By Maura R. O'Connor

Criticism has plagued the United Nations ever since it sent a peacekeeping force to Haiti in 2004. Past scandals include accusations of child sex abuse and political bias, but it's safe to say the United Nations' standing has reached a new low as far as Haitians are concerned. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December, the strain of cholera that has killed more than 3,300 and infected nearly 150,000 people in Haiti originated in South Asia. This gave new credence to the already widespread belief that a Nepalese unit with United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (known as MINUSTAH) was the source of the outbreak. Adding more fuel to local anger and resentment was the response of MINUSTAH forces to election-related protests in recent weeks, which included rocketing tear gas into Port-au-Prince's tent camps.

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