[GeoStL] Re: NGR - Maybe we can all chip in and get this?
- From: "Jim Bensman" <jbensman1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 18:03:08 -0600
-
> It's too small to kill very many dolphins. Now the carrier I was on, USS
> Dwight D. Eisenhower CVN-69, that was a BIG carrier. 1092 ft. long, 257
> ft wide & 18 stories from top to bottom.
> We had a run in with green peace off of the coast of Palma De Mallorca,
> Spain. They were protesting our presence since we were nuke powered &
> they thought it would be a good idea to have their teeny tiny cutter try
> to cut us off, but when we didn't turn they DID! LOL Then they decided
> to send out their little rafts & try to throw paint balls on our ship,
> but we just blasted them with fire hoses as they approached us. I'm not
> sure i've ever seen anything so funny! :-)
>
> Eric
>
I do not think Believer and a couple of other's comments belong on this
list. Nor does this message. But I think it is important to add context to
what Believer is laughing about. While I do not belong to Greenpeace, I am
thankful there are people out there willing to risk their lives to call
attention to some of the things our military has done. One of the main
things Greenpeace goes after the military for is their toxic waste or as
Reeves says, "spewing pollution." Lots of people needlessly die because of
this.
Here is a link to download a mp3 of a beautiful song about the true story of
the death of a 6 year old on Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior (the ship Believer
is talking about) and the navy threatening to shoot at her and other sick
kids. She died from the toxic waste our military left in the Philippines.
http://webpages.charter.net/jbensman1/death
A friend of mine (Danny Dolinger) is performing it. (I recorded it on my
PDA. It is amazing how good it sounds.)
Here is the picture (mentioned in the song) Crizel drew:
http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/toxfreeasia/updates/memoriam.html
and some more information and her picture:
http://www.facessolutions.net/news/pressreleases/DC_chapter_crizel_commemora
tion_week.html
Here is what the song is based on and it should give context to Believer and
Reeve's comments:
Death of Crizel Jane Valencia
February 25, 2000
Rainbow Warrior
Manila, Philippines, Pier 15: At 1445 I, as ship's nurse, was summoned to
the bridge to examine a child that had just arrived on board. She was one
of a group of about twenty children visiting us that had grownup on or near
the Clark Air Base or Subic Navy Base. Both bases were abandoned by the
United States in 1992. Massive amounts of toxic materials were left at
each site and each of the kids visiting us have illnesses that have been
attributed to this toxic legacy. On examining Crizel my impression was
that she was an extremely sick child. She was conscious and responsive to
questions, but extremely lethargic. Her grips were very weak, but she did
follow that and other requests appropriately. She was very thin and
appeared small for her six years of age although I'm not familiar with
normal size for age in Philippine children. There was significant bruising
on the visible parts of her body and her head was devoid of any hair. Her
radial pulse was weak but present at a rate of 70 beats per minute. Her
respirations were unlabored at 16 per minute. There was noticeable red
blood slowly oozing from her gums.
In discussions with Crizel's mother, as translated by Greenpeace toxics
campaigner, Von Hernandez, I learned that Crizel had leukemia, had been
receiving chemotherapy and transfusions and was missing a scheduled
every-other-day transfusion by coming to the Rainbow Warrior. She had
bloody emesis once during the hour and a half drive to the ship and her
lethargy was unusual in that she was typically a "bubbly" child. Her
mother suspected that the emesis was coming from her stomach since it was
"darker" than that apparent on her gums. I left room for the possibility
that the blood had been swallowed from the gums then regurgitated. My
feeling was that it would be best for Crizel to be taken directly to the
hospital based on my cursory exam and indications that her condition had
deteriorated this day. As we proceeded to the keyside Crizel became quite
agitated, crying and beating on her mother's shoulder, clearly because she
didn't want to leave the ship. This was to be the most energetic I saw her
all afternoon.
On the dock we were met by Rissa Agustin, a nurse and member of the base
cleanup task force who had accompanied the children to the Rainbow Warrior.
In English, she gave me a more detailed medical history. Crizel was
actually born on Clark Air Base in a community that was situated upon a
former motor pool, an area that was later found to be highly contaminated
with heavy metals and other toxins. Twenty thousand people had been moved
there after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo destroyed their homes.
Crizel was diagnosed with leukemia in March of 1999. Recently her doctor
deemed the disease endstage and halted her chemotherapy treatment.
Transfusions of platelets had recently become whole blood transfusions and
the schedule had just been changed from twice weekly to every other day.
Rissa's impression was that the transfusions were palliative only. She
also reported that Crizel's doctor had clearly stated that doing what
Crizel wanted was now more important than any medical care, and had
specifically encouraged the trip to the Rainbow Warrior. After a further
brief consultation with Crizel's mother we all agreed that Crizel should
stay. During this conversation Crizel vomitted a small amount of red blood
tinged, mucoid emesis.
