Thalidomide Victims Still a campaign for compensation, 50 years
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010Thalidomide Victims Still campaign for compensation, 50 years old
At the end of 1950, the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal, thalidomide drug launched in 46 countries worldwide. The drug was said to be a cure for pregnant mothers suffering from morning sickness, but it produced horrific deformations, some children born to women who received this treatment.
50 years and the victims are still waiting for adequate compensation from the man of her German firms ‘on’ state.
Campaigners believe that thalidomide was responsible for up to 100,000 infant deaths, while still in the womb, with almost half of the 10,000 children born alive die in their first year of life.
Those survivors left to grow with a wide range of disabilities, from short legs and hands as weapons, with toes sprouting from the hip area. Others are born deaf and blind.
Two warriors, Gary Skyner and Freddie Astbury is committed to helping to ensure Grünenthal compensation paid one million pounds spread over ten years for each of the 3500 victims worldwide survival.
Astbury Skyner and are familiar among those who are fighting for the rights movement of thalidomide, with Skyner said: “Let me give you analogy. We like armed robbers. We hit the place up, put everyone in archives, and tell the manager that we would make tea, while he tries to remember the combination to be sure. “
However, after setting up in 2006 to meet with the director of the UK subsidiary of Grünenthal, Chris Matijasevic, meeting was canceled 10 days before will be held with Matijasevic citing “against his urgent ‘available to meet’ in the near future”
party then approached the German ambassador, Wolfgang Ischinger on the question of why the British suffering from the effects of thalidomide taken as a negative attitude from Grünenthal. Although sympathetic to their situation, Ischinger next meeting was short lived, was a real surprise for the campaign.
Thalidomide victims have become used to their arguments ignore the companies that promote drugs, and governments that accepted without question, Grunenthals claim that they were aware of the devastating effects of the drug will have.
Skyner said: “This is bigger than 9 / 11 regarding the effect of number, but it’s not sexy, because we were not killed or maimed on the same day. And now, more older and uglier men want to know. “
Most cases of children dying in the womb, young or were born with deformities occurred in Germany, but there was clearly identified 490 victims in Britain.
great effort by the families of victims to obtain compensation have been in 1960, but the distillery, the UK distributor of thalidomide caused a national outcry when it offers only a small compensation package sufferers. A better solution has been reached at the end of the year.
currently eligible victims of the UK average of £ 18,000 a year in aid, which refers to the severity of the disability. This is much more suffering to get other countries, with Italy, Spain and Austria offered no compensation at all. In Germany, which has five times the number of people affected by the effects of thalidomide, the maximum annual fee is just £ 4,000.
3 April 2008, the thalidomide victims from around the world come to the German embassy in London to rally on the 50th anniversary of the entry of drugs into the United Kingdom.
