PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters): An unemployed man who risked life and limb to pull children from the rubble of a collapsed school was celebrated as a national hero on Thursday by the impoverished Caribbean nation's president. More than 90 people were killed in the disaster involving the La Promesse school, a ramshackle three-story building that collapsed in a slum on the outskirts of the Haitian capital. Ronaldo Charilus, 29, said he rushed to the structure soon after it caved in last Friday. (...) Charilus, dubbed "Ronaldo the Hero" by the Haitian media, saved the lives of several dozen children trapped under the debris while putting his own life in almost constant danger, according to numerous eyewitness reports.
More than 90 people were killed in the disaster involving the La Promesse school, a ramshackle three-story building that collapsed in a slum on the outskirts of the Haitian capital.
Ronaldo Charilus, 29, said he rushed to the structure soon after it caved in last Friday.
(...)
Charilus, dubbed "Ronaldo the Hero" by the Haitian media, saved the lives of several dozen children trapped under the debris while putting his own life in almost constant danger, according to numerous eyewitness reports.
Putting details aside, what has happened since is eerily similar to the overthrow of Haiti's first democratic government in 1991. The Aristide government, once again, was undermined by U.S. planners, who understood, under Clinton, that the threat of democracy can be overcome if economic sovereignty is eliminated and presumably also understood that economic development will also be a faint hope under such conditions, one of the best confirmed lessons of economic history. Bush II planners are even more dedicated to undermining democracy and independence and despised Aristide and the popular organizations that swept him to power with perhaps even more passion than their predecessors. The forces that reconquered the country are mostly inheritors of the U.S.-installed army and paramilitary terrorists. Those who are intent on diverting attention from the U.S. role will object that the situation is more complex-as is always true-and that Aristide too was guilty of many crimes. Correct, but if he had been a saint the situation would hardly have developed very differently, as was evident in 1994, when the only real hope was that a democratic revolution in the U.S. would make it possible to shift policy in a more civilized direction. What is happening now is awful, maybe beyond repair, and there is plenty of short-term responsibility on all sides. ... Commentary on Haiti, Iraq, and other "failed societies" is quite right in stressing the importance of overcoming the "democratic deficit" that substantially reduces the significance of elections. It does not, however, draw the obvious corollary: the lesson applies in spades to a country where "politics is the shadow cast on society by big business," in the words of America's leading social philosopher, John Dewey, describing his own country in days when the blight had spread nowhere near as far as it has today. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Haiti/US_Haiti_Chomsky.html
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Haiti/US_Haiti_Chomsky.html
Those who are intent on diverting attention from the U.S. role will object that the situation is more complex-as is always true-and that Aristide too was guilty of many crimes. Correct, but if he had been a saint the situation would hardly have developed very differently.
No we aren't diverting attention from the US role. The US acted opportunistically as has always done in the past (see the Grenada Revolution, for one example). However, things didn't turn out to its (the US's) liking in the end, now did it? Rene Preval, far from being a US puppet, is actually a protege of Aristide.
