Part of the suffering of Haiti is indeed "Made in the USA." While the earthquake would harm any country, actions by the United States have absolutely magnified the harm from the earthquake in Haiti.
How? In the last decade alone, the U.S. slashed humanitarian assistance to Haiti, blocked international loans, forced the government of Haiti to downsize, ruined tens of thousands of small farmers, and replaced the government with private non-governmental organizations.
The result? Small farmers are starved out of the countryside and migrate by the tens of thousands to the cities where they built cheap shelters on hills. International funds for roads and education and healthcare are halted by the U.S. The money that does come into the country goes not to the government but to private corporations. Thus the government of Haiti is nearly powerless to provide assistance to its own people on regular days - much less in the face of a real disaster like this one.
Some specifics from recent years.
In 2004, the U.S. assisted in a coup against the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide. This continues a long tradition of the U.S. deciding who will rule the poorest country in the hemisphere. No government lasts in Haiti without U.S. approval.
In 2001, when the U.S. was mad at the President of Haiti, the U.S. successfully led an effort to freeze $148 million in already-approved loans and many hundreds of millions more of potential loans from the Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti. Funds which were dedicated to improve education, public health and roads.
For much of 2001-2004, the U.S. insisted that any international funds sent to Haiti had to go through non-governmental organizations. Funds that would have provided government services were re-routed thus shrinking the ability of the government to provide aid.
For years the U.S. has helped ruin small farmers in Haiti by dumping heavily subsidized U.S. rice on their market making it extremely difficult for small farmers to survive. This was done to help U.S. farmers. Haitian farmers? They don't vote in the U.S.
Those who visit Haiti will confirm that the biggest SUVs in Port au Prince are plastered with decals of non-governmental organizations. The biggest offices are for private groups doing the basic work of government - healthcare, education, disaster response. And all are guarded not by police but by private heavily-militarized security.
The government was systematically starved of funds. The public sector shrank away. Poor people streamed to the cities.
Thus there are no rescue units. Little public healthcare is available.
So when disaster struck, the people of Haiti were on their own. We can see them pitching in. We can see them trying. They are courageous and generous and innovative, but volunteers cannot replace government. So people suffer and die in greater numbers than necessary.
The results are on display for all to see. Tragically, much of the suffering after the earthquake is "Made in the USA."
1. The rampant corruption was the reason for blocking loans and forcing the rest through NGOs.
2. In '91 Aristide faced a no confidence vote and lost 83-11; in '94 the US restored him to power under operation Uphold Democracy.
3. Aristide disbanded the military not the US--a military they could use right now.
4. The reason for the all the NGOs is b/c the govt is so corrupt.
5. The gov't was looted of its funds by corrupt politicians.
6. 2001: we weren't made at Haiti; we were disappointed in how corrupt it was so we prevented millions in aid to Haiti that never would have gone to roads and schools.
The history is a bit more gray than you make it out to be no?
Some consider it 'politicizing a tragedy'. Perhaps if the media actually covered this issue, this information will be understood as pertinent to our future actions in the region.
The US media, government and many citizens did not care about Haiti until a 'natural' disaster. An "act of God" displaces blame from our actions to an event of which we have no control or involvement.
However the outpouring of support from citizens suggest that if they know about suffering, they will do something to alleviate it.
It is necessary if acknowledge our role in Haiti if we are genuinely interested in having a legitimate reconstruction and prevent previous policies from hurting the region again.
The impact of the debt repayments – which continued until after World War Two – was devastating. ... ‘Imposing an indemnity on the victorious slaves was equivalent to making them pay with money that which they had already paid with their blood...”
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n08/paul-farmer/who-removed-aristide
C'mon now. I don't get the current president's actions these days.
Many people look to the current outpouring of aid only to turn a blind eye to why the desperation will only get worse.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32294.pdf
Rather than just absorb half-truths.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/opinion/14kidder.html?pagewanted=print
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2006/01/27/world/1194817109852/haiti-democracy-undone.html
Lovers of political independence, freedom, liberty and justice should support Haiti into a new dawn of recovery, reconstruction and rebirth. We must all join hands to foster a new dawn and a renaissance in Haiti. We all have a stake in what becomes of Haiti, Haiti matters, particularly, as the forerunner and trailblazer of freedom from slavery and political independence for peoples of African descent and continental Africans. We are all Haitians. We are all more Haitians now! We all feel Haiti’s ageless, ceaseless and endless agonies and pains
Most sincerely,
Paul I. Adujie
New York, United States
Wyclif Jean wrote in his STATEMENT OF EMERGENCY ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE:
"I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse.”
Yéle Haiti has pulled together a group of organizations and first responders in order to help coordinate the delivery of emergency services and materials needed by victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The Alliance has pulled together four airlifts of medical supplies, food and other emergency supplies – along with teams of doctors and every $5.00 donation will help make a difference.
Please learn more @
http://www.wyclef.com/
http://www.yele.org/
Until some Gandhi-like figure rises up in Haiti and motivates the people there to do whatever it takes to be self-reliant, these problems will never go away.
Who needs aid for 200 years? At some point, it's not aid anymore.