Guess who I talked to on the phone today - Andre Apaid

[TroubleMan]

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/MW/mw2_11_4.html

If you don't know who he is, do a google search or read the link above. Basically he's one of the big guys behind Aristide's ousting in Haiti. He's a Duvalier supporter and a sweat-shop owner.

I had no idea who he was until after I had already talked to him.

Basically I got a call from the Dominican Republic, and it was a very nice and polite gentleman. He identified himself as Andre. I got him the information he needed, and he ordered the parts. He sent me an email so that I would have the right address to ship to. I got the email and his email address was andre.apaid@blahblahblah (I don't remember what the domain name was).

I read the email, and I was thinking.....where do I know that name from?.....that name seems familiar. So I did a quick google search and BAM!!! HOLY SHIT!!!

In fact, we have done business with his company for years. They order tens of thousands of dollars in parts and equipment a year. I had no idea that he owned that company. In fact I've even talked to his brother a couple of times. I didn't even know who they were.

This presents a HUGE problem for me. Basically this is the type of guy that I absolutely despise. In fact I'd even go so far as to call him my enemy. I am a huge proponent of civil rights and labor rights, I want to dismantle big corporations, and I'd love to get rid of a lot of the ideas of capitalism (some ideas in it are okay, but most of them are excuses for the powerful to exploit the weak) and harbor in an era of democratic socialism. Like I've said before, I'm one of the most liberal people on this website.

Now I'm dealing with this guy who pours millions of dollars into suppressing his own people. He's used his power and influence to abet the murdering and suffering of thousands of helpless innocents, just so Haiti's minimum wage wouldn't be raised, just so he can still make his employees work 80 hour work weeks, just so he could improve his profit margin. I won't be able to talk to this guy again in a polite manner.

The company I work for is a family business, a multimillion dollar family business, but a family business nonetheless. There's only about 20 employees, and it's a great job with a great atmosphere. With my criminal record, I'm very lucky to have this job. The owner is a very generous and nice man, and he does business the right way. He's a moderate who doesn't like Bush, either. However, I'm pretty sure that I can't convince the company to stop doing business with Apaid. I'm gonna try, but I don't think it will work. Unfortunately, business in America is all about the bottom line, and I don't think they'll throw tens of thousands of dollars out the window for this.

I would ... I'd rather be broke with a clean conscious than rich and feel guilty. I didn't always think that way, and it took a lot of jail time for me to get on the right path. I used to be all about the money, now I despise it. I wouldn't touch it if it weren't required to feed my kids and me. It's a necessary evil for me that I wish mankind could do away with.

If I lose my job over this, I don't think my wife would understand. She's liberal, but she's not into doing anything about it like I am (she still goes to Walmart, even though I told her that it's wrong to go there). Even though I have a lot of skills that any boss would want, any prospective employer hardly looks beyond the fact that I have a criminal record.

I can't deal with Apaid's company again....I can't...

And I really don't know what to do because I have a wife and two kids in a Bush economy, which means I'm basically broke all the time, living almost paycheck to paycheck.

I've always felt ashamed at what America has done in Haiti (along with Central and South America), and here's one of the major players in the atrocities, and I've just learn he buys a lot of stuff from us.

..But I gotta feed my kids ... would they ever understand? I'm really upset about this, and I'm not sure what to do.

[seemslikeadream]

1. Please listen to chlamor, TroubleMan

He said it better than I ever could. The world is needing folk like yourself.

Peace
SLaD