Wish I could go on, but I must get back to work... "Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
Chomsky refers to the earlier history:
As New York Times correspondent R.W. Apple recounted two centuries of history in 1994, reflecting on the prospects for Clinton's endeavor to "restore democracy" then underway, "Like the French in the l9th century, like the Marines who occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934, the American forces who are trying to impose a new order will confront a complex and violent society with no history of democracy. " Apple does appear to go a bit beyond the norm in his reference to Napoleon's savage assault on Haiti, leaving it in ruins, in order to prevent the crime of liberation in the world's richest colony, the source of much of France's wealth. But perhaps that undertaking too satisfies the fundamental criterion of benevolence: it was supported by the United States, which was naturally outraged and frightened by "the first nation in the world to argue the case of universal freedom for all humankind, revealing the limited definition of freedom adopted by the French and American revolutions." So Haitian historian Patrick Bellegarde-Smith writes, accurately describing the terror in the slave state next door, which was not relieved even when Haiti's successful liberation struggle, at enormous cost, opened the way to the expansion to the West by compelling Napoleon to accept the Louisiana Purchase. The U.S. continued to do what it could to strangle Haiti, even supporting France's insistence that Haiti pay a huge indemnity for the crime of liberating itself, a burden it has never escaped -and France, of course, dismissed with elegant disdain Haiti's request, recently under Aristide, that it at least repay the indemnity, forgetting the responsibilities that a civilized society would accept. ibid
Apple does appear to go a bit beyond the norm in his reference to Napoleon's savage assault on Haiti, leaving it in ruins, in order to prevent the crime of liberation in the world's richest colony, the source of much of France's wealth. But perhaps that undertaking too satisfies the fundamental criterion of benevolence: it was supported by the United States, which was naturally outraged and frightened by "the first nation in the world to argue the case of universal freedom for all humankind, revealing the limited definition of freedom adopted by the French and American revolutions." So Haitian historian Patrick Bellegarde-Smith writes, accurately describing the terror in the slave state next door, which was not relieved even when Haiti's successful liberation struggle, at enormous cost, opened the way to the expansion to the West by compelling Napoleon to accept the Louisiana Purchase. The U.S. continued to do what it could to strangle Haiti, even supporting France's insistence that Haiti pay a huge indemnity for the crime of liberating itself, a burden it has never escaped -and France, of course, dismissed with elegant disdain Haiti's request, recently under Aristide, that it at least repay the indemnity, forgetting the responsibilities that a civilized society would accept.
ibid
"No we aren't diverting attention from the US role. "
I'm not sure who the "we" is here - I think recent discussions in the US media have NOT gone into the US role.
"However, things didn't turn out to its (the US's) liking in the end, now did it? Rene Preval, far from being a US puppet, is actually a protege of Aristide."
If the US created more of a mess than they intended, I'm not surprised. Things haven't turned out well in Iraq either, but that doesn't absolve the US of blame does it? Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice. Blog - Nice Experience
Petion's land reform contributed just as much to the dire situation today as did the colonial policies you cite.
Chomsky clearly thinks the recent US role is far more important in understanding the situation - today - in Haiti than what happened in the 19th century. I find his account persuasive and entirely in keeping with US policy in the region generally:
The Bush I administration reacted to the disaster of democracy by shifting aid from the democratically elected government to what are called "democratic forces": the wealthy elites and the business sectors, who, along with the murderers and torturers of the military and paramilitaries, had been lauded by the current incumbents in Washington, in their Reaganite phase, for their progress in "democratic development," justifying lavish new aid. The praise came in response to ratification by the Haitian parliament of a law granting Washington's client killer and torturer Baby Doc Duvalier the authority to suspend the rights of any political party without reasons. The law passed by a majority of 99.98 percent. It therefore marked a positive step towards democracy as compared with the 99 percent approval of a 1918 law granting U.S. corporations the right to turn the country into a U.S. plantation, passed by 5 percent of the population after the Haitian Parliament was disbanded at gunpoint by Wilson's Marines when it refused to accept this "progressive measure," essential for "economic development." Their reaction to Baby Doc's encouraging progress towards democracy was characteristic-worldwide-on the part of the visionaries who are now entrancing educated opinion with their dedication to bringing democracy to a suffering world-although, to be sure, their actual exploits are being tastefully rewritten to satisfy current needs. Refugees fleeing to the U. S. from the terror of the U.S.-backed dictatorships were forcefully returned, in gross violation of international humanitarian law. The policy was reversed when a democratically elected government took office. Though the flow of refugees reduced to a trickle, they were mostly granted political asylum. Policy returned to normal when a military junta overthrew the Aristide government after seven months and state terrorist atrocities rose to new heights. The perpetrators were the army-the inheritors of the National Guard left by Wilson's invaders to control the population-and its paramilitary forces. The most important of these, FRAPH, was founded by CIA asset Emmanuel Constant, who now lives happily in Queens, Clinton and Bush II having dismissed extradition requests-because he would reveal U.S. ties to the murderous junta, it is widely assumed. Constant's contributions to state terror were, after all, meager; merely prime responsibility for the murder of 4,000 to 5,000 poor blacks. ibid.
