The Foreign Service Journal, November 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2021 13 Turmoil Over “Havana Syndrome” A mbassador (ret.) Pamela Spratlen, the head of the State Department’s Health Incidents Response Task Force, has left after six months in the position, CBS News reported on Sept. 23. Amb. Spratlen had returned to State to take the lead of the task force looking into the mysterious illnesses suffered by diplo- mats, intelligence and other U.S. officials, known popularly as “Havana syndrome” and referred to as “unexplained health incidents” by the department. State said that Spratlen left the post because she had “reached the threshold of hours of labor” allowed under her status as a retired ambassador. A spokesperson said a replacement would be named soon. The Washington Post reported that some of those affected by the mysterious ill- nesses had called for Spratlen’s resignation following a meeting with victims during which Spratlen declined to say whether she believed an FBI study that said staffers in Havana were most likely suffering from mass psychogenic illness, or mass hysteria, and not fromdirect attacks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined a Sept. 10 call withmembers of the affected cohort of State employees, his first meeting with them, and listened to their concerns over “continuing stigma and disbelief within the government about their injuries,” NBC News reported. Blinken’s message, per NBC, was that “those suffering must be believed, and that the administration is doing all it can to investigate and provide care.” But affected diplomats say they face “profound challenges” in receiving medi- cal care and benefits, and that skepticism about their injuries “is pervasive even among some high-level officials.” Cases have been reported in Colom- bia, Austria, Germany, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Serbia, India, Vietnam and other countries, and inWashington, D.C. The Washington Post on Sept. 23 reported that dozens of U.S. personnel in Vienna, including some children of U.S. employees, have been affected by the mysterious illnesses. The CIA station chief in Vienna was removed fromhis post in September due to a perceived lack of con- cern about the issue. CIA Director WilliamBurns, a Career Ambassador and former Deputy Secretary of State, who has made countering what the CIA calls “abnormal health incidents” a major focus, was left “fuming” with anger after a member of his team reported experiencing symptoms consistent with the mysterious illnesses during a trip with Burns to India, CNN reported on Sept. 20. On Oct. 8, President Biden signed into law the HAVANA Act to improve support for those who have suffered from the syn- drome. It authorizes State, CIA and other agencies to provide payments to personnel and their families who incur brain injuries “fromhostilities while on assignment” both domestically and abroad. The bill was passed unanimously by Congress. It applies to injuries incurred both before and after the bill’s enactment. In a statement, the White House said, “Protecting Americans and all those who serve our country is our first duty, and we will do everything we can to care for our personnel and their families.” Special Envoy Resigns Over Haiti Deportations A fter just two months on the job, the U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti, career FSO Ambassador Daniel Foote, resigned on Sept. 23 amid mass deportations of Haitians from the U.S. border, which he described as an “inhumane, counterpro- ductive decision” in a resignation letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Foote also alleged that his policy recommendations were “ignored and dismissed.” The letter, first obtained by PBS, states that the U.S. policy approach to Haiti is deeply flawed, and that Haitians should not be sent back to “a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs in control of daily life.” The crisis-engulfed nation is still reeling from the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck in August. The deportations come amid dete- riorating conditions in migrant camps on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. authorities released some migrants in southern Texas while deporting oth- ers on flights to Port-au-Prince, accord- ing to Reuters. In a statement to NPR, a State Department spokesperson responded: “The United States is working with the International Organization on Migration TALKING POINTS Contemporary Quote I want to give a shout-out to the Foreign Service writ large, because they had more than enough volunteers for this mission. All around the world, people raised their hand and said, send me. —FSO Alan Eaton, speaking on the American Diplomat podcast Sept. 16 edition. Eaton volunteered, from Johannesburg, for temporary duty in Kabul to help with the evacuation in the days after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. He was the last consular officer at the Abbey Gate.