A Commentary On Haiti

Haiti Is Dangerously Close To New Disasters -- Anne Applebaum

For the past several days, I have found myself unable to look at the photographs from Haiti. I have also found that when I start an article datelined Port-au-Prince, I have to force myself to read to the end. I have donated money to Doctors Without Borders, on the grounds that its medical staff has been in Haiti a long time and will be able to use the cash quickly. I have no illusions, however, about my tiny donation or about those doctors' ability to help. I have no illusions about anyone's ability to help, for this is not just a natural disaster: It is a man-made disaster first and foremost, and so it will remain.

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My Comment: Long time readers of this blog know that I was in Haiti in the summer of 1994 .... a trip that was the most surreal trip and experience that I have ever taken (and I am a person who has traveled to about 40 countries in my life time).

Hungry children on the streets. I had to have armed body guards with me at all times. Beautiful homes for the rich and affluent .... shaky concrete and cinder blocks cobbled together for everyone else .... homes that (no surprise) fell down and crushed their tenants when the earthquake struck.

But what got to me was not the poverty, hunger, and crime. What struck me was the culture of corruption that pervaded every element of society. Steal what you can. Destroy the environment for firewood. Dump the children that you do not want to the nearest orphanage .... hence having a situation in which a good portion of the population were/are/and will be orphans. Haiti is a country where life is cheap .... that for just a few dollars you can snuff someone that you may not like ... or even less .... work like a slave to earn just a few dollars. A country so poor, that no one has any money to buy weapons to start any form of a revolution.

Yup .... a society that is completely dysfunctional, broken down, and uncaring .... that is Haiti .... a failed state in every way .... and this was the state before the earthquake.

When I first heard of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake, I knew right away that tens of thousands had been killed. I also know that in the days and weeks to come, tens of thousands more will die because of injuries, violence, and disease.

The international aid to the country will be impressive, but only a fraction of the population will receive it. There are millions who are destitute, and all the planes and ships sent there cannot feed all of them.

Some are now proposing an international aid conference, and a commitment to send billions in aid to the country. Unfortunately .... I know that this will not work. You can dump a hundred billion dollars of aid into Haiti tomorrow .... and we will then have discussions 10 years from now on where did the money go.

Haiti can only be changed by the Haitians themselves .... but for the moment .... unfortunately .... that has no hope of happening.