Through the afternoon I discovered a bit more about Crizel and her desire
to visit the Rainbow Warrior. She learned several months ago that she was
going to have a chance to see the ship and had been looking forward to it
ever since. Later, she sat down and drew a picture. It shows the ship
sailing on a calm sea with blue sails unfurled. The sun is shining through
puffy clouds, a rainbow arcs across the sky and a flock of birds are
soaring by. Four smiling children holding smiling balloons are standing on
the beach. Three are boys wearing shorts while the fourth is a girl
sporting a green dress and a full head of hair. Underneath the girl is the
name 'Crizel'. The picture is titled 'Rainbow Warrior' and is dated
February 1, 2000. This picture ended up being used as the poster
announcing the Philippine leg of the Rainbow Warrior's Toxic Free Asia
Tour. It was Crizel who decided that going to the ship this day was more
important than going to the hospital for her transfusion and she'd even
insisted on getting a new pair of shoes for the occasion.
On shore had been set up a large display about our reasons for being in the
Philippines. Alongside the photos of polluted landscapes, past Greenpeace
actions, and sick kids(including Crizel) from the former U.S.bases, were
several crayon drawings that Crizel had made. They are full of hearts,
balloons, flowers, birds, bright suns, and smiling children, although one
shows a girl with no hair. I particularly marvel at the imagination of a
child that can see herself standing on the back of a smiling, striped
giraffe. Perhaps she would have grown up to be an artist--there's no doubt
that she loved to make beautiful pictures.
After deciding to keep Crizel aboard, we immediately took her on a quick
tour of the ship. This seemed to tire her, so we retired to the mess where
she took a brief nap and threw up again. At about 1530 we took her, her
mother, several other kids, and a couple of adults for a ride on the large
Avon inflatable. Leaving Rissa on the ship with the other kids, I took
Crizel into the inflatable and kept her in my lap the whole time. With
Captain Pete Willcox's steering assistance, the boat was mostly driven by
the kids. Pete made especially sure that we passed within a few meters of
the huge U.S. Navy troop transport ship, Fort McHenry. The name comes from
the site of the War of 1812 battle which inpired the writing of America's
national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. Across it's stern is written
"HOME OF THE BRAVE" which is a phrase from that song. Later, we found out
that the Navy had complained to port security who then came over to the
Rainbow Warrior to warn us that we were coming too close to the warship and
that the Ft. McHenry would shoot at us. We never learned whether they
meant with bullets or water cannon. In my book wherever Crizel is is the
home of the brave, not the residence of those who would threaten sick kids
in an inflatable.
Although she remained quiet throughout the boatride, Crizel said she was
enjoying herself when asked. She vomitted a small amount once. When it was
her turn to drive she sat up straight, grasped the wheel with both hands,
and even did a pretty decent job with a nice light touch to her steering.
Pictures taken from the Rainbow Warrior show her eyes wide open and a
smile spread across her face.
Since Rissa was aboard the Rainbow Warrior, I stayed in the inflatable for
the three more boat rides we gave to different groups of kids. When I
returned to the ship about 1650, Crizel was asleep in my bunk, her mother
was in the cabin giving an interview and a volunteer was watching over
Crizel. I was assured that everything was fine and no one needed anything.
At 1705 I was summoned to my cabin and found both Rissa and Crizel's
mother in tears and on their way out. Rissa stopped to tell me that Crizel
was gone and that they were taking her home. One newspaper reported that
medical personell aboard the ship had tried to resuscitate her, but it
would surprise me if Rissa did that. Crizel's time had come and her
suffering was finally over.
I don't know if the skipped transfusion, exertion of the drive to the ship,
and excitement of being aboard used up the last of Crizel's scanty reserves
and hastened her death by a few days. Alternatively, it's possible that
she would have departed sooner if she didn't have the Rainbow Warrior to
look forward to. I choose to believe the latter. People now far away chose
to leave a toxic stew where Crizel would later be born. Crizel didn't
choose to be sick. She didn't choose to die young, but how she lived,
until the very end, was what she wanted. She blessed all of us by inviting
us into her world on her last day. I'm glad we accepted the invitation.
The medical professional in me and the imperative to document everything
got me to sit down at this computer. However, as I started typing I found
that cold clinical facts wouldn't come by themselves. So, I guess this has
become as much a eulogy as a medical report. I hope I've done justice to
both aims. If I'm lucky, those reading this will understand how honored I
feel to have known Crizel for the short time that I did.
I'm told that the United States left the bases in a huff after the
Philippine government decided not to renew their contracts. This is no
excuse for leaving so much poison behind, but even if it was, the point has
certainly been made. Kids are dying now. I'm a citizen of the United
States. It has given me an education, a rewarding career, and decent food,
shelter, clothing and health care for my entire life. I can't describe how
angry and ashamed I am that these benefits came, in part, as a result of
the harm we've done to Crizel and countless children like her. The only way
I can finish this inadequate essay is to commit myself to doing everything
I can to get America, a country with so much wealth while the Philippines
has so little, to take responsibility for it's past and finally clean up
the bases, and to never repeat this horror again. I hope others will also
be moved to demand this of Congress, the President, and the Pentagon.
Peace,
Lawrence Butch Turk, R.N.
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