Refugees fleeing to the U. S. from the terror of the U.S.-backed dictatorships were forcefully returned, in gross violation of international humanitarian law. The policy was reversed when a democratically elected government took office. Though the flow of refugees reduced to a trickle, they were mostly granted political asylum. Policy returned to normal when a military junta overthrew the Aristide government after seven months and state terrorist atrocities rose to new heights. The perpetrators were the army-the inheritors of the National Guard left by Wilson's invaders to control the population-and its paramilitary forces. The most important of these, FRAPH, was founded by CIA asset Emmanuel Constant, who now lives happily in Queens, Clinton and Bush II having dismissed extradition requests-because he would reveal U.S. ties to the murderous junta, it is widely assumed. Constant's contributions to state terror were, after all, meager; merely prime responsibility for the murder of 4,000 to 5,000 poor blacks.
ibid.
Not a pretty story and it's not surprising the US media in general tend to avoid it. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice. Blog - Nice Experience
The politics is one thing. You've focused on that. However, there is another complementary aspect to Haitian poverty. The Haitian landscape today doesn't sustain prosperous agriculture because the topsoil was devastated, due in no small measure to the post revolutionary land reform that favored small, no, micro scale agriculture over large scale agriculture. The large estates were subdivided by Petion and others into small plots and parceled out to the peasants. That was a populist measure that was expedient at the time but it also represented economic suicide. Ask any knowledgable Haitian (ask even Aristide!!). They will tell you exactly that. I take it you were unable to access the jstor link I provided. "Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
So it's really the Haitians own fault huh - ruined their own agriculture long ago - I don't think so:
Before 1950, Haiti produced more than 80 percent of its own food and exported coffee, cocoa, meat and sugar. Since then, political instability [cf Chomsky on the main causes], among other factors, has made the development of Haitian agriculture a low priority. Dictatorships supported by Haiti's small elite have been preoccupied with plunder and repression, while popular governments have often been preoccupied with survival, and fending off coups d'etat. By the 1980s and 1990s, a huge amount of international pressure had been placed on Haiti to reduce its tariffs and open most of its markets to the world. This process has strengthened a demographic shift in which poor rural populations, out of work, have moved to urban slums, often working as street vendors. To reenergise Haiti's rural economy, many analysts believe the government itself must intervene in order to create the space for jobs. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41454
Before 1950, Haiti produced more than 80 percent of its own food and exported coffee, cocoa, meat and sugar. Since then, political instability [cf Chomsky on the main causes], among other factors, has made the development of Haitian agriculture a low priority.
Dictatorships supported by Haiti's small elite have been preoccupied with plunder and repression, while popular governments have often been preoccupied with survival, and fending off coups d'etat.
By the 1980s and 1990s, a huge amount of international pressure had been placed on Haiti to reduce its tariffs and open most of its markets to the world. This process has strengthened a demographic shift in which poor rural populations, out of work, have moved to urban slums, often working as street vendors. To reenergise Haiti's rural economy, many analysts believe the government itself must intervene in order to create the space for jobs.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41454
i was going to ask you to write a diary on this subject based on your comment above. but this discussion was very informative in and of itself, so thank you for that. Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
It's called satire, OK, sarcasm, something I also share with Chomsky, cf.:
The praise came in response to ratification by the Haitian parliament of a law granting Washington's client killer and torturer Baby Doc Duvalier the authority to suspend the rights of any political party without reasons. The law passed by a majority of 99.98 percent. It therefore marked a positive step towards democracy as compared with the 99 percent approval of a 1918 law granting U.S. corporations the right to turn the country into a U.S. plantation, passed by 5 percent of the population after the Haitian Parliament was disbanded at gunpoint by Wilson's Marines when it refused to accept this "progressive measure," essential for "economic development." http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Haiti/US_Haiti_Chomsky.html
The praise came in response to ratification by the Haitian parliament of a law granting Washington's client killer and torturer Baby Doc Duvalier the authority to suspend the rights of any political party without reasons. The law passed by a majority of 99.98 percent. It therefore marked a positive step towards democracy as compared with the 99 percent approval of a 1918 law granting U.S. corporations the right to turn the country into a U.S. plantation, passed by 5 percent of the population after the Haitian Parliament was disbanded at gunpoint by Wilson's Marines when it refused to accept this "progressive measure," essential for "economic development."
You haven't explained how it was possible that:
Before 1950, Haiti produced more than 80 percent of its own food and exported coffee, cocoa, meat and sugar.
if the productive capacity of the land was supposedly ruined 200 (not 100 as you now say) years ago. The kinds of intervention by the US cited by Chomsky do explain why agriculture has declined in Haiti so disastrously - here's yet more explaining why this happened (excuse his sarcasm - entirely justified in my view):
Also efficiently suppressed were the crucial conditions that Clinton imposed for Aristide's return: that he adopt the program of the defeated U.S. candidate in the 1990 elections, a former World Bank official who had received 14 percent of the vote. We call this "restoring democracy," a prime illustration of how U.S. foreign policy has entered a "noble phase" with a "saintly glow," the national press explained. The harsh neoliberal program that Aristide was compelled to adopt was virtually guaranteed to demolish the remaining shreds of economic sovereignty, extending Wilson's progressive legislation and similar U.S.-imposed measures since ... Matters then proceeded in their predictable course. A 1995 USAID report explained that the "export-driven trade and investment policy" that Washington imposed will "relentlessly squeeze the domestic rice farmer," who will be forced to turn to agroexport, with incidental benefits to U.S. agribusiness and investors. Despite their extreme poverty, Haitian rice farmers are quite efficient, but cannot possibly compete with U. S. agribusiness, even if it did not receive 40 percent of its profits from government subsidies, sharply increased under the Reaganites who are again in power, still producing enlightened rhetoric about the miracles of the market. We now read that Haiti cannot feed itself, another sign of a "failed state. " A few small industries were still able to function, for example, making chicken parts. But U.S. conglomerates have a large surplus of dark meat, and therefore demanded the right to dump their excess products in Haiti. They tried to do the same in Canada and Mexico too, but there illegal dumping could be barred. Not in Haiti, compelled to submit to efficient market principles by the U.S. government and the corporations it serves. ibid.
... Matters then proceeded in their predictable course. A 1995 USAID report explained that the "export-driven trade and investment policy" that Washington imposed will "relentlessly squeeze the domestic rice farmer," who will be forced to turn to agroexport, with incidental benefits to U.S. agribusiness and investors. Despite their extreme poverty, Haitian rice farmers are quite efficient, but cannot possibly compete with U. S. agribusiness, even if it did not receive 40 percent of its profits from government subsidies, sharply increased under the Reaganites who are again in power, still producing enlightened rhetoric about the miracles of the market. We now read that Haiti cannot feed itself, another sign of a "failed state. "
A few small industries were still able to function, for example, making chicken parts. But U.S. conglomerates have a large surplus of dark meat, and therefore demanded the right to dump their excess products in Haiti. They tried to do the same in Canada and Mexico too, but there illegal dumping could be barred. Not in Haiti, compelled to submit to efficient market principles by the U.S. government and the corporations it serves.
