Haiti: Another Success Story… for U.S. Corporations
January 14th, 2011Via: NPR:
In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, those who were desperate to find something positive in the tragedy that claimed an estimated 230,000 lives talked about the “opportunity” the destruction could present for the impoverished nation to “build back better.” On the tragedy’s one-year anniversary, it’s become clear that perhaps the only positive aspect of the past twelve months has been the exposure of the failures of the NGO aid system, and the international community’s long-standing use of the country as a laboratory for cashing in on disaster — both of which have been wrecking havoc on this country since long before the earthquake.
Despite being home to the world’s highest density of NGOs per capita, Haiti is presently being ravaged by a cholera epidemic with an official death toll of some 3,500, with experts estimating the number of dead at twice as high.
…
A recent AP investigation revealed that of every $100 of Haiti reconstruction contracts awarded by the American government, $98.40 returned to American companies, suggesting that non-Haitian companies and organizations have much to gain from the relief effort. Haiti’s reconstruction, like almost everything else in that country, has been privatized, outsourced, or taken over by foreign NGOs.
Sorry I post on these stories after they are off the front page.
There was a program on PBS “Haiti One Year Later” that made me SICK.
Bill Clinton “apologizing”” that more money hadn’t gone into helping the Haitians.
Give me an effing break. Remember right before the tsunami in Indonesia Tom Delay was critized for spending tax payer money to set up sewing machine sweat shops in Indonesia. Yea well that dude is going to jail. But not before he and all of his ilk managed to wipe whatever the local population had in mind for their own nation by wiping it off the planet.
Same with Haiti. Goshdarn it. Another country destroyed by “a natural disaster.” And where is the money going? Sewing machine factories.
On the other side are all the folks trying to rebuild a substainable food system. And guess how much they are getting from all of this “disaster relief?” ZIP. ZERO.
So, who benefits from these “natural disasters?” I don’t think they are natural at ALL.
TPTB or the Powers that are Have Beens gig is up as far as I am concerned. Sewing machines to produce clothes for offshore corporations instead of supporting the growing of food? Give me an effing break!
I feel disgust for Bill Clinton. In retrospect his “free trade” BS has been a disaster for the US and anyone else involved in it. If we had known better back then all that “free trade” stuff would have been exposed for the travesty it is.
It isn’t free for anything but for corporate America. Ship jobs out of America at will and no one but your citizens you’ve ripped jobs from America give 2 shits.
The grocery store this weekend: like a protest zone. Lines and lines of people refusing to use the “self check out line” because it takes jobs from people. All the people in almost a mass protest. Everyone shunned the machines. It was awesome, with many of the people in line with me talking; patiently waiting, refusing to use a machine, and for the most part all of the elderly saying NO WAY those machines take away joba!
This fight to keep jobs here in the US is only beginning. Somehow I think it will be protest from the older people that will be the uprising.
If the youngsters in America could tune in for a few minutes away from their love of technology: every time you use a machine instead of a human there goes a job. We should be shunning technology in our world, not embracing it.