Study leaves diplomats with questions
Report from Dalhousie not seen as conclusive by government, diplomats
Canadian diplomats with Havana syndrome say a new report linking their illness to pesticides leaves them with more questions than answers and a feeling of being “profoundly betrayed” by the federal government.
Neither the diplomats nor the federal government are viewing the just-released report from Dalhousie University’s Brain Repair Centre as a conclusive answer to the cause of the mysterious syndrome that leaves victims with concussion-like symptoms without having suffered a concussion.
“While we are exploring all avenues, including the research at Dalhousie, no definitive cause of the health incidents has been identified to date,” Global Affairs Canada spokesman John Babcock said Tuesday.
For the 15 diplomats and their families, who are suing the federal government for $28 million, the inconclusive study is a new source of frustration.
“The report does not make any clear findings regarding the cause of Havana syndrome, instead only raising the ‘hypothesis’ of overexposure to insecticides as a ‘plausible’ cause.”
The diplomats say they deserve more.
“The Canadian diplomats feel profoundly betrayed by the Canadian government. Canadian diplomats and their families deserve better. Not only did Canada put them in harm’s way, but it is now re-victimizing them by failing to properly investigate and identify the actual cause of their injuries, by failing to provide them and their families with proper medical treatment and by failing to accept responsibility for the diplomats and their families who have been so severely injured while serving their country.”
The Dalhousie research, which included 26 Canadian diplomats and their families, was sponsored by the federal government.
The diplomats say, even with the report’s findings, it remains a possibility that the brain injuries they and their families suffered “were the result of a targeted attack — either a targeted directed energy attack or a targeted chemical attack.”
They point to a lack of explanation in the report about why only a limited number of Canadian and American diplomats and their families were affected given that insecticides were deployed aggressively throughout Havana beginning in 2016 to fight the mosquitoborn Zika virus.
The yet-to-be-published research, led by Dr. Alon Friedman, runs counter to the prevailing theory that acoustic weapons attacks caused the brain damage seen in Canadian and U.S. diplomats who were posted in Havana between 2016 and 2018.
Friedman said tests and scans done on the diplomats point to environmental neurotoxins, the kind that might have been used during fumigation in Cuba. Both the Canadian and Cuban governments were fumigating areas inside and outside where diplomats lived and worked.
The study calls the conclusion a hypothesis based on the best evidence. Friedman said the nature of the brain injuries, blood tests and other tests, along with evidence of the insecticides being used to fight Zika, make neurotoxicity from the pesticides a likely source of the illnesses.
But diplomats said it leaves too many questions to rule out other causes or to conclusively help diplomats and their families better understand the cause of their brain injures.
The Dalhousie report does confirm that Canadian diplomats suffered brain injuries while posted in Havana.
In a statement from Global Affairs Canada, Babcock said the government continues to investigate potential causes of the unusual health symptoms. He called the Dalhousie report “a significant contribution to this work and (it) is being pursued.”
As part of its continuing investigation, the federal government has sent RCMP investigators and technical experts, as well as occupational health professionals and representatives from Global Affairs Canada to conduct an environmental assessment, address health concerns and to further the investigation.”
The environmental assessment was completed at the Havana mission in 2017, in which pest control measures were documented. A second environmental assessment was conducted this spring.
Global Affairs is also working with the Brain Repair Centre to support further assessment of employees.
The diplomats further noted that no American expert who has investigated Havana syndrome has come up with the “insecticide theory” as the cause of the brain injuries.
“The cause of Havana syndrome in both Canadian and American diplomats is likely the same.”
In total, 15 government employees and their dependents are affected. Global Affairs Canada designated Havana an unaccompanied post in 2018, meaning diplomats are not accompanied by families while working there. Prospective candidates must opt-in and undergo baseline testing and regular checkups during their service.
Global Affairs Canada says it has taken measures to improve security in Havana.