The Worst Not Over

Little more than a month after cholera first appeared in an already battered Haiti, its government now reports over 900 casualties, with 14,000 more infected. Now that the fast-spreading bacteria is in the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince, experts fear the death total will see a dramatic spike.

Cholera, a bacteria causing severe diarrhea, vomiting, leg cramps, and eventually dehydration and shock, hasn't been in Haiti in fifty years, making knowledge of the illness another reason for concern.

"It's not over; it's not going to be pretty," says Dr. Helene Carabin, an Infectious Diseases epidemiologist and an associate professor at the College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma. "No one knows what's going to happen next."

The World Health Organization says the bacteria could remain in the country for "the next several years," and last week's Hurricane Tomas will only further endanger Haitian citizens to the epidemic.

"They [Haitians] have no choice but to use whatever rainwater they find, and that could be contaminated water," Dr. Alan McPherson said. "It might be contaminated, but it's either that or be completely dehydrated."

Friday the United Nations pledged $164 million to the cholera relief effort in Haiti, but McPherson, a historian and Latin American studies professor at OU, said much will have to be done before the country finds any form of stability.


Dr. Alan McPherson on steps to Haitian stability.

McPherson says the potential danger in Port-au-Prince is especially alarming.


Dr. Alan McPherson voicing concerns about future of Port-au-Prince.


The country that has already lost tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants along with much of its infrastructure looks to be headed into an even darker chapter, and it is especially important to help Haiti through it, McPherson says.

Last year, OU organization Global Haiti Initiative raised money for earthquake victims in Haiti, but the group has since disbanded. Along with writing congressmen, McPherson suggests starting local relief organizations like the Global Haiti Initiative to help with Haiti's newest problem.


Dr. Alan McPherson offering tangible ways to help Haitians.

OU Students Welcome 60 Minutes Staple

60 Minutes cameraman Ray Bribiesca met with University of

Oklahoma journalism students Monday, speaking candidly

 about his recent experience in combat.

PHOTO: Anna Lastra

University of Oklahoma journalism students received a post-Halloween treat Monday. Ray Bribiesca, longtime 60 Minutes cameraman and photojournalist, came to the university's Gaylord College Monday to speak on his wealth of experience in the industry.

With notebooks half-filled with chicken scratch and aspiring eyes following his every twitch, Bribiesca shared openly with the students both the difficulties and rewards of life behind the lens.

Bribiesca's discussion quickly gravitated to his work in wartime. A Vietnam veteran himself, Bribiesca recalled his first encounter with combat journalism. I was given a camera because I signed a paper saying I worked for my high school newspaper, he said. Forty-six years later, Bribiesca has yet to put that camera down.

Spurring a majority of these war-tilted questions was this CBS video of he and 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan's recent experiences on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Ray Bribiesca giving advice to the hall of future journalists.

PHOTO: Anna Lastra

In it, Bribiesca shows his season, Logan says, as he brought an intense firefight into American view. "He was like Moses when the waves parted," she said. "He wasn't reckless, wasn't stupid; he just wasn't afraid."

"You don't think, you just react," Bribiesca said about the incident, adding that while you must protect yourself, finding the shot is paramount.

Bribiesca also advised the students on the importance of first aid in combat and a journalist's willingness to get involved in conflict.

"Let me tell you, you've got to forget the lines," he said. "When you're taking a soldier or Marine's place, you have to help."

Bribiesca concluded the event by speaking on his future in the business. After decades of loyal camera work for CBS, Bribiesca confided in the gathering of young journalists his plans to retire from the network after his next assignment. He explained with a reminiscent smile that, while he might continue his already distinguished career with National Geographic, his trip to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border made his decision to part with the only news organization ever to employ him quite a bit easier.

Bribiesca will most likely see no less stress with his projected final assignment. Both he and correspondent Steve Croft are currently in Yemen in search of several men wanted by the U.S. government, Bribiesca says, adding that his final piece should air around Thanksgiving.