Haiti, long term recovery and well globalization

[nadinbrzezinski]

in the early days discussing this is kind of stupid... but WHY Haiti is in such a mess should be discussed.

Can you all say NAFTA? Or actually all of its predecessors? Can you all say occupations, and not just by the US by the way.

Now in the coming months we will see (not really) the discussion on how you rebuild this place, and I can bet, mostly we have seen it in other places, that the politics of the country will change.

Now if the lead to rebuild is taken by the International Red Cross... they are damn good at this... well Halliburton might try to get on that teet, but damn it, the conditions are not good for profit. If private contractors get the contracts... well all bets are off.

So why the difference? It is the approach.

The ICRC (and I am using them as an example, and they are good) gets the lead, well they like to use as much local resources as they can... that includes well paid labor.

If our private companies do it. well you know how that goes.

For the record, the ICRC offered to do that after Katrina, and we all know why we could not accept that help. I mean the horror, the residents of the Ninth Ward rebuilding their own city instead of the sweet deals... we can't have none of that. Yes that is when my deep sense of cynicism and anger comes in.

Now to the politics... that happened in Mexico... one reason why the PRI lost the presidency was the 1985 quake. This disaster will change how people look at their own country and how to act vis a vis their own government. They may even demand crazy shit like help in restoring the ecology of the Island and leaving behind some of the neo colonial relations that come from globalization. I am not saying this will happen. I cannot guarantee it, but keep your eyes open, over the next twenty years. These are the kinds of events that change societies in ways that make people go WTF over... unless you know that this happens.

Oh and it goes without saying, we are still in the critical recovery phase, which is the phase least affected by who makes what profit... once we enter into the medium to long recovery... well that is when all that crap starts.

And yes to some discussing the effects of colonialism and neo liberal policies and all that is nuthing we want to do. That said, disaster capitalism... Haiti is where it is because of it... and there is not much to get from this turnip...

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. No discussion, just unrec

we really are ignorant of US history... but don't want to discuss it.

And damn it we are also proud not to talk of less than savory subjects...

[HeresyLives]

2. Haiti has nothing to do with NAFTA or globalization.

But I'm sure you won't read this anyway.

[Odin2005]

3. Haiti has been screwed over and over again since it's independence.

I've read that many of our founders were horrified by the Haitian revolution, some fearing it would set an example for their own slaves, some (like Jefferson) mainly for reasons of racism.

[HeresyLives]

4. Yes, two good ones on that today.

http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1900-help-haiti-the-unforgiven-country-cries-out.html#comments


http://www.reclusiveleftist.com/2010/01/13/libertarians-and-evangelicals-explain-the-problem-with-haiti/

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Of course neocolial policies in general

have a good dose of racism

[Robbien]

6. When the tsunami victims were "helped"

they were moved to temporary shanties inland and all land close to the shore was given over to privatization. Expensive beach resorts sprang up on the coast while victims were (and some still are) living in shanties farther away from their traditional lands.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. In contrast when the El Salvador vicitims were helped

after that hurricane back in the 90s... the ICRC ran the show.

The towns were rebuilt using local materials and chiefly local labor, as in the people themselves.

The houses were built using standard of practice and were pretty green by the standards of the day.

After the Tsunami, just like after the Katrina, the ICRC offered to do the same... logistics train, experience and all that... but there was no way to make profit. So the private contractors approached government officials to ahem develop these areas. We both know how that played out.