Debunking Italian Authorities’ “Infectious Hazard” Claims_FR

English version

On November 20th, Italian authorities made public an investigation into MSF, claiming that MSF had deliberately mishandled waste while the Aquarius was docked in Italian ports. Authorities claimed that the discarded clothes and food leftovers of non-EU citizens presented an infectious hazard for meningitis, scabies, TB, or even HIV. Dr. Tom de Kok, physician by trade and currently working as MSF’s Project Coordinator on board the Aquarius, explains that such claims are not true.

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Debunking Italian Authorities’ “Infectious Hazard” Claims_ENG

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Debunking Italian Authorities’ “Infectious Hazard” Claims

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Unique Identifier Code / URN MSF255926

Date taken / Date Recorded 21/11/2018 12:00 AM

Country France, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean Sea

Commissioning section MSF-NETHERLANDS

Photographer / videographer / producer Jason Rizzo

Usage Rights (MSF) MSF Fundraising, MSF Publications, Social Media

Formal Consent Copy available yes

Editor's rating ★★★ (F)

Video format h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661)

Duration 2m0s

Maximum Size 1920px × 1080px 194.95 MB

Additional Information / Shotlist Title: Aquarius – Medical Debunking Myths by Tom de Kok
Location: Marseille, France
Date shoot: 21 November 2018
Camera: Jason Rizzo
Duration: 1 min 57 sec

00:00:00 – 00:05:01
Night shot, Aquarius docked in Italy
00:00:00 – 00:04:03
TITLE
Aquarius sits paralyzed
in the port of Marseille
November 2018

00:05:01 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
00:05:07 – 00:09:12
TITLE
Dr Tom de Kok
MSF Project Coordinator
00:05:12 – 00:06:08
I’m Tom.
00:06:03 – 00:07:21
I’m a physician.
00:08:02 – 00:11:04
And I’m the Project Coordinator on board the Aquarius for MSF.

00:00:00 – 00:04:03
Aquarius docked in Marseille, at night

00:11:18 – 00:13:01
We are not at sea right now
00:13:06 – 00:16:04
because of an ongoing campaign
to stop humanitarian assistance
00:16:23 – 00:19:08
to refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers.

00:13:02 – 00:17:00 MSF235695
00:17:00 – 00:20:04 MSF235696

00:20:04 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
00:20:04 – 00:21:17
I was given this document
00:22:03 – 00:23:23
by Italian authorities that claimed

00:24:02 – 00:26:21 MSF235698
00:26:21 – 00:29:01 MSF244145

00:24:18 – 00:26:14
as an investigation into MSF,
00:26:23 – 00:28:18
that we were deliberately mishandling waste

00:29:01 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
00:29:03 – 00:31:09
while the Aquarius was docked in Italian ports.
00:31:19 – 00:34:17
That we could be responsible for spreading meningitis,
00:34:20 – 00:35:20
scabies,
00:36:06 – 00:37:17
TB - tuberculosis,
00:38:02 – 00:39:03
or even HIV.

00:37:23 – 00:40:04 MSF235694
00:40:04 – 00:43:18 MSF235792
00:43:18 – 00:46:14 MSF235821

00:39:08 – 00:41:03
And that the discarded clothes
00:41:10 – 00:44:11
of non-EU citizens, and their food leftovers,
00:44:22 – 00:46:02
were an infectious hazard.

00:46:10 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
00:46:15 – 00:48:19
This is simply not true.

00:49:02 – 00:52:10 MSF244153
00:52:10 – 00:56:14 MSF244155

00:49:12 – 00:52:06
Meningitis is not transmitted via peoples clothes.
00:52:12 – 00:56:08
Scabies mites die after 2 to 3 days off the skin of a host.

00:56:14 – 01:00:03 MSF235822

00:57:01 – 00:58:05
You don’t get TB
00:58:15 – 00:59:23
from someone’s clothes or food.

01:00:07 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
01:00:11 – 01:02:02
Let’s also be clear about HIV.

01:02:06 – 01:05:22 MSF235823
01:05:22 – 01:09:03 MSF240274

01:00:11 – 01:03:22
A handshake,
01:04:10 – 01:05:17
the toilet seat,
01:05:22 – 01:08:05
or clothes do not transmit HIV.

01:09:03 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
01:09:03 – 01:11:00
Nowadays, such claims
01:11:09 – 01:13:12
by Italian authorities are known to be false.
01:14:02 – 01:16:08
They do however represent a danger,

01:16:16 – 01:22:22 MSF235817
01:22:22 – 01:28:17 MSF235816

01:16:12 – 01:19:16
because they are rooted in xenophobia and not science,
01:20:06 – 01:22:10
and because they are being used to fear monger.

01:23:16 – 01:28:08
What is at stake here is more than simply the absurd charges against MSF.
01:28:21 – 01:32:11
Rather it is the instrumentalisation of fear.
01:32:20 – 01:35:00
It’s an attempt to demonize people.
01:35:07 – 01:38:10
An already vulnerable group of people.
01:38:17 – 01:41:11
Migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers,
01:41:16 – 01:42:14
They are people.

01:28:17 – 01:35:01 MSF182603
01:35:01 – 01:38:16 MSF182616
01:38:16 – 01:42:17 MSF182630

01:42:17 – [TOM ON SCREEN]
01:42:20 – 01:45:09
And they are suffering as a direct result
01:45:14 – 01:48:15
of Italian and other EU policies.

01:49:01 – 01:55:05 MSF235689

01:49:06 – 01:51:23
This is not about us. This is about them.

01:52:12 – 01:53:18
They are people too.

01:55:05 FADE TO BLACK
01:55:05 – 01:57:05
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