed that the police officer rode down the street at a cross-section of my block, one way, really slow, and then he came back around the street the other way and basically turned down my block. And he pulled up next to me, questioning me if I live there, if I worked here. I told him that I live there. I told him what I was doing. I told him that where I was putting the boxes was where the city of Miami comes to pick up our trash every week. For example, they’re here this week, and people on my block are putting trash in the same place that I put the boxes on Friday. And he just — at some point, he just didn’t believe what I was saying, or he thought that I was being disrespectful, and decided to get out of the car and escalate the situation.
AMY GOODMAN: Um —
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Once he got out of the car — go ahead.
AMY GOODMAN: Keep going.
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Once he got out of the car, he asked me for ID, which I said I didn’t have. And, you know, I was trying my best to keep cool during the situation and remain steadfast in what I was doing, which was to be at downtown Miami delivering food and tents to homeless individuals that live downtown. And so, I pretty much went ahead and continued to do what I was going to do, because I didn’t know where this encounter was going. And then he just decided to put cuffs on me, basically.
Once he put cuffs on me, I called for my wife. She came out and pretty much deescalated the situation. But even before she came, he was like inches from my face, basically, yelling that I should call him sergeant, I should call him sir, and with no mask on. He had no gloves on. I could feel his saliva on my lips. It was just a crazy encounter.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, this is such a horrific situation. It reminded me so much of professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard, who was on his front porch when the police came and challenged him and arrested him, came into his house. So, you’re wearing a mask. The police officer is not wearing a mask or gloves. And he then handcuffs you.
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: What ultimately led him to release you?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: So, I mean, I pretty much — while he was in my face, I pretty much kept quiet, and I was just waiting for my wife to come, basically. Once she came outside, she basically asked why I was in handcuffs, and she said that we live here. And he said, “Well, I’m going to need to see some ID. Go get it for me.” And so she went in the house, got her ID, showed him that we actually lived here. And at that point, he pretty much just let me go.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, this is astounding. Are you satisfied with the police department’s response? And then, Dr. Henderson, if you can talk about — I mean, this is why the Miami Herald had profiled you before. I mean, a number of people have done pieces on you. You have been working with the homeless, giving all kinds of mutual aid, and also have been testing them for COVID-19. If you can talk about your work, and then what you want of the Miami Police Department?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Well, I mean, firstly, I want the officer held accountable. You know, it’s no way that you racially profile me, and then you arrest me, you detain me, and then during a pandemic where you have no mask on, where hundreds of police officers throughout Miami-Dade County have tested positive, and you’re up in my face, you know, spitting on my lips, when we’re supposed to be practicing social distancing. You know, he just broke a number of protocols and violated my rights. So, firstly, I want him held accountable, and I want an apology, as well.
But outside of that, I think the bigger picture is that I was going to serve homeless individuals throughout Miami-Dade County, that basically, you know, the city has said — and cities across the United States have said the same thing — where we have to shelter in place, we have to socially distance. And for someone who doesn’t have a house, for someone who lives unsheltered, it’s very impossible to do those things. And in a pandemic, these are the most vulnerable individuals. These are the individuals who we’re supposed to be paying the most attention to, because these are the individuals that sleep on buses, on bus stops, on benches. And, you know, because of that, when you’re talking about a public health response to a pandemic, you have to focus on those individuals who are using the public spaces the most.
AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about you testing them, and the response —
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: — of unhoused people to you testing them?
DR. ARMEN HENDERSON: Right. So, you know, it’s been hard to get testing if you’re not a basketball player, if you’re not a rich person. And so, literally, we’ve just been going out, and, first of all, we did a survey of individuals to see what their symptoms are, and we identify people who needed to be tested. But then, you know, because we are the epicenter of the epidemic and this is the most vulnerable population, I just figure that we should be testing people at random, as well, to sample population sizes, to see how far this virus has spread already.
And honestly, though, this is supposed to be the city and the county’s job in doing this, in providing necessities and testing individuals that are in this vulnerable population. And I think it just speaks to the fact that I even have to do this. You know, it shouldn’t be my job to volunteer out there to make sure that homeless individuals are cared for, especially in a pandemic. So, at the surface, it feels like a feel-good story, but it’s really not.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Dr. Armen Henderson, I want to ask if you can stay with us for a few more minutes. We’re going to continue our conversation about your work with the unhoused and your detention. Dr. Armen Henderson, internal medicine physician, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami, handcuffed by the New York police [sic] — by the Miami police. I’m Amy Goodman. We’ll put Part 2 at democracynow.org.


democracynow--2020-04-15--COVID-19 & Indian Country: Pandemic Exposes Navajo Nation's Water Access Crisis & Health Disparities

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman .
Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report , as we broadcast from the epicenter of the pandemic , New York City .
We turn now to look at how the coronavirus is impacting Indian Country .
As the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise in the U.S. , fear is mounting the spread of the virus could devastate tribal communities .
Already at least 44 people in the Indian health system have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed cases , according to Indian Country Today .
Navajo Nation , which stretches some 27,000 square miles across portions of Arizona , New Mexico and Utah , has been the hardest hit by the virus so far , with more than 830 reported cases and 28 deaths as of Tuesday .
In Arizona , 16 % of COVID-19 deaths have been Native Americans , who make up only 6 % of the state ’ s population .
Meanwhile , two pueblos in New Mexico , Zia Pueblo and San Felipe , have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the United States .
In Oklahoma , the first COVID-19-related death in the state was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation .
And experts warn these numbers will only grow due to a disproportionate number of preexisting health conditions in tribal communities and resource-starved tribal healthcare systems ill-prepared for the pandemic .
The coronavirus federal stimulus package provides $ 8 billion in relief for the 574 federally recognized tribes , but many say far more is needed to adequately protect indigenous people from the virus ’ s spread .
For more , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health leader for American Indian and Alaska Native populations , epidemiologist Dean Seneca .
He spent nearly 20 years as a senior health scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
He ’ s now executive director of Seneca Scientific Solutions Plus .
He ’ s a citizen of the Seneca Nation .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
, Dean Seneca .
Can you give us a lay of the land right now ?
How hard has the pandemic hit Indian Country here in the U.S. ?
DEAN SENECA : Well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having me .
The pandemic , it ’ s hit pretty hard in certain areas throughout Indian Country .
Like you said , the Navajo Nation is definitely hit the hardest .
And some areas where we have high populations or cities where people can come together , we have a sparsity of cases , you know , for example , in Portland , Oklahoma and some other areas .
But overall , given the situation that Native people are in regarding health disparities and preexisting conditions , except for Navajo Nation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that bad , as far as the pandemic hitting Indian Country .
You know , with just 12,000 tests only and over 1,100 confirmed , like you pointed out , many at Navajo Nation , the rest of the country is faring pretty well , in my opinion , given what the outbreak has done throughout the rest of the country .
Now , having said that , my fear is that the virus hasn ’ t really hit rural America yet .
And as you know , many of our tribal nations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So , that will be the big test .
I feel that it will be a matter of time before we really see if the spread has hit into the deep pockets of Indian Country .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to go to Navajo Nation for a minute , the largest tribal nation in the United States and the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak , with nearly 30 deaths and more than 830 confirmed cases as of Tuesday .
Government and health officials , as well as community members , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people living on and around the reservation , as many residents still lack access to clean water and face the scarcity of other resources that are crucial to curb the spread of the daily virus .
I wanted to go to Navajo Council Delegate Amber Crotty .
AMY GOODMAN : Navajo Nation is currently on lockdown .
Meanwhile , Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer have quarantined themselves after learning they came in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 .
Neither of them is currently presenting symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Navajo activist and artist Emma Robbins into the conversation with Dean Seneca .
She ’ s the director of the Navajo Water Project , a community-managed utility alternative that brings hot and cold running water to homes without access to water or sewer lines .
Emma , welcome to Democracy Now !
I wanted to ask you — I mean , if people were to say what ’ s the number one rule all over the country right now , it ’ s wash your hands , and wash them well and often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard hit is right now , and your access to water .
EMMA ROBBINS : Yeah .
Good morning .
Thank you , Amy , for having me .
