Zawaya

Maghreb countries have other concerns that are more devastating

By: Mouhamed Lemine Kettab

Since its recent high-profile appearance, swine influenza has raised a great outcry around the world, and caused tantalizing terror that some are willing to attract and deal with, for reasons that are not apparent to the naked eye.

But when considering the situation, it appears that other findings are more disturbing and highly challenging. In fact, since the appearance of swine flu six months ago, it killed only 200 people around the world. This number remains very small compared to the 500 000 victims of the common flu, and is really insignificant compared to the ravages of AIDS (one death every 10 seconds), the impact of malaria (250 million people affected, 1 million die each year), the cataclysmic effects of hunger (which affects 1 billion people), and the disastrous impact of traffic accidents (1.3 million deaths and 50 million injured every year), etc.

Why, then, would the swine flu be more dangerous and frightening than all these disasters to justify the development, by many Western countries, of a mandatory vaccination plan, while the vaccine against the Spanish flu, which has been in existence for more than 40 years, has not had the desired impact on this disease?

What is causing discomfort and casting doubt among people, other than that, is the artistic uncertainty surrounding the nature of the swine flu virus which is supposedly the result of a mutation of a common flu virus… What is even more unsettling is the fact that the patent of the swine influenza (H1N1) vaccine seems to have been filed in 2007, i.e. two years before the onset of the disease itself!

Also, what should one think of the signature on May 9, 2009 by the French president of an investment contract amounting 100 million Euros for the construction of a factory manufacturing the swine flu vaccine in Mexico where the first case of the disease was reported?

Finally, how should one interpret the refusal of 50% of British doctors to try the swine flu vaccine?

All these facts are all the more disturbing but none of them justifies the priority given to swine influenza at the expense of other pandemics that are far more devastating, and situations that are far more catastrophic for humanity; unless the ultimate plans and objectives pursued are seen under a different logic and indicate other mercenary concerns that are exclusively lucrative, i.e. the mass production and large-scale marketing of the vaccine developed to fight swine flu, serving a methodically aroused panic and through a skilfully conducted volunteerism policy. This is only a hypothesis, but one that is quite plausible.

As far as the Maghreb countries are concerned, they should not, in my opinion, give in to a fear, be it real or simulated, that is inspired and motivated by concerns that are not theirs; Maghreb countries should rather give priority to the development and implementation of policies likely to reduce illiteracy and poverty, which are the real bedrock of pandemics that are much more lethal to their peoples and mankind in general than swine influenza. Appropriate precautions, however, should be taken against swine flu without paying for neither the hoax nor the deception that some are suspected to exploit in order to achieve ulterior motives.