Diplomats in Cuba feel ‘abandoned’
Officials baffled by ‘Havana syndrome’
OTTAWA— The Canadian diplomats took up their postings in Havana, confident it would be a relatively safe assignment.
Indeed, the only serious risk, it seemed, would be to their privacy — diplomats assigned to the Cuban capital assume constant eavesdropping, in their cars, their homes, on their cellphones.
But all that changed one day in early April 2017 on a quiet residential street in west-end Havana populated by diplomats — including two families from Canada — as well as affluent Cubans and foreign business executives.
Police tape blocked off the street, sniffer dogs and officers descended on a house occupied by an American couple. The diplomat and his wife had suffered unexplained injuries as the result of a mysterious attack.
But they weren’t the only casualties. The Canadians on the street would later learn that they too had been hit by what is now called the “Havana syndrome,” a range of concussionlike symptoms that sometimes seemed to take hold after strange noises.
The Americans were returned to the States. But before they left, the U.S. diplomat tipped the Canadians to what was happening.
Yet the Canadian government was slow to react. Diplomats and their families remained in Cuba. Others arrived to take up new postings, some of whom would also suffer the same brain injuries.
These typically diplomatic diplomats — struggling with debilitating symptoms — charge that Ottawa failed in its “duty of care” to protect them and then ensure their timely medical treatment.
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The Star has talked to several of the Canadians affected and reviewed correspondence between senior government officials and the professional association that represents diplomats. Among the concerns:
> Federal officials were slow to respond to the risk and, as a result, Canadians may have been left in harm’s way, including diplomats and their families who went to Havana to take up new postings. This, even though a Canadian diplomat, spouse and two children were confirmed as suffering brain injuries in June 2017.
> “Haphazard” medical assessments of diplomats, spouses and children have bounced between the Department of National Defence, Health Canada and provincial health systems. That has also delayed diagnoses and treatment, especially worrisome for children who are showing symptoms.
> In March, two Canadians travelled to the University of Pennsylvania on their own initiative to be seen by brain injury specialists who had treated American diplomats from Cuba. Those specialists gave a startling diagnosis — the Canadians had suffered the very same brain injuries as the Americans.
“The stress has been awful. We feel we have been abandoned. I expect my government to be concerned about my wellbeing,” said one diplomat, who, like others involved, spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and their own medical situation.
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Canadian diplomats accept postings around the globe knowing they could face dangers that include natural disasters, political upheaval, even getting caught in a terror attack.
But those based in Havana were not prepared for what was coming — a mysterious series of attacks seemingly taken from the pages of a Cold War spy thriller that left several Americans and Canadians with serious injuries and roiled the diplomatic relations of both countries with Cuba.
News broke last summer that American diplomats were the target of what was initially branded as a sonic attack. People reported hearing a variety of noises — warping metal, industrial machinery and cicadas — that they associated with the onset of their health symptoms. Medical specialists would later discount the noise as a potential cause of the “Havana syndrome.”
Despite rumours of the attacks circulating in Havana’s diplomatic community, few Canadians thought they too might be in the crosshairs. “It didn’t occur to any of us that we would be affected,” said one. An American informally tipped his Canadian neighbour to the situation in early April, and that information was passed to a senior embassy official.
Within weeks, the U.S. ambassador met with his counterparts from several countries, including Canada, to brief them. Yet weeks would pass before any information was widely shared with other staff in the Canadian embassy, sources tell the Star.
Early that June, word came that the Canadian family who lived across the street from the Americans had been affected, too. After the Americans left, the Canadian family had suffered a frightening night-time “attack” that left some in the house feeling nauseated and suffering nosebleeds.
They were taken to Miami, where testing revealed they had suffered brain injuries, diplomatic colleagues say.
Within days, Canadian embassy employees were looped in. They were told to be on alert for strange noises and warned to move to a different part of their house if they did hear anything, and not to go outside to investigate. They were to tell senior officials if they experienced symptoms.