As you mentioned , one of the hardest things right now is being able to wash your hands on the Navajo Nation .
If you don ’ t have hot and cold running water and access to soap , that ’ s extremely difficult .
And as we ’ ve all heard throughout the past weeks , that ’ s one of the ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In addition to that , not having drinking water on the reservation is very difficult , because when you need access to running water , you need to actually get bottled water and travel to these different grocery stores .
And a lot of times when residents arrive , there just isn ’ t any left .
AMY GOODMAN : And so , talk about how hard hit Navajo Nation is right now .
EMMA ROBBINS : Yeah , as mentioned , you know , we ’ re one of the hardest-hit areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an extremely high infection rate , but those surrounding ours , as well , of the Pueblo Nations , do , too .
So it ’ s very concentrated in one area .
As you mentioned , there are over 800 cases of COVID on the Navajo Nation currently .
And unfortunately , we ’ ve lost 28 community members .
AMY GOODMAN : Dean Seneca , if you can talk about the Trump administration ’ s response to the pandemic in Indian Country , and overall ?
I mean , you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re an epidemiologist , you ’ re a citizen of the Seneca Nation , and you worked for the Centers for Disease Control , an agency that now everyone in this country has come to be familiar with .
DEAN SENECA : Well , as you can tell , you know , right from the very beginning , I mean , he didn ’ t make this pandemic a priority .
He did a lot of mixed messaging in the very , very beginning when he started to talk about this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s trying to now — in his recent reports , trying to justify that , “ No , we were on top of this right from the beginning.
” And that ’ s far from the case .
You know , his mixed messaging is what was really critical .
At times , he would say , “ Well , hey , this virus is just going to go away .
And we ’ ll wake up one day , and it won ’ t be here.
” You know , people listen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wrong thing to send .
He made a major mistake in eliminating his council on international health and global pandemics .
That was huge right from the beginning .
He should never have done that .
AMY GOODMAN : And explain .
That was in that National Security Council .
So , when he ’ s talking in — what ?
— December about more money for bombs and building a wall , if that pandemic group were represented , they would have said , “ Sir , what about China ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ very early on , the intelligence agencies , his closest Cabinet members , I mean , heads of agencies — AMY GOODMAN : — were actually warning him about this .
DEAN SENECA : Yes .
And he kind of put it aside , thinking that the pandemic would never leave China and reach the United States .
And actually , one of the things that I predicted early , when I saw 20,000 cases in China , I said the virus is already here .
And I said that , you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But here ’ s the big thing .
When I did the Ebola outbreak , you know , I can say with certainty that the White House , CDC , FDA and USDA were literally connected at the hip .
OK ?
I think that that ’ s one of the big things that made us successful , is that our communications were very , very tight , and we were working together and communicating several times a day .
During this response , we know that the White House is really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge and who ’ s overseeing this .
At one time it was CDC that was in charge .
Then they recently moved it to the FDA .
So they were scrambling for leadership there .
And , you know , that speaks to poor leadership right from the top .
I hate to say that , being a veteran myself , a military person in the Army , Army Reserves .
I don ’ t ever want to see the United States fail .
But I really do feel that the administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a timely manner when they needed to .
That ’ s evident .
The leading expert from NIH has also pinpointed to that a little bit , and then he had to go back on TV recently to justify his hypothetical comments .
So , you know , strong leadership right at the beginning of a pandemic like this is critical , is essential , because we ’ re fighting a war .
This is a war where you can ’ t see the enemy .
You don ’ t know where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around you at any time .
And you have to do your best to protect yourself .
This is a different kind of war .
And in any kind of war , in any kind of situation like this , you need strong leadership .
And that ’ s evident it did not happen .
AMY GOODMAN : Your perspective is an unusual one , Dean Seneca .
You ’ re there in Seneca Nation , upstate New York .
You ’ re a Native epidemiologist , worked for the CDC for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Explain the differences .
DEAN SENECA : Well , you know , the big difference is , you know , those viruses really — I mean , they did hit the United States , but they never hit the United States hard .
And we were able to do very effective contact tracing .
And that ’ s one thing I ’ ve been preaching throughout this whole pandemic , is that contact tracing is the tool in which we can really stop and mitigate an outbreak .
But , you know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases here , something that we never saw before as a country .
We ramped up our emergency operations components .
You know , we did see a couple deaths , and we did see a minor spread .
And then , after a while , it was another strain of the flu , very , very different .
It did give us an opportunity to kind of exercise our emergency preparedness capabilities .
Zika , a little bit different .
It did impact a little bit the southern part of the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Zika — not in all cases , but , you know , pretty much the southern border , a different kind of a situation where it was a vector-borne virus that was transmitted , and it caused several different chronic conditions .
This , the corona — DEAN SENECA : Oh , yeah , and Ebola .
And I must say that Ebola was probably the hardest thing that I ever did in my life , when you go overseas and you have to prepare for something like Ebola , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of hemorrhagic fever where the body , when infected , literally bleeds internally .
You know , that was the hardest thing I ever did , very dangerous situation .
I went over there , and I was part of a team of scientists , I ’ m proud to say , that actually were a part of putting the curve into the ground .
And what we did there is we went from passive epi-surveillance to active epi-surveillance , to prospective , you know , being active and getting out into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , instead of people being sick and getting this information reported to us .
AMY GOODMAN : So , Dean Seneca , when you hear that President Trump is ending funding for the World Health Organization , what is your response ?
DEAN SENECA : This is a very ill-responsible move on behalf of a leader that is leading the world in good public health and leading the world in almost every facet — economics , military , education , health .
You know , it ’ s just — really speechless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If anything , we should be trying to work with the WHO , which is such a very nonpolitical , very , very passive , has a lot of empathy organization .
You know , it ’ s a caring organization .
They try to do their best with the limited resources they have .
And they ’ re all around the world .
AMY GOODMAN : And very quickly , Dean Seneca , for understanding how Indian Country works , when a governor like Governor Cuomo declares , you know , shelter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reservations in New York , or do you issue a separate order ?
DEAN SENECA : Well , what I ’ ve been promoting is that — you know , we coordinate with our state and local and county health departments , but tribal nations have the ultimate public health authority .
And , you know , they need to exercise that public health authority when necessary .
Given this situation , yes , we want our tribal nations to work with other state entities and those kinds of things in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And I know , for example , that Seneca Nation , recently , President Armstrong issued a stay-at-home order , which is a very , very good thing , to kind of reduce the spread of this virus .
AMY GOODMAN : I wanted to go back to Emma for a moment .
One of the things we ’ ve been focusing on on Democracy Now !
are the mutual aid efforts that are going on all over .
This is Kim Smith , a Navajo woman who ’ s running a relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New Mexico .
AMY GOODMAN : So , I wanted to go back now to Emma Robbins to talk about what is happening in Navajo Country — you run the Navajo Water Project , as we said before — the mutual aid that ’ s going on , and also why the Navajo community is so hard hit , a hot spot in — not only in places like New Mexico and Arizona , but in Indian Country overall .
EMMA ROBBINS : Yeah .
You know , that ’ s such a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiences some of the highest rates of water poverty in the United States .
Navajos are 67 times more likely to not have indoor plumbing and potable water and sanitation in their homes .
And again , getting back to the idea of not being able to wash your hands , you ’ re not able to flatten the curve then .
And we ’ ve seen a rise of COVID cases when that happens .
As I mentioned , when people go out to haul water , whether that ’ s from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re also exposing themselves to others .
I think it ’ s also been really tough because we don ’ t have a ton of health facilities across the reservation .
And those that do have access to it often live very far away and aren ’ t able to get there in time .
AMY GOODMAN : And can you talk about the role of Navajo women in leading mutual aid ?
EMMA ROBBINS : Yeah .
I ’ m glad that you asked that question .
I think I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight for our communities , which is our traditional role .
That ’ s not to say that we ’ re in the '60s and it 's the idea of stay in the kitchen .
It ’ s that we are the caretakers of our communities .
And this is nothing new for us .
It ’ s time to step up and work together and just make it happen , where people are able to get the help that they need and to really just come back and serve our communities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for Navajos , of projects that are happening on the reservation successfully .