This isn't to deny "agency" to the Haitians, of course, nor to deny that they have caused environmental problems in more recent years - but, as I started by saying, that has to be seen in context - one Chomsky, unlike most US media, provides. Regarding the environment in recent years, from another source:
Each year, the country's 7 million inhabitants burn the equivalent of 30 million trees--20 million more than the country grows annually. Forests have shrunk from covering 80 percent of Haiti's lands several hundred years ago, to only 3 percent today. Deforestation stepped up during the international trade embargo, between 1991-1994, as people burned trees for the fuel they could no longer import. Haiti's exploding population growth hasn't helped either. Strapped for cash and burdened by innumerable needs, the government has not placed a major emphasis on conservation. Only $300,000 has been earmarked for the environment in Haiti's 1995-1996 budget--only about .17 percent of the government's overall budget. "The government has a lot of priorities and the environment isn't one of them," Eyma said. For their part, large-scale international efforts have ebbed and flowed with the tides of Haitian politics. During the trade embargo, many environmental programs ground to a halt. ... Solidarity Forest is not the only project up and running in Buteau. The village has also set up a revolving loan fund for women's businesses, again fueled by church dollars. The mix of income-generation and environmental conservation is critical, many experts say. It is a link, they say, that many development workers fail to make. "Many organizations just haven't addressed poverty concerns," said Lydia Williams of Oxfam America. "Peasants know they shouldn't cut down a tree, but if they need to cook food they'll do it. They know they shouldn't farm on mountains, but if they need to eat they'll do it." http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/257.html
Each year, the country's 7 million inhabitants burn the equivalent of 30 million trees--20 million more than the country grows annually. Forests have shrunk from covering 80 percent of Haiti's lands several hundred years ago, to only 3 percent today.
Deforestation stepped up during the international trade embargo, between 1991-1994, as people burned trees for the fuel they could no longer import. Haiti's exploding population growth hasn't helped either. Strapped for cash and burdened by innumerable needs, the government has not placed a major emphasis on conservation. Only $300,000 has been earmarked for the environment in Haiti's 1995-1996 budget--only about .17 percent of the government's overall budget.
"The government has a lot of priorities and the environment isn't one of them," Eyma said.
For their part, large-scale international efforts have ebbed and flowed with the tides of Haitian politics. During the trade embargo, many environmental programs ground to a halt. ... Solidarity Forest is not the only project up and running in Buteau. The village has also set up a revolving loan fund for women's businesses, again fueled by church dollars.
The mix of income-generation and environmental conservation is critical, many experts say. It is a link, they say, that many development workers fail to make.
"Many organizations just haven't addressed poverty concerns," said Lydia Williams of Oxfam America. "Peasants know they shouldn't cut down a tree, but if they need to cook food they'll do it. They know they shouldn't farm on mountains, but if they need to eat they'll do it."
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/257.html
The Bush government has made things worse for such desperate peasants:
The punishment of Haiti became much more severe under Bush II - there are differences within the narrow spectrum of cruelty and greed. Aid was cut and international institutions were pressured to do likewise, under pretexts too outlandish to merit discussion. They are extensively reviewed in Paul Farmer's The Uses of Haiti, and in some current press commentary, notably by Jeffrey Sachs (Financial Times) and Tracy Kidder (New York Times). Chomsky, ibid.
The punishment of Haiti became much more severe under Bush II - there are differences within the narrow spectrum of cruelty and greed. Aid was cut and international institutions were pressured to do likewise, under pretexts too outlandish to merit discussion. They are extensively reviewed in Paul Farmer's The Uses of Haiti, and in some current press commentary, notably by Jeffrey Sachs (Financial Times) and Tracy Kidder (New York Times).
Chomsky, ibid.
