I can’t say much else about the Haiti earthquake, but I think Haiti deserves to be put into a context.
Haiti is a nation that threw off it’s European dominator well before any other, by a slave rebellion no less. As a result, the “civilized” world has never forgiven Haiti. The new nation had to pay reparations to France for 120 years in order to receive recognition. Furthermore, subsequent invading armies looted the national treasury. The U.S occupied the nation in 1915 after Citibank bought the largest Haitian bank BNH. The occupation continued until 1934.
Now to more recent history. The Duvalier dynasty tyrannized and robbed the country with United States complicity due to the magic words “anti-communism”. The second-generation despot “Baby Doc” removed import tariffs, allowing U.S. imports to flood local markets. Before 9/11 and Camp X-Ray, Haitian refugees were detained in a facility in Guantanamo Bay when caught travelling to the United States. Subsidized U.S. food aid to Haiti crashed local food markets and contributed to the 2008 food riots in the country.
A book I recommend is Stan Goff’s Hideous Dream, a memoir detailing the author’s experience in 3rd Special Forces Group as part of Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994. Goff mentions that during orientation about Haiti, a fundamentalist priest told the soldiers the pact-with-the-devil story that Pat Robertson parroted recently. The book also details a conspiracy of right-wing Special Forces operators who would mutiny when ordered to disarm and arrest members of FRAPH, an anti-Aristide paramilitary group that was funded by the CIA and implicated in human rights transgressions.
Haitians need help, but be careful who you give your money to. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind. These are suggestions and are subject to change with new information.
- Make sure the organizations you donate to do not carry subsidized U.S. grain. This aid, as mentioned above, has contributed to food insecurity in Haiti.
- Do not donate to USAID. USAID already gets taxpayer money. USAID has also been connected to CIA operations to undermine democratic movements in Haiti.
- Do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES donate clothing to Haiti. Multinational factories based in Haiti already make clothes for export. Flooding a nation with cheap clothing also undermines domestic clothing businesses.