AMY GOODMAN : And now the chairman of the Navajo Nation , Jonathan Nez , and the vice president — he ’ s the president — currently in quarantine ?
EMMA ROBBINS : Yes , that ’ s correct .
They do believe that they could have come in contact with COVID themselves .
AMY GOODMAN : And the hospitals and clinics on the reservation , are they adequate ?
And what do you think needs to happen at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
We ’ re talking stimulus package .
The kind of aid that Indian Country is getting from that $ 2 [ trillion ] — it ’ s obviously much more — $ 4 [ trillion ] , $ 6 trillion stimulus package ?
EMMA ROBBINS : Yeah .
So , it ’ s important to understand that on the Navajo Nation we have two types of hospitals .
One is IHS , or Indian Health Service , which is across Indian Country .
And then we have what are called 638 hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the federal government but have been taken over by the tribal government .
And on the reservation , there are 16 health centers .
Nine of those are clinics .
Seven are hospitals .
There are about 400 hospital beds across the nation and 46 ICU beds .
You know , talking about these numbers , that is not proportionate at all , and it ’ s scary to think about these numbers rising .
And so , yes , we are a sovereign nation .
Yes , we are able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also important that we do have our treaties honored and have that funding from the federal government , because this is when we need help .
Right now we can ’ t wait .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , Emma Robbins , I want to thank you so much for being with us , head of the Navajo Water Project .
And I want to thank Dean Seneca , epidemiologist and citizen of the Seneca Nation , where he was speaking to us from , in upstate New York .
For years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took on H1N1 , took on Zika , took on Ebola , now dealing with this century ’ s most significant , hardest-hitting pandemic of all , the coronavirus .
This is Democracy Now !
When we come back , why was an African-American doctor , wearing a mask , getting together his equipment to test homeless people in Miami , Florida , handcuffed ?
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : Tears for Fears frontman Curt Smith and his daughter Diva giving a quarantine performance of the band ’ s song “ @ @ @ @

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman. Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report, as we broadcast from the epicenter of the pandemic, New York City.
We turn now to look at how the coronavirus is impacting Indian Country. As the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise in the U.S., fear is mounting the spread of the virus could devastate tribal communities. Already at least 44 people in the Indian health system have died. There are more than 1,100 confirmed cases, according to Indian Country Today.
Navajo Nation, which stretches some 27,000 square miles across portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, has been the hardest hit by the virus so far, with more than 830 reported cases and 28 deaths as of Tuesday. In Arizona, 16% of COVID-19 deaths have been Native Americans, who make up only 6% of the state’s population. Meanwhile, two pueblos in New Mexico, Zia Pueblo and San Felipe, have some of the highest rates of infection in the United States. In Oklahoma, the first COVID-19-related death in the state was a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
And experts warn these numbers will only grow due to a disproportionate number of preexisting health conditions in tribal communities and resource-starved tribal healthcare systems ill-prepared for the pandemic. The coronavirus federal stimulus package provides $8 billion in relief for the 574 federally recognized tribes, but many say far more is needed to adequately protect indigenous people from the virus’s spread.
For more, we’re joined by a public health leader for American Indian and Alaska Native populations, epidemiologist Dean Seneca. He spent nearly 20 years as a senior health scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He’s now executive director of Seneca Scientific Solutions Plus. He’s a citizen of the Seneca Nation.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Dean Seneca. Can you give us a lay of the land right now? How hard has the pandemic hit Indian Country here in the U.S.?
DEAN SENECA: Well, thank you. Thank you for having me.
The pandemic, it’s hit pretty hard in certain areas throughout Indian Country. Like you said, the Navajo Nation is definitely hit the hardest. And some areas where we have high populations or cities where people can come together, we have a sparsity of cases, you know, for example, in Portland, Oklahoma and some other areas. But overall, given the situation that Native people are in regarding health disparities and preexisting conditions, except for Navajo Nation, I think we’re not doing that bad, as far as the pandemic hitting Indian Country. You know, with just 12,000 tests only and over 1,100 confirmed, like you pointed out, many at Navajo Nation, the rest of the country is faring pretty well, in my opinion, given what the outbreak has done throughout the rest of the country.
Now, having said that, my fear is that the virus hasn’t really hit rural America yet. And as you know, many of our tribal nations throughout the country are in rural America. So, that will be the big test. I feel that it will be a matter of time before we really see if the spread has hit into the deep pockets of Indian Country.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go to Navajo Nation for a minute, the largest tribal nation in the United States and the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with nearly 30 deaths and more than 830 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. Government and health officials, as well as community members, are scrambling to protect the roughly 175,000 people living on and around the reservation, as many residents still lack access to clean water and face the scarcity of other resources that are crucial to curb the spread of the daily virus. I wanted to go to Navajo Council Delegate Amber Crotty.
DELEGATE AMBER CROTTY: When you come back home to your remote area, you’re surrounded by family and friends. And so, that’s where the contact also happens, when you’re in a household with multigenerational families, grandmas in the household, with grandpa. Then it’s you, and then it’s your children, and possibly if you have older children. And so it’s multiple generations that are being hit, and that’s what we’re seeing. And the remoteness now, we can — as long as we’re moving, the virus is moving with us. It’s just shedding light on the disparities that have already existed and also the lack of federal funding to meet the demand of the health needs.
AMY GOODMAN: Navajo Nation is currently on lockdown. Meanwhile, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer have quarantined themselves after learning they came in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Neither of them is currently presenting symptoms.
I’d like to bring Navajo activist and artist Emma Robbins into the conversation with Dean Seneca. She’s the director of the Navajo Water Project, a community-managed utility alternative that brings hot and cold running water to homes without access to water or sewer lines.
Emma, welcome to Democracy Now! I wanted to ask you — I mean, if people were to say what’s the number one rule all over the country right now, it’s wash your hands, and wash them well and often. Talk about Navajo Nation, how hard hit is right now, and your access to water.
EMMA ROBBINS: Yeah. Good morning. Thank you, Amy, for having me.
As you mentioned, one of the hardest things right now is being able to wash your hands on the Navajo Nation. If you don’t have hot and cold running water and access to soap, that’s extremely difficult. And as we’ve all heard throughout the past weeks, that’s one of the ways to flatten the curve the most.
In addition to that, not having drinking water on the reservation is very difficult, because when you need access to running water, you need to actually get bottled water and travel to these different grocery stores. And a lot of times when residents arrive, there just isn’t any left.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, talk about how hard hit Navajo Nation is right now.
EMMA ROBBINS: Yeah, as mentioned, you know, we’re one of the hardest-hit areas. Not only does our reservation have an extremely high infection rate, but those surrounding ours, as well, of the Pueblo Nations, do, too. So it’s very concentrated in one area. As you mentioned, there are over 800 cases of COVID on the Navajo Nation currently. And unfortunately, we’ve lost 28 community members.
AMY GOODMAN: Dean Seneca, if you can talk about the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic in Indian Country, and overall? I mean, you, for years, worked for the — you’re an epidemiologist, you’re a citizen of the Seneca Nation, and you worked for the Centers for Disease Control, an agency that now everyone in this country has come to be familiar with.
DEAN SENECA: Well, as you can tell, you know, right from the very beginning, I mean, he didn’t make this pandemic a priority. He did a lot of mixed messaging in the very, very beginning when he started to talk about this. And you see that he’s trying to now — in his recent reports, trying to justify that, “No, we were on top of this right from the beginning.” And that’s far from the case. You know, his mixed messaging is what was really critical. At times, he would say, “Well, hey, this virus is just going to go away. And we’ll wake up one day, and it won’t be here.” You know, people listen to this information, and that is the wrong thing to send. He made a major mistake in eliminating his council on international health and global pandemics. That was huge right from the beginning. He should never have done that.
AMY GOODMAN: And explain. That was in that National Security Council. So, when he’s talking in — what? — December about more money for bombs and building a wall, if that pandemic group were represented, they would have said, “Sir, what about China?” although it’s clear, very early on, the intelligence agencies, his closest Cabinet members, I mean, heads of agencies —
DEAN SENECA: Correct. Correct.
AMY GOODMAN: — were actually warning him about this.
