Bill Clinton Op-Ed: Haiti 'One Of The Great Humanitarian Emergencies In The History Of The Americas'

The Washington Post:

As I write, we don't know the extent of the damage wrought by the earthquake that rocked the coast of Haiti on Tuesday. But a tragic number of people have been killed or injured, and early estimates indicate that nearly 3 million people -- almost a third of Haiti's population-- may need aid, making this one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas.
This Story

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How we can help rebuild Haiti's promise
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Haiti's calamity

Read the whole story: The Washington Post

Comments

[Marina4now]

04:52 PM on 01/14/2010

Please donate. Another site that will get funds to the victims of this horrible earthquake in Haiti is the Clintonfoundation.org.

[BabblingBrooks]

03:54 PM on 01/14/2010

Haiti COULD possibly succeed if it ever gave up communist dictators. Haiti suffers from a capitalism deficiency.

[dems08]

02:40 PM on 01/14/2010

from a blog by Salena Tramel, Grassroots International Program Coordinator for the Middle East and Haiti.

... originally on Huffington Post, July 2009:

Brazil, like the U.S., has high stakes in Haiti's exports factories - in this case transnational companies selling textiles, shoes, and electronics that take advantage of the cheap labor force. Brazil also mapped out 700 million hectares - about a third of Haiti's land - to produce agrofuels...

... the U.S. felt that control over the Haitian economy was slipping through their fingers... In comes Bill Clinton as the new UN special envoy to Haiti.

Many Haitians see the Clinton name as a "business name" -- further reinforced by his recent call for more free trade zones for the communication sector where he has invested much of his personal wealth.

Since the Obama administration has failed to change course in Haiti, Haitians... are also concerned with Clinton's obvious ties to the State Department. They remember his role in the destabilization of their country and think that it is scandalous to now have him in charge of stabilizing it.

Haiti has real problems created by years of outside intervention... "Haiti is being used as a lab for this third generation of intervention and occupation... "

The international community has a responsibility to clean up the mess they created. It's time to... rebuild Haiti with Haitian solutions that benefit their own population -- from the bottom up.

http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/blog/generation-30-intervention-haiti-what-bill-clinton-doing-island-anyways

[Retrofuturistic]

02:10 PM on 01/14/2010

Watch out sending W. Bush there. I have a sudden flash of his using this crisis to set up a banana republic for Cheney....

[TheIndependenceParty]

03:24 PM on 01/14/2010

Bush could not find Haiti on a map. Why Obama tapped him for this is absolutely beyond me.

[Greenknight043]

11:47 AM on 01/14/2010

There really isn't anything funny about 50,000+ people dying in Haiti, but all the right-wing posters on this topic can do is make snarky comments about healthcare and Bill's sex life.

What's the matter with you people?

Where's George?

[Greenknight043]

11:44 AM on 01/14/2010

We are seeing the core philosophy of do-nothing conservatism in action.

Give Bill Clinton grief for trying to do something, while ignoring that George W. and Cheney are nowhere to be seen.

Classic.

[GOPfreedSlaves]

11:34 AM on 01/14/2010

Haiti better succeed. Who else will get bill coffee if they fail?

[bluguy8]

11:24 AM on 01/14/2010

sure just like our healthcare

[liveordie]

11:19 AM on 01/14/2010

Ol Bill, love him or hate him, the guys has so much positive aura that no one else could pull off what President Obama expects him to but Bill. Good luck Bill! Oh, and to the naysayers, try and get a grip, your lip service sounds so trite.

[AnnfromCA]

10:55 AM on 01/14/2010

Bill needs to do what he can. The fact is that Haiti was one of his failures.

And it still is.

[Mixpixlix]

10:49 AM on 01/14/2010

I have no problem with helping the people of Haiti, but our aid and that of other nations MUST be kept out of the hands of the corrupt government. Haiti's history is an ugly one. Some of you may remember Papa Doc, then Baby Doc, then Aristide who was supposed to be the country's savior. He wasn't.

While some may find this idea unpalatable, Haiti should become a protectorate of Great Britain or the U.S.A or any national that can impose a governmental structure than isn't based on corrportion, greed and sucking the enconomic life out of the population.

It is interesting that countries that were once part of the Bristish Empire were more easily able to a step into self rule, once the Empire pulled out. The reason is that the structure was in place and there have been generations of the populace that worked in the structure, understood it, and could take over when the time came.

Haiti has never had that. It would be, in my opinion , the only way to save the country from itself.

[SurrealPumpkin]

10:56 AM on 01/14/2010

From what I'm seeing there is no National Government to worry about right now.

[SurrealPumpkin]

10:34 AM on 01/14/2010

I hope President Carter is gathering materials and volunteers right now. For sure there will be a need for new homes once the clean up is done.

[NonPartisanPerson]

10:30 AM on 01/14/2010

Mr. Clinton,

It might be a good time to recall some of the recent reasons exacerbating Haiti's historic poverty is and why there are highly populated slums that cannot withstand an earthquake:

one reason is NAFTA.

"In both Mexico and Haiti, NAFTA policies have caused an exodus from rural areas forcing people to live in urban slums and accept low paid sweatshop labor."

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/8-nafta-destroys-farming-communities-in-us-and-abroad/

Recalling the US historic role in Haiti is crucial to understanding Haiti's future challenges”

[naschkatze]

10:33 AM on 01/14/2010

Fanned.

[ReportThis]

10:20 AM on 01/14/2010

When is Clinton going to come clean about his latest extramarital affair(s)?

[SurrealPumpkin]

10:34 AM on 01/14/2010

I've have other things to worry about. I'll pass on that one.

[AnnfromCA]

11:08 AM on 01/14/2010

You mean that gossipy book?

You buy that?

I don't.

[JackNasty]

10:00 AM on 01/14/2010

...and Bill sees another opportunity for self promotion and meetin' women! .

[teron678]

10:05 AM on 01/14/2010

come on why do you have to go there .......

[SurrealPumpkin]

10:33 AM on 01/14/2010

The name says it all.

[JackNasty]

09:16 PM on 01/14/2010

Don't shoot, I'm just the messenger.

[AnnfromCA]

11:09 AM on 01/14/2010

Why are men so worried about Bill and his sex life?

Jealous, I guess. The stats on who is really getting laid in this country are surprising. A lot of men are having a big ole' dry spell, even if they are married.

I guess that evokes jealousy,.

[seelieme]

02:28 PM on 01/14/2010

Marriage is God's way of telling you that you are having too much sex.

[TheIndependenceParty]

03:27 PM on 01/14/2010

I'll tell you why, Ann, ... because there are men in power, and Clinton is an example along with dozens of others well known in politics on both sides and in the public limelight, that allow it to distract them from what needs to be done.

It's not about the sex, ... it's about the interference of the ego in the work at hand. The sex is a symptom.