Re Farmer's book - it seems it has suffered from a smear campaign, something that Chomsky has to put up with too:
EDIT - There seems to be something of a smear campaign going on against this book. The book was originaly published in 1994, and this edition came out in 2003. Therefore, the current happenings in Haiti are not mentioned in the book. One reviewer mentioned that Farmer is so rich because Aristide is lining his pockets. This reviewer is overlooking the fact that Farmer is one of the head doctors at one of the largest hospitals in the US (a post that pays a pretty penny), and teaches at Harvard (ditto), and does frequent speaking tours, is a published author, and much more. Farmer is also quite open about the fact that he lives in a tiny appartment in a very bleak area of Boston, and puts his tremendous earnings right back into Partners in Health. http://www.amazon.com/Uses-Haiti-Updated-Paul-Farmer/dp/1567512429
EDIT - There seems to be something of a smear campaign going on against this book. The book was originaly published in 1994, and this edition came out in 2003. Therefore, the current happenings in Haiti are not mentioned in the book. One reviewer mentioned that Farmer is so rich because Aristide is lining his pockets. This reviewer is overlooking the fact that Farmer is one of the head doctors at one of the largest hospitals in the US (a post that pays a pretty penny), and teaches at Harvard (ditto), and does frequent speaking tours, is a published author, and much more. Farmer is also quite open about the fact that he lives in a tiny appartment in a very bleak area of Boston, and puts his tremendous earnings right back into Partners in Health.
http://www.amazon.com/Uses-Haiti-Updated-Paul-Farmer/dp/1567512429
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice. Blog - Nice Experience
However, I will do what every academic does in such a case: provide you with a few scholarly sources. For Haitian scholarship, you can't go wrong with Jean Price-Mars. However, for matters pertaining to economic development (and the questions you have fielded) consult works of the trusted scholar Mats Lundahl. Although he is not Haitian, he is a scholar of Haiti (his publications contain bibliographic gold mines). Further up the thread, I posted a link to a JSTOR with some reviews of his. I will do you the favor of reproducing them here. You will find your answers in those books (I hope you can read french):
Review: Haitian Underdevelopment in a Historical Perspective Author(s): Mats Lundahl Reviewed work(s): Haiti. Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und Periphere Gesellschaftsformation by Giovanni Caprio Haiti. Naturraumpotential und Entwicklung by Wolf Donner Ayiti-Potansyel Natirel e developman by Jeannot Hilaire Le Manifeste du Dernier Monde by Jean Jacques Honorat ... Source: Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Nov., 1982), pp. 465-475 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/156466
So long. "Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
When Columbus discovered Hispaniola in I492, he wrote a highly enthusiastic account of the island's lush vegetation. Today, as a result of human action, the country is virtually denuded. The small forest-clad areas that still remain display severe signs of degeneration and shrink rapidly. Most of the cultivated land is in mountainous terrain which per se is not suited for agriculture. With the farming techniques employed in Haiti, erosion has taken a heavy toll during more than two centuries.
One, are you implying that the Haitians can have no agency, positive or negative? Your focus on US and World influences, via Chomsky, seems to exclude the ability of Haitians to do anything, positive or negative. It would seem quite obvious that they would be just as capable of digging their hole even deeper. Not all autonomous acts or tactics of resistance are productive, and to deny that is to buy into a binary fallacy of "bad imperialist/good natives" which distorts the situation almost as much as a triumphalist narrative.
Two, the paragraph you cited fits entirely with what Marcatau is arguing. Before 1950, they were agriculturally prosperous. Now they aren't. Topsoil destruction is not hard to accomplish on a small island with rainfall like that of Haiti's, and I've seen some of the pictures Marcatau is citing. Further, the quote you cited doesn't actually make any causative links between anything - they are at best things happen at the same time.
You haven't understood the chronology, Marcatu was talking about the supposed effects of what happened about 200 years ago (as I made clear), not what has happened since 1950. As I pointed out it doesn't work as an explanation when, despite what happened about 200 years ago, the agriculture was relatively healthy in 1950. The destruction of it since then is clearly caused by US intervention and yes, in a desperate sitaution the Haitians themselves may have done some things which made the situation worse - the key question is why is it so bad generally - clearly explained by Chomsky. Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice. Blog - Nice Experience
"Alexandre Pétion , 1770-1818, Haitian revolutionist."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Petion-A.html Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner - that I moved to Nice. Blog - Nice Experience