DEAN SENECA: Yes. And he kind of put it aside, thinking that the pandemic would never leave China and reach the United States. And actually, one of the things that I predicted early, when I saw 20,000 cases in China, I said the virus is already here. And I said that, you know, way before many of the experts.
But here’s the big thing. When I did the Ebola outbreak, you know, I can say with certainty that the White House, CDC, FDA and USDA were literally connected at the hip. OK? I think that that’s one of the big things that made us successful, is that our communications were very, very tight, and we were working together and communicating several times a day.
During this response, we know that the White House is really, really struggling on who is in charge and who’s overseeing this. At one time it was CDC that was in charge. Then they recently moved it to the FDA. So they were scrambling for leadership there. And, you know, that speaks to poor leadership right from the top. I hate to say that, being a veteran myself, a military person in the Army, Army Reserves. I don’t ever want to see the United States fail. But I really do feel that the administration really did not get on board in a timely manner when they needed to. That’s evident. The leading expert from NIH has also pinpointed to that a little bit, and then he had to go back on TV recently to justify his hypothetical comments.
So, you know, strong leadership right at the beginning of a pandemic like this is critical, is essential, because we’re fighting a war. This is a war where you can’t see the enemy. You don’t know where the enemy is. The enemy can be around you at any time. And you have to do your best to protect yourself. This is a different kind of war. And in any kind of war, in any kind of situation like this, you need strong leadership. And that’s evident it did not happen.
AMY GOODMAN: Your perspective is an unusual one, Dean Seneca. You’re there in Seneca Nation, upstate New York. You’re a Native epidemiologist, worked for the CDC for years. You took on Zika and H1N1. Explain the differences.
DEAN SENECA: Well, you know, the big difference is, you know, those viruses really — I mean, they did hit the United States, but they never hit the United States hard. And we were able to do very effective contact tracing. And that’s one thing I’ve been preaching throughout this whole pandemic, is that contact tracing is the tool in which we can really stop and mitigate an outbreak.
But, you know, H1N1, we had a few cases here, something that we never saw before as a country. We ramped up our emergency operations components. You know, we did see a couple deaths, and we did see a minor spread. And then, after a while, it was another strain of the flu, very, very different. It did give us an opportunity to kind of exercise our emergency preparedness capabilities.
Zika, a little bit different. It did impact a little bit the southern part of the country, but not a major life-threatening situation with Zika — not in all cases, but, you know, pretty much the southern border, a different kind of a situation where it was a vector-borne virus that was transmitted, and it caused several different chronic conditions. This, the corona —
AMY GOODMAN: And Ebola.
DEAN SENECA: Oh, yeah, and Ebola. And I must say that Ebola was probably the hardest thing that I ever did in my life, when you go overseas and you have to prepare for something like Ebola, which is, you know, a very violent kind of hemorrhagic fever where the body, when infected, literally bleeds internally. You know, that was the hardest thing I ever did, very dangerous situation. I went over there, and I was part of a team of scientists, I’m proud to say, that actually were a part of putting the curve into the ground. And what we did there is we went from passive epi-surveillance to active epi-surveillance, to prospective, you know, being active and getting out into the community and seeking cases ahead of time, instead of people being sick and getting this information reported to us.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Dean Seneca, when you hear that President Trump is ending funding for the World Health Organization, what is your response?
DEAN SENECA: This is a very ill-responsible move on behalf of a leader that is leading the world in good public health and leading the world in almost every facet — economics, military, education, health. You know, it’s just — really speechless at how ill-responsible that move is. If anything, we should be trying to work with the WHO, which is such a very nonpolitical, very, very passive, has a lot of empathy organization. You know, it’s a caring organization. They try to do their best with the limited resources they have. And they’re all around the world.
AMY GOODMAN: And very quickly, Dean Seneca, for understanding how Indian Country works, when a governor like Governor Cuomo declares, you know, shelter at home, does that apply to the reservations in New York, or do you issue a separate order?
DEAN SENECA: Well, what I’ve been promoting is that — you know, we coordinate with our state and local and county health departments, but tribal nations have the ultimate public health authority. And, you know, they need to exercise that public health authority when necessary. Given this situation, yes, we want our tribal nations to work with other state entities and those kinds of things in order to isolate and practice social distancing. And I know, for example, that Seneca Nation, recently, President Armstrong issued a stay-at-home order, which is a very, very good thing, to kind of reduce the spread of this virus.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go back to Emma for a moment. One of the things we’ve been focusing on on Democracy Now! are the mutual aid efforts that are going on all over. This is Kim Smith, a Navajo woman who’s running a relief operation from a farm in Hogback, New Mexico.
KIM SMITH: We’re stepping up for the community members at a time that is so crucial. And that’s what we’re here for, ultimately, as young people, to be able to sacrifice ourselves, sacrifice our well-being, so that more of our people don’t get sick. And the reality is, is that our ancestors sacrificed so much more for us to continue to be here.
AMY GOODMAN: So, I wanted to go back now to Emma Robbins to talk about what is happening in Navajo Country — you run the Navajo Water Project, as we said before — the mutual aid that’s going on, and also why the Navajo community is so hard hit, a hot spot in — not only in places like New Mexico and Arizona, but in Indian Country overall.
EMMA ROBBINS: Yeah. You know, that’s such a great question, because the Navajo Nation experiences some of the highest rates of water poverty in the United States. Navajos are 67 times more likely to not have indoor plumbing and potable water and sanitation in their homes. And again, getting back to the idea of not being able to wash your hands, you’re not able to flatten the curve then. And we’ve seen a rise of COVID cases when that happens. As I mentioned, when people go out to haul water, whether that’s from stores or watering points, they’re also exposing themselves to others. I think it’s also been really tough because we don’t have a ton of health facilities across the reservation. And those that do have access to it often live very far away and aren’t able to get there in time.
AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about the role of Navajo women in leading mutual aid?
EMMA ROBBINS: Yeah. I’m glad that you asked that question. I think I’ve seen many Navajo women step up and fight for our communities, which is our traditional role. That’s not to say that we’re in the '60s and it's the idea of stay in the kitchen. It’s that we are the caretakers of our communities. And this is nothing new for us. It’s time to step up and work together and just make it happen, where people are able to get the help that they need and to really just come back and serve our communities. I think of this as by Navajos, for Navajos, of projects that are happening on the reservation successfully.
AMY GOODMAN: And now the chairman of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez, and the vice president — he’s the president — currently in quarantine?
EMMA ROBBINS: Yes, that’s correct. They do believe that they could have come in contact with COVID themselves.
AMY GOODMAN: And the hospitals and clinics on the reservation, are they adequate? And what do you think needs to happen at the national level in the United States? We’re talking stimulus package. The kind of aid that Indian Country is getting from that $2 [trillion] — it’s obviously much more — $4 [trillion], $6 trillion stimulus package?
EMMA ROBBINS: Yeah. So, it’s important to understand that on the Navajo Nation we have two types of hospitals. One is IHS, or Indian Health Service, which is across Indian Country. And then we have what are called 638 hospitals, which are hospitals that were originally part of the federal government but have been taken over by the tribal government. And on the reservation, there are 16 health centers. Nine of those are clinics. Seven are hospitals. There are about 400 hospital beds across the nation and 46 ICU beds. You know, talking about these numbers, that is not proportionate at all, and it’s scary to think about these numbers rising. And so, yes, we are a sovereign nation. Yes, we are able to help ourselves. But it’s also important that we do have our treaties honored and have that funding from the federal government, because this is when we need help. Right now we can’t wait.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Emma Robbins, I want to thank you so much for being with us, head of the Navajo Water Project. And I want to thank Dean Seneca, epidemiologist and citizen of the Seneca Nation, where he was speaking to us from, in upstate New York. For years, he worked at the CDC, took on H1N1, took on Zika, took on Ebola, now dealing with this century’s most significant, hardest-hitting pandemic of all, the coronavirus.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, why was an African-American doctor, wearing a mask, getting together his equipment to test homeless people in Miami, Florida, handcuffed? Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Tears for Fears frontman Curt Smith and his daughter Diva giving a quarantine performance of the band’s song “Mad World.”


