By Andrea Mitchell, Ken Dilanian and Brenda Breslauer -
NBC News
In March 2017, Tina Onufer, a career US foreign service official stationed in Havana, Cuba, was standing by her kitchen window, washing dishes, when she felt it.
"It was like something hit me
,
" he
said.
"A pain that I had never felt before in my life ... mainly in my head and in my eyes ... It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed me and I could not move," he added.
Onufer did not know it then, but he was one of the first victims of a phenomenon that has not yet been explained and that has come to be known as Havana syndrome, a mysterious set of symptoms - some of which are related to brain injuries- that have already affected some 200 US diplomats, intelligence officers and prominent personnel around the world.
Tina Onufer, career foreign service official, NBC News
Onufer and two of his former colleagues in Havana, Kate Husband and Doug Ferguson, a married couple, spoke about their experiences with our sister network NBC News with the permission of the State Department.
Their wish is for the world to know what happened to them in Havana: something that has caused them real suffering and documented injuries.
And they assure that those who insist that it is a case of massive psychosis are wrong.
[A possible case of the "anomalous" Havana syndrome delays Kamala Harris' tour to Vietnam]
"The way the doctor summed it up for me ... he said, 'Well, it's like you've aged 20, 25 years from one day to the next," said Husband, who was diagnosed with an "acquired brain injury related to direct exposure to a phenomenon ".
NBC News reported in 2018 that US intelligence officials had suspected Russia was behind the phenomenon, which some believed were intentional microwave attacks.
Doug Ferguson (left) and Kate Husband, a married couple who worked for the State Department.NBC News
Although the National Academies of Sciences have indicated that microwave energy is the most plausible cause and that Russia is the country that has studied them more carefully, three years later intelligence agencies have been unable to prove the allegations.
Well, it's like you've aged, you know, 20, 25 years from one day to the next. "
The doctor told Doug Ferguson
After the Trump Administration downplayed the case, under the Biden Administration Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns have increased their efforts to investigate the cause of the syndrome and treat the afflicted.
This month, Biden signed the Havana Law, which facilitates access to health services. At Walter Reed's National Military Hospital, many patients with Havana syndrome have described symptoms similar to those suffered by bomb attack survivors.
"People don't understand what this type of brain damage can do to you," Onufer said.
"So it's easy for people to dismiss what's happening to you," he added.
Several intelligence agencies target Russia, although they have not found enough evidence to support this theory, but their analyzes lead them to believe that the injuries were caused by some type of directed energy.
What has been completely discarded is a report from the scientific community that pointed to a species of especially noisy crickets.
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David Relman, a professor of medicine, infectious diseases, microbiology and immunology at Stanford who led the study for the National Academies, said he does not see the work of a possible natural phenomenon.
"I don't know why this happened to these people, but I do think it was something intentional," he clarified.
I don't know why this happened to these people, but I do think it was intentional. "
David Relman Professor of Medicine
"There is a lot of scientific literature, some of it in Russian, which indicates that pulsed microwave energy can cause some of these symptoms, signs and brain injuries. There are many international players who would have the means to implement technology like this in today's world. "he added.
One of the reasons Havana syndrome has been difficult to study is because
victims often experience different symptoms.
[Diplomats lament the lack of attention to the mysterious attacks of the 'Havana syndrome']
State Department employees Kate Husband and Doug Ferguson, for example, felt not a dramatic explosion, but something more subtle.
"What we experienced was an annoying noise in our house many nights a week over the course of several weeks," Ferguson explained.
“It was penetrating, persistent, kind of on the same level all the time.
Very noisy ... something that did not allow you to feel good while sitting, "added Husband.
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The pair were examined by neurologists at the University of Pennsylvania shortly after.
Ferguson was cleared to return to work, but
Husband was diagnosed with a brain injury and later retired due to medical disability
.
She still suffers from balance problems that cause nausea and confusion that makes it difficult for her to carry out basic tasks.
"Now I live with a notebook and a calendar that I have open in front of me at all times," he lamented.
Husband and the other affected people are raising their voices to deny those who believe that their diseases are made up.
"I mean, I have verified the physical injuries," he said.
This week, The Wall Street Journal reported the existence of new suspected cases of the syndrome in Bogotá, Colombia.
When a State Department spokesperson was asked about Colombia on Tuesday, he said:
We are not in the business of confirming reports.
But we are in the business of, number one, believing those who have reported these incidents, making sure they receive the immediate care they need in whatever form.
We are in the business of doing everything we can to protect our workforce ... around the world. "
Ned price, State Department spokesman
