Comments on: “The Rock in the Sun”: Haiti’s Préval Pleads For the U.S. and Rest of the World to End Global Negligence Towards Latin America’s Poorest Country http://www.coha.org/%e2%80%9cthe-rock-in-the-sun%e2%80%9d-haiti%e2%80%99s-preval-pleads-for-the-us-and-rest-of-the-world-to-end-the-world%e2%80%99s-negligence-towards-latin-america%e2%80%99s-poorest-country/ COHA is an NGO specialized in monitoring Latin American and Canadian Relations for more than 30 years... Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:22:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Joe Emersberger http://www.coha.org/%e2%80%9cthe-rock-in-the-sun%e2%80%9d-haiti%e2%80%99s-preval-pleads-for-the-us-and-rest-of-the-world-to-end-the-world%e2%80%99s-negligence-towards-latin-america%e2%80%99s-poorest-country/comment-page-1/#comment-28582 Joe Emersberger Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:31:30 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=2724#comment-28582 What is it that plagues Haitian society? The answer is quite simply the US government and its allies. Since 1990, Haitians have consistently voted for the drastic redistribution of wealth and power that they desperately need. The US and the Haitian elite have said no. Two US orchestrated coups - in 1991 and 2004 have killed thounsands of people in order to prevent Haitians from liftng themselves out of poverty. Haiti is forced to waste more than 10% of it central government's budget on external debt - about half of which stems from loans made to the utterly depraved US backed Duvalier dictatorships. In 2000, the US imposed econmic sanctions blocked the Haitian governmnets access to $500 million through 2004- all part of a consitent policy to prevent constructive change as much as possible. If Rene Preval were honest (in which case he'd likely be overthrown in yet another US backed coup) he wouldn't call what he asked for "aid" . He would call it reparations. Why does your governmnet do all this to Haiti? For the same reason that it provides its own citizens the disgracefully sub par health system (compared to most rich countries) that you described above; for the same reason you have one of the weakest labor movements in the industrial world (and about to get weaker thanks to the Financial crisis which will see the fabulously wealthy financiers who caused it bailed out while workers are ordered to take concessions). Your country is run by an extremely powerful business class that has always fought social reform through any available tactics. In Haiti, the tactics available include coups and deaths squads. In your own country the tactics are, by necessity, more subtle -and takes the form of a massive swindle. For more info see the websites of HaitiAnalysis of the IJDH What is it that plagues Haitian society? The answer is quite simply the US government and its allies.

Since 1990, Haitians have consistently voted for the drastic redistribution of wealth and power that they desperately need. The US and the Haitian elite have said no. Two US orchestrated coups – in 1991 and 2004 have killed thounsands of people in order to prevent Haitians from liftng themselves out of poverty. Haiti is forced to waste more than 10% of it central government’s budget on external debt – about half of which stems from loans made to the utterly depraved US backed Duvalier dictatorships.

In 2000, the US imposed econmic sanctions blocked the Haitian governmnets access to $500 million through 2004- all part of a consitent policy to prevent constructive change as much as possible.

If Rene Preval were honest (in which case he’d likely be overthrown in yet another US backed coup) he wouldn’t call what he asked for “aid” . He would call it reparations.

Why does your governmnet do all this to Haiti? For the same reason that it provides its own citizens the disgracefully sub par health system (compared to most rich countries) that you described above; for the same reason you have one of the weakest labor movements in the industrial world (and about to get weaker thanks to the Financial crisis which will see the fabulously wealthy financiers who caused it bailed out while workers are ordered to take concessions).

Your country is run by an extremely powerful business class that has always fought social reform through any available tactics.

In Haiti, the tactics available include coups and deaths squads. In your own country the tactics are, by necessity, more subtle -and takes the form of a massive swindle.

For more info see the websites of HaitiAnalysis of the IJDH

]]> By: LiberalChiroDoc http://www.coha.org/%e2%80%9cthe-rock-in-the-sun%e2%80%9d-haiti%e2%80%99s-preval-pleads-for-the-us-and-rest-of-the-world-to-end-the-world%e2%80%99s-negligence-towards-latin-america%e2%80%99s-poorest-country/comment-page-1/#comment-28512 LiberalChiroDoc Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:57:34 +0000 http://www.coha.org/?p=2724#comment-28512 This article reminded me of the seminal anti-war book "War is a Racket" by Smedley Butler. It was his deployment to Haiti that planted the seeds of his anti-war sentiment after observing how the U.S. government manipulated other governments for our own benefit with the fixing of elections. But what is it that is plaguing Haitian society? Is it the drug cartel that are also destroying Mexico and Columbia? $250 million per year for a country that size seems ample but is getting lost in corruption and graft. Doesn't seem pertinent to increase aid right now when 1 in 8 of our own cititzen have no healthcare coverage. This article reminded me of the seminal anti-war book “War is a Racket” by Smedley Butler. It was his deployment to Haiti that planted the seeds of his anti-war sentiment after observing how the U.S. government manipulated other governments for our own benefit with the fixing of elections.

But what is it that is plaguing Haitian society? Is it the drug cartel that are also destroying Mexico and Columbia?

$250 million per year for a country that size seems ample but is getting lost in corruption and graft. Doesn’t seem pertinent to increase aid right now when 1 in 8 of our own cititzen have no healthcare coverage.

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