democracynow--2020-04-15--Trump Cuts Funds for World Health Org as Oxfam Warns Pandemic Could Push Half a Billion into Poverty

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : As the death rate from the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate , with more than 2 million confirmed infections worldwide and at least 127,000 deaths , President Trump said Tuesday he would cut off U.S. support for the World Health Organization .
Speaking from the Rose Garden , Trump sought to shift blame for his administration ’ s disastrous handling of the pandemic onto the U.N. public health agency , accusing the WHO of helping China to cover up the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
AMY GOODMAN : Trump ’ s decision sparked international outrage and condemnation .
Richard Horton , editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal , tweeted , “ President Trump ’ s decision to defund WHO is simply this — a crime against humanity .
Every scientist , every health worker , every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity.
” The American Medical Association ’ s president , Patrice Harris , called on Trump to reconsider the cut , saying , quote , “ Fighting a global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ science and data , ” she said .
The global anti-poverty organization Oxfam America said the cuts slash , quote , “ any hopes for the responsible international cooperation and solidarity that is critical to save lives and restore the global economy.
” This comes as a new Oxfam report estimates the pandemic ’ s economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty .
For nearly 3 billion people already living in poverty and facing malnutrition , the virus could be deadly .
In all , it estimates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion people could be living in poverty in the virus ’ s aftermath .
The report is called “ Dignity Not Destitution : An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All ' to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world.
” For more , we ’ re joined by Oxfam America ’ s vice president , Paul O ’ Brien .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
Let ’ s begin with President Trump .
In the midst of this pandemic , where the U.S. is the epicenter of the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country in the world — President Trump announces he ’ s ending support for the World Health Organization .
Paul O ’ Brien , your response ?
PAUL O ’ BRIEN : Thanks for having me on .
It was pretty shocking to hear that last night .
We had predicted last week that the number of deaths from coronavirus could be as high as 40 million over the coming period .
So , we ’ re already in crisis , but it could get significantly worse .
President Trump has his treasury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , and what that leader needs to be able to show is America ’ s role in leading multilateral cooperation .
And at the same time , he ’ s announcing that he ’ s going to cut the legs off the World Health Organization , thereby undermining his own attempt to show global leadership .
It was profoundly self-destructive for U.S. leadership .
It ’ s profoundly harmful for our world .
And it seems to be nothing other than short-term blame shifting and scapegoating in order to distract people from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lead on the issue .
But its consequences could be devastating for people .
AMY GOODMAN : Paul O ’ Brien , there are many critics of the World Health Organization .
But across the board now , with President Trump announcing that he is cutting the funding for this organization — the U.S. , the largest funder of the World Health Organization — explain what this organization does and why it is so critical .
And with President Trump so deeply concerned about what ’ s happening in the United States , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the rest of the world makes an enormous difference to what will happen in this country ?
PAUL O ’ BRIEN : Well , as you say , New York is the epicenter of the crisis .
The U.S. is now facing more deaths per day than has been seen .
We are facing our own health crisis here .
We ’ re also facing our own economic crisis here just at the same time .
You ’ ve got 17 million new unemployed in the United States .
And even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of Americans didn ’ t have $ 400 to their name for an emergency .
And then the crisis hits .
So you ’ ve got a health crisis and an economic crisis here .
You ’ ve got that , in many ways , even worse in many of the communities that Oxfam works in .
We work in 90 countries around the world , including the United States .
But you ’ ve got this health and economic crisis coming at the same time .
You ’ ve got a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to convene leaders to make sure that the response is coordinated and evidence-based , is based on science , and that there is a truly global response to a global pandemic .
So , apart from the financing of the organization , the leadership and the moral authority of the organization to be able to drive global consensus to respond to this health and economic crisis is absolutely critical .
And for President Trump , the world ’ s most powerful politician , to stand on a stage yesterday , for whatever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , in order to blame shift , undermines their ability to get that global consensus at a critical time .
So , this act , in itself , could have profound repercussions for many of the people that we see as particularly vulnerable in the United States and around the world .
AMY GOODMAN : He made the announcement in the Rose Garden yesterday , the single one-day — the highest one-day death toll for any nation in the world : 2,228 people died of COVID-19 .
That ’ s the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , where perhaps the — where COVID-19 hasn ’ t hit as hard yet , mainly , for example , in Africa , and what the World Health Organization means particularly for these areas of the world , the most vulnerable .
PAUL O ’ BRIEN : Right .
Well , the whole world is vulnerable .
We think , particularly when you look at the combination of bad health systems or weak health systems and economic vulnerability , three areas are at greatest risk : sub-Saharan Africa , North Africa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve got , in our — our report found that we think 500 million more people could go into poverty as a consequence of this , essentially wiping out all the progress that ’ s been made over the last 30 years , in some contexts , and , on an average , the last 10 years of progress .
Women are going to be , as is so often the case , facing the brunt of much of the consequences of this .
In Bangladesh , for example , a million garment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Eighty percent of them are women .
In Kenya , flower factories just shut down , 30,000 people sent home .
Most of them are women .
We don ’ t have enough protections in the United States , because we haven ’ t addressed the problems of chronic extreme inequality .
But when you look at what ’ s going on outside of the United States , where 80 % of the people on the — of the workers on the planet Earth have no health insurance , 2 billion people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if you ’ re in a context — let me just raise five contexts for you .
These are the five largest slums in the world .
There are slums in Karachi and Mumbai in Asia , in Cape Town and in Nairobi , in Kenya , and in Mexico City .
Those five — they ’ re the largest single slums in larger cities — have 5.7 million people .
When coronavirus hits those environments , first , there ’ s no healthcare system in those contexts that stock ventilators waiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we work , there are literally two or three ventilators in the whole country .
But economically , people are living in close quarters .
There ’ s no physical distancing possible .
They get no sick pay .
Their economies are being shut down .
They ’ re being told , “ Stay in place.
” They ’ re not able to trade .
They ’ re not able to access goods .
In many contexts , their borders are now not allowing food , if they ’ re net importing countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is potentially coming , along with a health crisis , that is going to be profoundly harmful for many people , and potentially destabilizing in ways that we will all face the consequences of .
AMY GOODMAN : Your report is called “ Dignity Not Destitution : An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All . '
” You say Oxfam is calling for wealthy countries to agree to a global economic rescue package that includes canceling $ 1 trillion in debt payments for poorer countries .
They say debt cancellation could free up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up money to fight the coronavirus pandemic .
PAUL O ’ BRIEN : Yeah .
There are ways forward .
And this is an incredibly important week , and today is an important day .
You ’ ve got ministers of finance — the G20 is meeting , and ministers of finance from the 189 countries are meeting , to ask and answer the question : What can they do collectively to address the economic fallout of this crisis ?
You reported what ’ s going to happen to the global economy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and we ’ re calling on these governments to work together to show the kind of multilateral leadership that President Trump failed to show last night .
The first , as you mentioned , is debt .
We ’ ve seen some early movement this week .
Yesterday we got some — the beginnings of good news , in that the G7 supported some debt suspension , and the IMF agreed to a debt moratorium for and put in place some debt relief packages for 25 countries .
That ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough .
What we don ’ t want to see happen this year is that debt payments are essentially suspended in a moratorium and where the interest will accrue and countries are going to be forced to pay that over the following years , even if they suspend it for 2020 .
Think of it this way : In 45 countries , their health systems are a quarter the size of the debt payments that they have to make .
So they have to make 400 % the size of their health budgets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So — AMY GOODMAN : Paul , very quickly , I wanted to ask you about Yemen and Gaza .
PAUL O ’ BRIEN : From which perspectives ?
Because both of them are now facing both health and economic crisis .
You ’ ve got , in those contexts — and we work in both of those contexts , with refugee populations and those who have been forcibly displaced , to try and reduce the level of conflict .
But as you know , I was in Gaza not long ago .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s very dense .
They have almost no economic activity at the best of times , because of restrictions that are put on the environment .
And when you put COVID into that context , from an economic perspective , it creates potentially catastrophic levels of slowing down any form of economic activity .
So , we are deeply worried about both Yemen and Gaza .
As I said earlier , we think that the Middle East is probably one of the fulcrums of concern for harm from this crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brien , thank you so much for being with us .
