Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Poverty Pimps of Haiti

The Forces aligned against Haiti's political, agricultural and economical sovereignty are The Poverty Pimps:

haitianboy_resolute

    • The Haitian oligarchy and immoral wealthy business class
    • United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
    • US Embassy cronies, the Breton Woods institutions and their USAID subcontractors
    • Charitable NGOs
    • Security companies: XE (Blackwater), DYNCORPS and Brown & Root.

The Poverty Pimps are currently being aided and abetted by the new Obama administration and its push for the HOPE act - legislation that will ban trade unions from protecting worker's rights. Activist have maintained that "Enriching the few at [the] expense of the many is not "HOPE" but fueling more despair."
Haitians, represented by the Haitian government do not have a voice or partnership in improving the country in the vital areas that are necessary to pull the general population out of misery; namely:
  • food sovereignty (domestic agriculture and food production)
  • investment in environmental rehabilitation
  • domestic manufacturing and jobs that circulates capital and
    investment IN Haiti.
  • Haiti needs a stop to deforestation
  • investment in infrastructure, construction of flood-resistant bridges, roads
  • investment in such renewable energy as biofuels, wind turbines, solar, water and micro-hydro.
Most importantly - Haiti needs cash crops, food production and alternative energy (see Ezili Danto's post).
The Poverty Pimps in control of Haiti are responsible for many human rights abuses committed during their reign. Namely, the US sponsored coups, interventions, financial criminality by the world banking institutions and other violations of international law that have kept Haiti's infrastructure underdeveloped and primitive, leading to many deaths and the prevalence of preventable diseases among other dire consequences.

THE POVERTY PIMPS OF HAITI
Human Rights Violations Currently Underway:
haiti_school_1
Proposed comprehensive long term solutions (from Ezili Danto's post):
  • Fair trade with Haiti. Trade that does not further degrade the environment, repress worker's rights or contain Haiti in poverty or ignore Haiti's most essential domestic needs for food production.
  • Haiti needs food sovereignty
  • Haiti needs the cancellation of its debt to the international financial institutions
  • The US should grant Haitians TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and equal immigration treatment
  • The US needs to support the release of the political prisoners -- justice not impunity
  • The UN military occupation of Haiti should end in order for participatory democracy that means inclusion of the masses in the affairs of their own country.
  • The Western countries who control the world banking system are not providing Haiti with authentic assistance in poverty reduction that involve domestic agricultural investments and community policing.
haiti_hinche
Hinche Haiti Sept. 2008 - Food Crisis in Haiti Agravated
by Successive Hurricanes: Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Fay.

Most of all, Haiti needs a US trade, aid and investment culture that is committed to integrating all levels of corporate responsibility – economic, social and environmental including;
  • patronizing the informal sector of local service providers
  • generally not exporting all profits and capital but committing to paying equitable custom duties
  • not dumping assembly goods for export, or dumping subsidized US foods, but investing in mutually beneficial trade, aid and investment
  • And they should be investing a reasonable percentage of their Haiti profits put back into Haiti.
HatTip: Ezili Danto's post:
"Obama's offered HOPE is sweatshop slavery"

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I'm Max Philisaire. I'm gonna be shooting for my 2010 calendar soon. Part of the proceeds will go to projects in rebuilding Haiti. I'm contacting all the Haitian publications, websites and blogs for support and promotion of the calendar. Would you be interested? Thank you for your time.
Best,
Contact me here: Maximumdevelopment@yahoo.com
myspace.com/mdfitness27

Anonymous said...

Background on upcoming Senate election

Here’s a background piece on the upcoming Senate election in Haiti I found insightful:

“Poll projects low voter turnout in Haiti: Protests banned”

http://haitiaction.net/News/KP/4_16_9/4_16_9.html

thezenhaitian said...

Max--I would like to support and promote your calendar.

Anonymous -- Thank you for the suggested reading. I'll definitely read it out.

Anonymous said...

Popular Initiative calls for removal of Bush appointee in Haiti

by Kevin Pina

HIP - A spokesperson for grassroots organizations aligned with Haiti's Fanmi Lavalas party demanded the Obama administration remove current US Ambassador Janet Sanderson. Reached by telephone in the capital of Port-au-Prince a leader of a group calling itself the Popular Initiative stated, "She is lying about last Sunday's elections by not acknowledging it was our boycott that kept voters away." He continued, "She claims it was because this was not a regular election year and that people may be tired of the political process. The only voter fatigue we have in Haiti is with undemocratic elections. Allow Fanmi Lavalas to participate and we'll show you the voters have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for an authentic democratic process. She is out of touch with reality in Haiti."

Haiti held controversial Senate elections last week that were boycotted by Fanmi Lavalas after all of their candidates were excluded on procedural grounds. Voters mostly stayed at home on election day after Lavalas launched a campaign called Operation Closed Door. The Obama administration is widely seen as having green lighted the contested elections after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Haiti three days prior to the ballot.


FULL ARTICLE: http://haitiaction.net/News/HIP/4_24_9/4_24_9.html