Educate me about Haiti.

[Skidmore]

I was listening to a program on Pacifica radio where they were discussing the current state of Haiti and the vicious bloodbath that is occurring there. Okay, Bush removed an elected Aristeide a couple? of years ago and installed this murderous regime that is there now. What did he have to gain by taking this very poor nation with so many problems and removing any hope for an orderly society from them? Haiti has no oil and is so impoverished. What do they use it for?

[rainy]

1. History of Haiti is sad. It used to be self sufficient people

living on the fertile soil. Corporate sugar manufacturers got hold of their fertile land and dug up all of the vegetation causing land that would not stand up to floods etc and could not feed the people. The Haitians became sick and poor with no way of sustaining themselves on their raped land.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Here are some great

articles and editorials.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=site:www.commondreams.org+haiti

[felonious thunk]

3. Proximity, Cold War, Refugees

We care about what happens in Haiti now mostly because of the possibility of refugess attempting to enter the country. But there is also a Cold War history between the U.S. and Haiti. The Duvaliers (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) were fairly brutal dictators during the Cold War, that were not pro-Soviet, so we largely looked the other way, and there is no doubt that some of our interference in Haiti now is a relic of our guilt over our inaction during the Papa Doc years.

[On the Road]

4. The US Has Always Opposed Populist Governments in the Western Hemisphere

on the grounds that they might inspire other countries in the continent and lead to a hostile Latin America with a poor business climate.

Or you take the view that the Duvaliers and other members of the elite are friends of the powerful in DC, and that war is a kind of political payback like any other constituency.

Or you can look at the entire history of Haiti since 1804, when the Haitians managed one of the few successful slave revolts in history and got rid of the French colonial government. The US, however, instead of seeing a fellow colony which had gained independence, viewed Haiti as a dangerous inspiration for slave revolts in the US, and tried to suppress Haiti economicially and politically.

Clinton, to his credit, restored Aristide with military force. But nothing that has happened under Bush is at all unusual over the past 200 years.

[Scout1071]

5. I'm so glad you brought this up. I have met an interesting couple

from Haiti. They are here for several months because they run a successful business in Haiti and they received a kidnapping threat, which is big business over there. The woman's sister was kidnapped last year and they had to pay a significant (six figure) ransom to get her back. So when this couple received a real threat, they closed the doors to their business and got on a plane to the US the very next day. They have decided to stay for the fall/winter because of the upcoming elections. They feel like it is just too dangerous to be there right now, especially since they have a young daughter.

I met them in the coffee shop I work out of a few days a week and we have become friends. They are terrified of the situation right now.