We ’ re going to link to your report .
Paul O ’ Brien is vice president of Oxfam America .
The new report , “ Dignity Not Destitution : An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All ' to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world .
When we come back , we look at coronavirus in Indian Country .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Medicine ” by Christopher Mike-Bidtah , a Diné musician also known as @ @

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: As the death rate from the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate, with more than 2 million confirmed infections worldwide and at least 127,000 deaths, President Trump said Tuesday he would cut off U.S. support for the World Health Organization. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump sought to shift blame for his administration’s disastrous handling of the pandemic onto the U.N. public health agency, accusing the WHO of helping China to cover up the spread of the coronavirus when it emerged late last year.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The world depends on the WHO to work with countries to ensure that accurate information about international health threats is shared in a timely manner and, if it’s not, to independently tell the world the truth about what is happening. The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable.
AMY GOODMAN: Trump’s decision sparked international outrage and condemnation. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, tweeted, “President Trump’s decision to defund WHO is simply this — a crime against humanity. Every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity.”
The American Medical Association’s president, Patrice Harris, called on Trump to reconsider the cut, saying, quote, “Fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation and reliance on science and data,” she said. The global anti-poverty organization Oxfam America said the cuts slash, quote, “any hopes for the responsible international cooperation and solidarity that is critical to save lives and restore the global economy.”
This comes as a new Oxfam report estimates the pandemic’s economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty. For nearly 3 billion people already living in poverty and facing malnutrition, the virus could be deadly. In all, it estimates half of the world’s 7.8 billion people could be living in poverty in the virus’s aftermath. The report is called “Dignity Not Destitution: An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All' to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world.”
For more, we’re joined by Oxfam America’s vice president, Paul O’Brien.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Let’s begin with President Trump. In the midst of this pandemic, where the U.S. is the epicenter of the world’s pandemic — more deaths than any other country in the world — President Trump announces he’s ending support for the World Health Organization. Paul O’Brien, your response?
PAUL O’BRIEN: Thanks for having me on.
It was pretty shocking to hear that last night. We had predicted last week that the number of deaths from coronavirus could be as high as 40 million over the coming period. So, we’re already in crisis, but it could get significantly worse.
President Trump has his treasury secretary talking to other G20 finance ministers today, and what that leader needs to be able to show is America’s role in leading multilateral cooperation. And at the same time, he’s announcing that he’s going to cut the legs off the World Health Organization, thereby undermining his own attempt to show global leadership. It was profoundly self-destructive for U.S. leadership. It’s profoundly harmful for our world.
And it seems to be nothing other than short-term blame shifting and scapegoating in order to distract people from the failures of this administration to properly lead on the issue. But its consequences could be devastating for people.
AMY GOODMAN: Paul O’Brien, there are many critics of the World Health Organization. But across the board now, with President Trump announcing that he is cutting the funding for this organization — the U.S., the largest funder of the World Health Organization — explain what this organization does and why it is so critical. And with President Trump so deeply concerned about what’s happening in the United States, one would think, why what happens in the rest of the world makes an enormous difference to what will happen in this country?
PAUL O’BRIEN: Well, as you say, New York is the epicenter of the crisis. The U.S. is now facing more deaths per day than has been seen. We are facing our own health crisis here. We’re also facing our own economic crisis here just at the same time. You’ve got 17 million new unemployed in the United States. And even before the crisis started, you had 40% of Americans didn’t have $400 to their name for an emergency. And then the crisis hits. So you’ve got a health crisis and an economic crisis here. You’ve got that, in many ways, even worse in many of the communities that Oxfam works in. We work in 90 countries around the world, including the United States. But you’ve got this health and economic crisis coming at the same time.
You’ve got a World Health Organization, whose job it is to convene leaders to make sure that the response is coordinated and evidence-based, is based on science, and that there is a truly global response to a global pandemic. So, apart from the financing of the organization, the leadership and the moral authority of the organization to be able to drive global consensus to respond to this health and economic crisis is absolutely critical. And for President Trump, the world’s most powerful politician, to stand on a stage yesterday, for whatever reason he had, and to attack them, in order to blame shift, undermines their ability to get that global consensus at a critical time. So, this act, in itself, could have profound repercussions for many of the people that we see as particularly vulnerable in the United States and around the world.
AMY GOODMAN: He made the announcement in the Rose Garden yesterday, the single one-day — the highest one-day death toll for any nation in the world: 2,228 people died of COVID-19. That’s the United States. Talk about the rest of the world, where perhaps the — where COVID-19 hasn’t hit as hard yet, mainly, for example, in Africa, and what the World Health Organization means particularly for these areas of the world, the most vulnerable.
PAUL O’BRIEN: Right. Well, the whole world is vulnerable. We think, particularly when you look at the combination of bad health systems or weak health systems and economic vulnerability, three areas are at greatest risk: sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. You’ve got, in our — our report found that we think 500 million more people could go into poverty as a consequence of this, essentially wiping out all the progress that’s been made over the last 30 years, in some contexts, and, on an average, the last 10 years of progress.
Women are going to be, as is so often the case, facing the brunt of much of the consequences of this. In Bangladesh, for example, a million garment workers were laid off from their jobs. Eighty percent of them are women. In Kenya, flower factories just shut down, 30,000 people sent home. Most of them are women.
We don’t have enough protections in the United States, because we haven’t addressed the problems of chronic extreme inequality. But when you look at what’s going on outside of the United States, where 80% of the people on the — of the workers on the planet Earth have no health insurance, 2 billion people are in the informal economy.
So, if you’re in a context — let me just raise five contexts for you. These are the five largest slums in the world. There are slums in Karachi and Mumbai in Asia, in Cape Town and in Nairobi, in Kenya, and in Mexico City. Those five — they’re the largest single slums in larger cities — have 5.7 million people. When coronavirus hits those environments, first, there’s no healthcare system in those contexts that stock ventilators waiting for them. In some countries where we work, there are literally two or three ventilators in the whole country. But economically, people are living in close quarters. There’s no physical distancing possible. They get no sick pay. Their economies are being shut down. They’re being told, “Stay in place.” They’re not able to trade. They’re not able to access goods. In many contexts, their borders are now not allowing food, if they’re net importing countries.
So we have an economic crisis that is potentially coming, along with a health crisis, that is going to be profoundly harmful for many people, and potentially destabilizing in ways that we will all face the consequences of.
AMY GOODMAN: Your report is called “Dignity Not Destitution: An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All.'” You say Oxfam is calling for wealthy countries to agree to a global economic rescue package that includes canceling $1 trillion in debt payments for poorer countries. They say debt cancellation could free up to $400 billion, to free up money to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
PAUL O’BRIEN: Yeah. There are ways forward. And this is an incredibly important week, and today is an important day. You’ve got ministers of finance — the G20 is meeting, and ministers of finance from the 189 countries are meeting, to ask and answer the question: What can they do collectively to address the economic fallout of this crisis? You reported what’s going to happen to the global economy. We think there are three ways forward, and we’re calling on these governments to work together to show the kind of multilateral leadership that President Trump failed to show last night.
The first, as you mentioned, is debt. We’ve seen some early movement this week. Yesterday we got some — the beginnings of good news, in that the G7 supported some debt suspension, and the IMF agreed to a debt moratorium for and put in place some debt relief packages for 25 countries. That’s a start. It’s nowhere near enough. What we don’t want to see happen this year is that debt payments are essentially suspended in a moratorium and where the interest will accrue and countries are going to be forced to pay that over the following years, even if they suspend it for 2020. Think of it this way: In 45 countries, their health systems are a quarter the size of the debt payments that they have to make. So they have to make 400% the size of their health budgets just in paying their debt allocations. So —
AMY GOODMAN: Paul, very quickly, I wanted to ask you about Yemen and Gaza.
