Sunday, August 08, 2010

International Petition ：saving Lo-sheng Leprosy / Hansen’s disease Sanatorium！ Eliminate Discrimination！

International Statement：
Call for international solidarity for
saving Lo-sheng Leprosy / Hansen’s disease Sanatorium！ Eliminate Discrimination！
IDEA Taiwan
Taiwan Leprosy Self-help Orgnaztion
Save Lo-sheng.org
August 5, २०१०
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On August 2, the Advisory Committee will discuss revised draft guidelines to prevent discrimination against persons affected by leprosy / Hansen’s disease and their family .And will to be submitted to the Council at its fifteenth session in September 2010. At the same time, the
34th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia was 2 August finished, its consideration of nominations for the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger also attract focus over the world.
These news really raised wide range of concerns form the people who were affected by leprosy / Hansen’s disease, because some NGOs from Japan, United States, Norway, Malaysia, Korea, etc had a workshop last year in Taiwan to concentrate the destroys and evictions of Lo-sheng” and talking about “the possibility” the nominations of Transnational World Heritage for global leprosy / Hansen’s disease historical sites to prevent the evictions continuing happen all over world.

Recently, Lo-sheng is in emergency again and today wish to appeal to United Nations and International supporters to note the discrimination from Taiwan government and note Lo-sheng will have 80 years anniversary this year, but maybe will disappear forever in this year.

Resisting Closure of Lo-sheng

Photo by sawalai इन 2004
It’s famous of the ”Resisting Closure of Lo-Sheng sanatorium (樂生院)” which was reported by Lee Ten-Pei(李添培), he is a ex-Patient of Lo-sheng and now the president of IDEA Taiwan, in the 17th World Leprosy Congress 2008 in India. The movement is running over six years from 2004 by the residents of Lo-Sheng and attracted many supporters from Taiwan civil society, the highest there were 7000 persons big march for saving Lo-sheng in 2007, and also got much international supporters from Japan, Korea, India, Malaysia and United States, especially from IDEA International, COHRE and Nippon Foundation.

Photo together with Sasakawa in India 2008/ by Soda Masato
Lo-Sheng sanatorium was first established for leprosy / Hansen’s disease in Taiwan in1930 by Japanese colonial government. After WWII, for a long time, people here also had experienced been deprived freedom, dignity, health rights, families, homeland, chance for occupation or education, and everything, and also had suffered by violations of human rights, including forcible labor, prohibition of marriage in early days, forcible sterilization, forcible abortion, forced to enroll clinical trials, serious medical malpractice and etc, now there are
about 230 persons survivor here on.
Ineradicable discrimination by staffs of sanatorium

Photo by CHANG Tsang-Sang,引用張蒼松著《解放天刑》
In 2006, the people who were segregated by Japan colonial period in Lo-sheng of Taiwan and Sorok Island in Korea, they got win judgment for Human rights violations in past. Then residents of Lo-sheng and, IDEA Taiwan start drafted” Hansen’s Diseases human rights protection and Compensation Ordinance” which included: A formal apologize from the government , Compensations for Housing rights and no Evictions, Lifetime health caring for all the survivors, Preserving the sanatorium as a national memorial Monument।

This Ordinance till to18 July 2008 finally been passed in Legislated Yan in Taiwan, but been cut out the main articles of housing rights for no evictions and preserving the sanatorium as a national memorial monument. It was proved that government just wants give some mओंey and evict the resident to leave Lo-sheng to let MRT go through।

Photo by sawalai 2008.12.03

Recently, the quality of medical care is more and more worsening. Most ex-patients got just a few compensations but the Department of Health think they can fail to implement a nursing care responsibility.

