Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname

In 1915 the Rockefeller Foundation took its hookworm eradication campaign to Suriname, but was soon disappointed because of opposition from its main target group: the Javanese. Moreover, authorities and planters objected to the construction of latrines because of the costs and their belief that the...

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Main Author: Rosemarijn Hoefte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz 2014-12-01
Series:História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702014000401437&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Rosemarijn Hoefte
author_facet Rosemarijn Hoefte
author_sort Rosemarijn Hoefte
collection DOAJ
description In 1915 the Rockefeller Foundation took its hookworm eradication campaign to Suriname, but was soon disappointed because of opposition from its main target group: the Javanese. Moreover, authorities and planters objected to the construction of latrines because of the costs and their belief that the Javanese were “unhygienic”. In describing the labor migration from Java to Suriname, I show that this “lack of hygiene” was closely related to the system’s organization. I argue that uncleanliness was the consequence of harmful socio-economic and ecological conditions. Secondly I suggest that even though the Foundation did not manage to cleanse Suriname of hookworm, its educational efforts, its emphasis on prevention, and its training of local health workers probably had more impact than Rockefeller officials thought.
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publisher Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo Cruz
record_format Article
series História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos
spelling doaj-art-f898c9d9122f47a293cba2f5ea29c9c12025-08-20T03:57:55ZengFundação Oswaldo Cruz, Casa de Oswaldo CruzHistória, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos1678-47582014-12-012141437145510.1590/S0104-59702014005000012S0104-59702014000401437Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in SurinameRosemarijn HoefteIn 1915 the Rockefeller Foundation took its hookworm eradication campaign to Suriname, but was soon disappointed because of opposition from its main target group: the Javanese. Moreover, authorities and planters objected to the construction of latrines because of the costs and their belief that the Javanese were “unhygienic”. In describing the labor migration from Java to Suriname, I show that this “lack of hygiene” was closely related to the system’s organization. I argue that uncleanliness was the consequence of harmful socio-economic and ecological conditions. Secondly I suggest that even though the Foundation did not manage to cleanse Suriname of hookworm, its educational efforts, its emphasis on prevention, and its training of local health workers probably had more impact than Rockefeller officials thought.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702014000401437&lng=en&tlng=enSurinamecolonialismosaúde públicasaneamentojavaneses
spellingShingle Rosemarijn Hoefte
Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
História, Ciências, Saúde: Manguinhos
Suriname
colonialismo
saúde pública
saneamento
javaneses
title Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
title_full Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
title_fullStr Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
title_full_unstemmed Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
title_short Cleansing the world of the germ of laziness: hygiene, sanitation, and the Javanese population in Suriname
title_sort cleansing the world of the germ of laziness hygiene sanitation and the javanese population in suriname
topic Suriname
colonialismo
saúde pública
saneamento
javaneses
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-59702014000401437&lng=en&tlng=en
work_keys_str_mv AT rosemarijnhoefte cleansingtheworldofthegermoflazinesshygienesanitationandthejavanesepopulationinsuriname