Just yesterday I made reference to peak oil, an issue which I have come to take seriously over the last couple of years, and my sense that it might soon come to affect our lives severely. Today I must say that I am no longer so sure of the immediacy of this problem. My reason for saying this is one that also helps to explain something that I have been wondering for the last couple of weeks.
It bothered me that this was the case, but I have been very curious what was inspiring the overwhelming response to the recent Haiti disaster. Now, this is not to say that I believed the human response to this disaster was unwarranted...far from it. But the truth is that this kind of thing happens fairly regularly with nothing like this kind of response. Of course people try to send money and food and such but rarely is there such a "high level" response. By "high level" I mean several thousand US troops and vocal involvement by names like Bill Clinton and George Bush. By "high level" I mean the Canadian government deciding to match all support fund-raising dollar for dollar. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was such response to all catastrophes?
So what makes this Haitian disaster particularly special?
This article by F. William Engdahl at globalresearch.ca lays out an answer that makes a great deal of sense, even though it is...well...maddening.
3 years ago
Posts
9 comments:
And here I thought it was just faddism. *sign* It is sad to see money once more being at the root of the issue. I doubt that Hatians will benefit much. We'll see.
I can't tell you how sad I feel. My ever-the-optimist side believed (naively) that the world was actually coming together for these poor people. Doesn't say much for us as a planet, does it?
I'm pretty sure that you could look to the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina for the most accurate model for rebuilding Haiti.
Thank you for pointing out this article. It's so sad. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and, if this article is correct, it's just about to be carved up for the benefit of the big, oil starved countries.
I'm scared that Linda is correct--the rebuilding of New Orleans (aka the supergentrification of the city) will be the model for Haiti as well.
MoonRaven, Its a done deal in my opinion and plans seem to have preceded the quake. Here is a link that might explain my point of view. http://socialistworker.org/2010/01/14/catastrophe-in-haiti
The first part is the history, the earthquake, etc. Then we get to the heart of the matter and future plans for Haiti.
Thank you, Linda. That's a sad but useful article on how Haiti got into the situation it's in now. Probably the best things we could do now is to support agencies that truly want to help the Haitians (I'm partial to Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam) and then encourage the US and other countries and agencies to get out of there and let the Haitians run their own society. It's not going to happen, unless or until the world economy collapses, but it's what should happen.
No problem Moonraven
I agree with your response.
I'm glad this stimulated so many comments. It stinks that it is not being talked about at all. I hope you'll all share the info.
This is another one that I stumbled across, of particular interest to you I believe, Linda:
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11680
Hi Jerry
I'm off to check it out. Thanks:)
Post a Comment