Last week, Mr.Wang, one of residents of Lo-sheng who once attended international litigation case against Japan government in 2005, killed himself, maybe it’s his last demands warning to us to note the medical discrimination by staffs of sanatorium।

Photo by Soda Masato at Tokyo in October 2005/ the right 2 is Mr. Wang

Because he worried about the last days of his life, spent much money on nursing care fee might exhaust all his compensations and become a burden of family.
It was said by the ex-patients that the director of this sanatorium seem to spent much money on the new hospital for ordinary people and to neglect the health rights of sanatorium residents। Some of long time segregated ex-patients always face backbiters such as “they shoud pay care fees by themselves because some of them have got double compensations from two governments”।

South Korean MP Mr।Lim and Mr। LU meet in Lo-sheng / Photo by Soda Masato

Another case was happened with Mr. Lu, the Vice President of ex-patients organization. He got early stages of cancer two months ago, but the sanatorium administrative staff claimed that he is in terminal cancer and ask his families to start palliative care and let him become more serious. Fortunately, his families discovered the misstatements।
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Lo-Sheng in emergency again

Photo by Soda Masato
Except worrying about the worsening nursing conditions and environments, Recently Lo-sheng have happened seriously geological damages, slips and houses cracks because the MRT construction
still continues now on।

Offer: Youth Alience for Leprosy
Regardless of the public opinions that people wish to save Lo-sheng Sanatorium, Taiwan government continues MRT construction and does not stop digging hillside where locates in earthquake active fault zone। It may attract chain reactions of mountain slip, in the historical area that
the elders live inside। Until now, although the CCA (Council for Cultural Affairs) has listed as one of domestic potential sites as the World Heritage value last year, the MRT construction authorities seem don't care the residents and the historical sites। The residents there are worrying that maybe they will face eviction again soon.

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Leprosy / Hansen’s disease historical sites shall meet UNESCO’s criteria for inscription on the World Heritage list
The Leprosy / Hansen’s disease historical segregation sites even more early than Nazi's concentration camp which UNESCO have designated to be the World Heritage for educating the next generations। At the international workshop for Lo-sheng in 2009, the participants came from different countries argued for strategies to avoid the forced evictions of elder people who affected by Hansen’s diseases in the world and to ensure basic human rights of them। Through discussions in the workshop, every attendance recognized that Lo-sheng and other leprosy / Hansen’s disease historical sites all over the world no doubt deserveinscription on the World Heritage List.

Phyto offer:IDEATaiwan

Nishimura Yukio, former vice president of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) said that Lo-Sheng and all the Hansen’s Disease historical sites in the world maybe ‘meets’ UNESCO’s criteria (ii)(iii)(iv)(v) associative value : While the sanatorium is not a ‘masterpiece of creative genius’ nor a ‘testimony to a cultural tradition,’ it does have other valuable traits, such as universal values, and special medical items, also match with human rights and the development of civilization and multiple complex projects। he suggested that”International organizations can refer to these values from the depth exposition and promotion।”
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International Petition ：Call for international
Solidarity for saving Lo-sheng Leprosy Sanatorium！ Eliminate Discrimination！
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The elders used to be sacrificed for public health in the past, will not be sacrificed for public benefit again।

Maim Demands

Although Lo-sheng will have 80 years anniversary this year, but maybe it will disappear forever after this year. Now, Lo-sheng is really in emergency and needs for the international concerns and supports.

1)、Because seriously geological damages, slip, Please request Taiwan authorities to “Suspend MRT Construction”, not to be deceived by politicians and plutocrats who claim estate developing for "public benefit".
photo1)The last landscape Determined by the Government
photo2) Our goal MRT underground

2)、On the other hand, Please help us for saving Lo-sheng , even consider that promoting leprosy / Hansen’s disease historical sites all over the world as Transnational Inscription on the World Heritage list. We hope to end unjust evictions. Eliminating Discrimination！Let them redeem dignities

3)、Appeal to Taiwan Authorities ensure the ex-Patients without evictions anymore, Eliminating Discrimination！ and will get appropriate nursing care in the last years of their lives.
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