But diplomats complain that no real precautions were put in place for staff and families. Instead, employees were ordered not to talk about the strange situation.
“They were trying to downplay it to avoid panic and maintain the normal operation of the embassy,” said one of those affected.
This even though other diplomats, spouses and children were now suffering health problems that included ringing in the ears, headaches, fatigue, weight loss and balance issues.
“You felt crappy. It wasn’t like a headache. It was waves of pain that came and went throughout the day,” said one Canadian.
During this time, other Canadian diplomats were preparing to move to Cuba to take up a new posting. Those already at the embassy were ordered not to discuss the situation. At least one of those families is now grappling with health problems, sources say.
“They were not properly informed,” said one diplomat.
Two families who arrived in Cuba last summer felt that the briefings “categorically underrepresented the situation and potential threat,” the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers wrote the department.
Global Affairs says 10 Canadians have been affected. Diplomats tell the Star that 15 people are suffering some sort of symptoms, including children.
In January 2018, the association wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to complain that Global Affairs was failing in its “duty of care” to the affected Canadian.
The note cited the “refusal” of Health Canada and the Department of National Defence to provide followup care, difficulties accessing medical files and delays in testing.
“It has become clear to our members that the level of care provided by the Americans far outstrips that provided to our members,” the note said.
In its reply, Global Affairs Canada said that the health and safety of its personnel and their dependants was its “top priority.”
The department did concede that medical referrals and pediatric testing “have taken longer than expected,” but maintained those delays are the “responsibility” of the provincial healthcare providers.
Finally, out of desperation, two Canadians paid their own way to travel to the University of Pennsylvania in March to be evaluated at the Department of Neurosurgery and Center for Brain Injury and Repair.
Testing shows that they had suffered the same “concussionlike” effects as the Americans, including “neurological, balance, vestibular and other problems,” according to a note from the association. Many of the children and adults affected are also suffering vision problems.
Dr. Douglas Smith, the department’s director, declined to say whether he had treated Canadians. But in an earlier interview with the Star, he said that diplomats of both countries have suffered concussion-like symptoms but without head trauma to explain the cause. He speculated that they had been exposed to some form of directed energy.
A month after that visit, Global Affairs Canada publicly acknowledged that Canadians may have suffered what was called an “acquired brain injury.” It announced that family members would no longer accompany diplomatic staff posted to Havana. Those already there were sent home. Speak to the Canadians caught up in this incident, and the frustration and worry spills out.
They acknowledge that the mystery of what they were facing — strange health symptoms, allegations of an attack with no apparent culprit or motive — made it difficult for the department to respond in the early days. But the news in June 2017 that one family had suffered serious injuries should have triggered a more forceful response to protect Canadians from harm and ensure the timely treatment of those who had been affected, they say.
“It was like we were not taken seriously,” said one. “At some point, you get tired of fighting.”
Families say they have faced endless struggles to get treatment, even to pay bills, often having to pay out of their own pocket for specialized testing and treatment and then wait to be reimbursed.
Pam Isfeld, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, says that only recently has there been a “sense of urgency” around the issue.
“I think it took the system longer than we would have liked … to take steps to minimize the risk,” she said in an interview.
But she’s hopeful now that the department has put in place the arrangements to ensure care with medical specialists.
Global Affairs Canada did not comment on the situation in Cuba or the concerns expressed by diplomatic staff.
Some of those affected are now in rehabilitation, which has helped. But symptoms continue.
Treatment of Canadian children by specialists is only now just beginning, more than a year after the crisis first came to light. The diplomats worry that down the road the brain injuries may result in dementia or tumours. They want assurances of long-term medical followup.
And in Cuba, the mystery continues. Another U.S. diplomat was confirmed Thursday to be suffering the same symptoms that have befallen the others.
“I think it took the system longer than we would have liked … to take steps to minimize the risk.” PAM ISFELD PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS PRESIDENT