PAUL O’BRIEN: From which perspectives? Because both of them are now facing both health and economic crisis. You’ve got, in those contexts — and we work in both of those contexts, with refugee populations and those who have been forcibly displaced, to try and reduce the level of conflict. But as you know, I was in Gaza not long ago. People are living in incredibly constrained quarters. It’s very dense. They have almost no economic activity at the best of times, because of restrictions that are put on the environment. And when you put COVID into that context, from an economic perspective, it creates potentially catastrophic levels of slowing down any form of economic activity. So, we are deeply worried about both Yemen and Gaza. As I said earlier, we think that the Middle East is probably one of the fulcrums of concern for harm from this crisis.
AMY GOODMAN: Paul O’Brien, thank you so much for being with us. We’re going to link to your report. Paul O’Brien is vice president of Oxfam America. The new report, “Dignity Not Destitution: An 'Economic Rescue Plan For All' to tackle the Coronavirus crisis and rebuild a more equal world.
When we come back, we look at coronavirus in Indian Country. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Medicine” by Christopher Mike-Bidtah, a Diné musician also known as Def-I.


democracynow--2020-04-15--Headlines for April 15, 2020

Headlines for April 15, 2020

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would cut off U.S. support for the World Health Organization — even as the death rate from the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate , with worldwide confirmed deaths topping 127,000 .
Speaking from the Rose Garden , Trump sought to shift blame for his administration ’ s disastrous handling of the pandemic onto the United Nations public health agency , accusing the WHO of helping China to cover up the spread of the coronavirus when it emerged late last year .
President Donald Trump : “ The world depends on the WHO to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about international health threats is shared in a timely manner and , if it ’ s not , to independently tell the world the truth about what is happening .
The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable.
” Trump ’ s decision sparked international outrage and condemnation .
Richard Horton , editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal , tweeted , “ President Trump ’ s decision to defund WHO is simply this — a crime against humanity .
Every scientist , every health worker , every citizen must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of global solidarity .
”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would cut off U.S. support for the World Health Organization — even as the death rate from the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate, with worldwide confirmed deaths topping 127,000. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump sought to shift blame for his administration’s disastrous handling of the pandemic onto the United Nations public health agency, accusing the WHO of helping China to cover up the spread of the coronavirus when it emerged late last year.
President Donald Trump: “The world depends on the WHO to work with countries to ensure that accurate information about international health threats is shared in a timely manner and, if it’s not, to independently tell the world the truth about what is happening. The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable.”
Trump’s decision sparked international outrage and condemnation. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, tweeted, “President Trump’s decision to defund WHO is simply this — a crime against humanity. Every scientist, every health worker, every citizen must resist and rebel against this appalling betrayal of global solidarity.”


democracynow--2020-04-14--"Terrified to Go to Work": Hundreds of Workers in Meat & Poultry Plants Test Positive for COVID-19

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González , as we turn to look at the spike in infections of COVID-19 at meatpacking plants .
This week , the world ’ s biggest pork producer , Smithfield Foods , shut down its processing plant in Sioux Falls , South Dakota , that ’ s responsible for close to 5 % of U.S. pork production , after more than 350 workers at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s accounting for nearly half of South Dakota ’ s reported infections .
In Pennsylvania , 130 workers tested positive at a Cargill Meat Solutions plant , and a union steward at the JBS Beef slaughterhouse died last Friday of a coronavirus infection .
Deaths of slaughterhouse workers have also been reported in Georgia and Colorado .
Many meat processing facilities employ large numbers of immigrants , including undocumented workers .
In a few minutes , we ’ ll speak with an advocate for poultry plant workers , but we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and founder of Food & Water Watch , author of Foodopoly : The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America .
Welcome back to Democracy Now !
, Wenonah .
If you can talk about the significance of what ’ s happening , this pandemic exposing the fissures of society , the massive problems we have already , but the idea that in one plant , which they ’ ve now been forced to shut down , about 350 workers have tested positive ?
Now , this is in South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is a Republican governor , has refused to impose a shelter-at-home order .
But can you talk about the significance of this ?
WENONAH HAUTER : Yes .
Well , this is more evidence that the meat industry is not concerned about public health , not concerned about workers , but just worried about their bottom line .
These plants should have been cleaned .
Some of them should have been closed down .
Let ’ s look at the one in Sioux Falls .
That plant is primarily a facility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was no reason that this plant had to remain open .
It ’ s impossible to do social distancing in a meat plant like this , where workers have to be shoulder to shoulder cutting up carcasses .
And what we ’ ve seen is that the meat industry has just taken this opportunity to lobby their allies in the Trump administration to get things that we have been able to keep them from getting in the past — for instance , the consolidation that we see in the meat industry .
Four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , control just under 70 % of pork production and around 60 % of poultry production .
They ’ re not satisfied with that kind of concentration .
They have now worked with the Trump administration to get the Department of Justice and the federal trade agency to agree that they would further weaken merger reviews in our already lax system for looking at antitrust violations .
You know , supposedly we have an economy that ’ s based on competition , but that is absolutely not true , especially in the meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking this opportunity to push to privatize meat inspection .
They ’ ve already done this successfully in the poultry industry , where it ’ s now possible to have line speeds not of 140 chickens a minute as it used to be , which was already too many , but 175 birds per minute .
Now they are pushing to privatize swine inspection .
The current law is 1,100 hogs can be slaughtered in an hour with seven meat inspectors — already way too fast .
They are pushing to privatize so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line speed and that there would be only three inspectors on the line , even though that means that there would be no inspector seeing if a hog was diseased .
That diseased hog — JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Well , Wenonah , Wenonah , if I can interrupt you for a second , I just wanted to ask you a little bit more in terms of the constant trend in food production toward factory farms and , as you say , concentration of labor in these huge plants , and also the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part .
I ’ m willing to bet that the bulk of those workers at this Smithfield in South Dakota are Latino and other immigrant workers , because that ’ s been the trend in the industry as a whole .
How all of this works together to make the situation even worse right now ?
WENONAH HAUTER : Well , this is — the pandemic is really the perfect storm of a completely dysfunctional food system .
And yes , the workers at slaughter facilities do tend to be Latino and low-income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And if they push for protections , if they push for a fair wage , the meat industry works with ICE to come in and deport those workers .
So it ’ s a terrible situation .
We should also remember that the — AMY GOODMAN : We just have 30 seconds , Wenonah .
Sorry .
WENONAH HAUTER : OK .
The way that we produce food has to change , because pandemics like this begin in situations where animals are being produced living in their own waste , breathing terrible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then it only takes a microbe ’ s mutation to cause bacterial and viral diseases .
We will see more pandemics if we don ’ t change the way we produce meat in this country — in fact , food .
And we need to ban factory farms and stop this terrible concentration that ’ s really threatening our food system .
AMY GOODMAN : Wenonah Hauter , we want to thank you so much for being with us , executive director and founder of Food & Water Watch .
One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ JBS S.A. , says it will close its beef facility in Greeley , Colorado , until April 24th , after a 30-year employee died of COVID-19 .
More than 6,000 people work at that facility .
This is one of the workers , 57-year-old Rosario Bustamante .
AMY GOODMAN : For more on the conditions in meatpacking facilities during the pandemic , we ’ re joined by Magaly Licolli , who is executive director of Venceremos , an advocacy group for poultry plant workers .
She ’ s joining us from Springdale , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Foods headquarters .
In these last minutes we have together , Magaly , if you can talk about the scope of the problem at the poultry plants , and particularly in the midst of this pandemic ?
Who works there , and what are you facing ?
MAGALY LICOLLI : Yeah , thank you for inviting us .
And I think it ’ s important to say that the problems that poultry workers are facing now are not new ; however , the lack of benefits are more evident under this crisis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so workers are used to go to work while sick .
And now with this pandemic , workers are just terrified to go to work , the lack of measurements of these companies to take social distancings to prevent the spread .
It ’ s just not evident .
So , workers are risking their lives , and now they are demanding that these companies provide to them paid sick benefits for them to be able to be at home and not risking their income .
Right now many of the companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the temperature .
However , that is not what workers feel comfortable with , because once the worker shows symptoms of fever , it means that the worker had already been — all the workers have been exposed to the virus .
So , right now there is no transparency of how many workers are being tested positive for COVID-19 , and the company is just not providing that information to workers .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Magaly , Magaly , what kind of protective equipment are the workers being provided , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , right now , like , for example , the Tyson plants , they do not have any masks or gloves .
