Change Haiti can believe in

[tosh]

Change Haiti Can Believe In

(Boston Globe Op-Ed article)

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/01/25/change_haiti_can_believe_in/


By Paul Farmer and Brian Concannon | January 25, 2009

THE INAUGURATION of a US president committed to reversing "the failed policies of the past" provoked sighs of relief around the world. Few were more relieved than the citizens of Haiti, because few have suffered so much from failed US policies. But Haitians are still waiting to see whether the "past" that is to be reversed extends beyond the illegal and destructive policies of the last eight years to include over two centuries of US policies that have failed both our oldest neighbor and our highest ideals.

Our treatment of Haiti was bad enough during the Bush administration. We imposed a development assistance embargo in 2001, because we did not like the elected government's economic policies. The embargo stopped urgently needed government programs - a Partners In Health study found that cancelling water projects in just one city had a devastating impact on health in the area. In 2004, US officials forced Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide aboard a clandestine flight to Africa and placed a Bush supporter from Florida at the head of Haiti's government. Thousands were killed in the ensuing political violence. Years of hard-won progress toward democracy were erased overnight.

But our mistreatment of Haiti started earlier, as soon as Haiti became independent in 1804, when we refused to even recognize the new republic run by freed slaves. We invaded Haiti in 1915, to ensure repayment of a debt to Citibank. We propped up ruthless dictators in the name of fighting communism. In the 1980s, we decimated Haiti's agricultural base by forcing subsidized US rice on Haitian markets.

<snip>

We now have a historic opportunity to work with Haiti's current constitutional government to build a stronger, more prosperous Haiti. Seizing this opportunity will require restraint, and faith in democracy: We will need to allow elected Haitian leaders to make their own policy decisions, even if we would have decided otherwise.

We will also need to invest in democracy. Three days' spending in Iraq or two weeks' interest on the bank bailout could fund Haiti's entire government for a year. Prudent, depoliticized investments in Haiti's democracy will yield dividends of prosperity and stability to Haiti, and will save US taxpayer dollars in the long run by reducing the flow of refugees and drugs to our shores. Perhaps most important, by helping rebuild a better Haiti, we will show the world how, in President Obama's words, "we are ready to lead once more."

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Paul Farmer, MD, is Presley professor of social medicine at Harvard Medical School and a co-founder of Partners In Health. Brian Concannon Jr. is director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.

[sasquatch]

1. Oh yeah, what Bush did to Haiti was just awful

[struggle4progress]

2. kick

:dem: