The Weekly Beast Volume I (originally appeared in The Lariat 2/3/10)
The world has been captivated and horrified by the indescribable damage caused by Haiti’s most recent natural disaster, a 7.0 earthquake. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property damage has been reported and over 200,000 lives have been lost. People have rightly chosen to organize and mobilize aid for the desperate population of that country. However, analysis provided by major news corporations has given the public no substance and no historical understanding of why there is such abject poverty in Haiti. What’s worse is that stories such as the U.S. blocking aid from reaching Haitians, as well as the disgusting opportunism exhibited by security companies have been completely removed from the media’s “discussion.” (I recommend you read Jeremy Scahill’s latest article for The Nation for an in-depth story of how security companies are profiting off the suffering of Haitians.) We must widen the narrow discussion to include criticism and to ask pointed questions about why Haiti is so poor.
In less than a week after the earthquake struck Haiti leaving two million homeless, the United States Government has sent over 20,000 troops to Haiti. What’s striking about this is that their mission is supposedly to stabilize Haiti, and maintain security, however when compared to the reality on the ground they are achieving the exact opposite. The U.S. has taken full control of the Port-au-Prince airport and since then multiple aid efforts have been blocked and prevented from landing. The U.S. has been so disruptive that the Medicines Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) have lodged five separate complaints against these military acts.
U.S. commanders have denied the Medicines Sans Frontiers from delivering an inflatable hospital, forcing the group to land in the Dominican Republic over 200 miles away from where critical aid is/was needed. This delayed the construction and application of the health facility by 24 hours. On NBC’s Meet the Press Lieutenant General Ken Keen discussed the issue of commandeering the airport, “We’re working aggressively to open up other ways to get in here. The ports are part of that.” So instead of using jets to fly in medical supplies, water and food he wants to utilize boats? Doesn’t he know that the Port-au-Prince Port was decimated by the earthquake?
Let’s picture Haiti before the earthquake. Imagine living in a country where the problem of poverty and starvation were so unbearable that people literally ate dirt to survive. In Haiti this is a daily reality. This reality has been constructed by a history of the United States meddling in democratic elections, (kidnapping presidents) The International Monetary Fund offering trojan-horse loans filled with destructive clauses that made bankers rich and Haitians the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. (as well as making them completely dependent on high-priced imported food) This is why the U.S.’s recent undemocratic military actions in Haiti should be condemned.
Poverty amplifies pain: The total deaths of U.S. citizens due to earthquakes since 1811 is 1/5 of how many people died in Haiti’s recent earthquake. If U.S citizens are interested in helping Haiti then we must pressure our government to retract the 2006 HOPE act specifically (Section (d)(1)(C)) which forces Haiti to eliminate “barriers of United States trade and investment.” When I think of the U.S.’s involvement in Haitian affairs I can’t help but think of the stereotype of a mafia don offering favors for severed heads. What’s relieving to know is that the International Monetary Fund recently caved-in to international pressure and gave Haiti a 100,000,000 dollar grant, perhaps the U.S. can be pressured by the domestic and international community to get its grubby hands off Haiti.
Additional and vital information:
DONATE NOW!
www.redcross.org/en/donatemoney
"Doctors without Borders interview" -Newsweek Magazine
http://www.newsweek.com/id/232058
"The International Monetary Fund's dealings with Haiti" -The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/517494/what_haiti_is_owed
"Top 10 Reasons to oppose the IMF" -The Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wbimf/TopTenIMF.html
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