In other plants , they ’ re even — the workers have to pay for their masks or gloves .
So they are not even being granted those basic protective gears to do their work .
AMY GOODMAN : And can you talk about the picking up of the pressure to raise the processing line speeds at Tyson ?
MAGALY LICOLLI : Yes .
I mean , this issue has — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so long .
Right now workers used to process 145 chickens per minute .
That led to long , life injuries to workers .
So we were — AMY GOODMAN : We have five seconds .
MAGALY LICOLLI : So , right now the workers are more in danger by this line speed increase , and so — as well as the consumers .
AMY GOODMAN : We want to thank you for being with us , and of course we will revisit this issue .
Magaly Licolli , executive director of Venceremos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers .
That does it for our show , Democracy Now !
working with as few people as possible on site .
The majority of our amazing team is working from home , and we thank each and every one of you .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we turn to look at the spike in infections of COVID-19 at meatpacking plants. This week, the world’s biggest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, shut down its processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that’s responsible for close to 5% of U.S. pork production, after more than 350 workers at the plant tested positive for COVID-19. That’s accounting for nearly half of South Dakota’s reported infections. In Pennsylvania, 130 workers tested positive at a Cargill Meat Solutions plant, and a union steward at the JBS Beef slaughterhouse died last Friday of a coronavirus infection. Deaths of slaughterhouse workers have also been reported in Georgia and Colorado. Many meat processing facilities employ large numbers of immigrants, including undocumented workers.
In a few minutes, we’ll speak with an advocate for poultry plant workers, but we’re beginning with Wenonah Hauter, executive director and founder of Food & Water Watch, author of Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Wenonah. If you can talk about the significance of what’s happening, this pandemic exposing the fissures of society, the massive problems we have already, but the idea that in one plant, which they’ve now been forced to shut down, about 350 workers have tested positive? Now, this is in South Dakota, where the governor, Noem, who is a Republican governor, has refused to impose a shelter-at-home order. But can you talk about the significance of this?
WENONAH HAUTER: Yes. Well, this is more evidence that the meat industry is not concerned about public health, not concerned about workers, but just worried about their bottom line. These plants should have been cleaned. Some of them should have been closed down. Let’s look at the one in Sioux Falls. That plant is primarily a facility that produces pork for export. There was no reason that this plant had to remain open. It’s impossible to do social distancing in a meat plant like this, where workers have to be shoulder to shoulder cutting up carcasses.
And what we’ve seen is that the meat industry has just taken this opportunity to lobby their allies in the Trump administration to get things that we have been able to keep them from getting in the past — for instance, the consolidation that we see in the meat industry. Four companies control 80% of beef production, control just under 70% of pork production and around 60% of poultry production. They’re not satisfied with that kind of concentration. They have now worked with the Trump administration to get the Department of Justice and the federal trade agency to agree that they would further weaken merger reviews in our already lax system for looking at antitrust violations. You know, supposedly we have an economy that’s based on competition, but that is absolutely not true, especially in the meat industry.
And they’re also taking this opportunity to push to privatize meat inspection. They’ve already done this successfully in the poultry industry, where it’s now possible to have line speeds not of 140 chickens a minute as it used to be, which was already too many, but 175 birds per minute. Now they are pushing to privatize swine inspection. The current law is 1,100 hogs can be slaughtered in an hour with seven meat inspectors — already way too fast. They are pushing to privatize so that there’s no cap on line speed and that there would be only three inspectors on the line, even though that means that there would be no inspector seeing if a hog was diseased. That diseased hog —
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Wenonah, Wenonah, if I can interrupt you for a second, I just wanted to ask you a little bit more in terms of the constant trend in food production toward factory farms and, as you say, concentration of labor in these huge plants, and also the use of immigrant labor, for the most part. I’m willing to bet that the bulk of those workers at this Smithfield in South Dakota are Latino and other immigrant workers, because that’s been the trend in the industry as a whole. How all of this works together to make the situation even worse right now?
WENONAH HAUTER: Well, this is — the pandemic is really the perfect storm of a completely dysfunctional food system. And yes, the workers at slaughter facilities do tend to be Latino and low-income workers. Often they’re undocumented. And if they push for protections, if they push for a fair wage, the meat industry works with ICE to come in and deport those workers. So it’s a terrible situation. We should also remember that the —
AMY GOODMAN: We just have 30 seconds, Wenonah. Sorry.
WENONAH HAUTER: OK. The way that we produce food has to change, because pandemics like this begin in situations where animals are being produced living in their own waste, breathing terrible fumes that give them viruses. And then it only takes a microbe’s mutation to cause bacterial and viral diseases. We will see more pandemics if we don’t change the way we produce meat in this country — in fact, food. And we need to ban factory farms and stop this terrible concentration that’s really threatening our food system.
AMY GOODMAN: Wenonah Hauter, we want to thank you so much for being with us, executive director and founder of Food & Water Watch. One of the world’s leading meat companies, JBS S.A., says it will close its beef facility in Greeley, Colorado, until April 24th, after a 30-year employee died of COVID-19. More than 6,000 people work at that facility. This is one of the workers, 57-year-old Rosario Bustamante.
ROSARIO BUSTAMANTE: [translated] In the beginning, they didn’t make any changes. We continued working under the same conditions. No action was taken. They didn’t protect us. Nothing. The only thing they did was provide hand sanitizer. We started seeing changes when people started getting infected. …
We found out about people being infected, because our supervisor talked to us. That was Monday, March 30th, in the afternoon. He told us, “We don’t want you close to people. You need to keep your distance, because we just learned that the people that were taken from here tested positive to coronavirus.” …
I went to work, and I started feeling ill. They took me to an infirmary, and they told me to go back to work. Two guys from security overheard, and they told me, “No, you can’t go back to the plant. You need to go home. You have fever.” That’s when I left. And I spent three days in bed with a high fever, body aches. On Friday, April 3rd, I went to see my doctor, and he told me not to worry, that everything was fine. But he recommended not going back to work.
AMY GOODMAN: For more on the conditions in meatpacking facilities during the pandemic, we’re joined by Magaly Licolli, who is executive director of Venceremos, an advocacy group for poultry plant workers. She’s joining us from Springdale, Arkansas, which is home to Tyson Foods headquarters.
In these last minutes we have together, Magaly, if you can talk about the scope of the problem at the poultry plants, and particularly in the midst of this pandemic? Who works there, and what are you facing?
MAGALY LICOLLI: Yeah, thank you for inviting us. And I think it’s important to say that the problems that poultry workers are facing now are not new; however, the lack of benefits are more evident under this crisis. Poultry workers do not have basic benefits, so workers are used to go to work while sick. And now with this pandemic, workers are just terrified to go to work, the lack of measurements of these companies to take social distancings to prevent the spread. It’s just not evident. So, workers are risking their lives, and now they are demanding that these companies provide to them paid sick benefits for them to be able to be at home and not risking their income.
Right now many of the companies are taking these measurements of checking in the temperature. However, that is not what workers feel comfortable with, because once the worker shows symptoms of fever, it means that the worker had already been — all the workers have been exposed to the virus. So, right now there is no transparency of how many workers are being tested positive for COVID-19, and the company is just not providing that information to workers.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Magaly, Magaly, what kind of protective equipment are the workers being provided, if any?
MAGALY LICOLLI: Well, right now, like, for example, the Tyson plants, they do not have any masks or gloves. In other plants, they’re even — the workers have to pay for their masks or gloves. So they are not even being granted those basic protective gears to do their work.
AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about the picking up of the pressure to raise the processing line speeds at Tyson?
MAGALY LICOLLI: Yes. I mean, this issue has — workers have been battling this issue for so long. Right now workers used to process 145 chickens per minute. That led to long, life injuries to workers. So we were —
AMY GOODMAN: We have five seconds.
MAGALY LICOLLI: So, right now the workers are more in danger by this line speed increase, and so — as well as the consumers.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you for being with us, and of course we will revisit this issue. Magaly Licolli, executive director of Venceremos, the advocacy group for poultry plant workers.
That does it for our show, Democracy Now! working with as few people as possible on site. The majority of our amazing team is working from home, and we thank each and every one of you. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.