Haitiâ??s tragedy: A crime of US imperialism

Ran into this article on another website, guess they found off another website, so I now pass it on to this website. Just thought it was an interesting read.


By Bill Van Auken
January 21, 2010 â?? wsws.org
http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blogimg/haiti2.jpg

The immense death and suffering inflicted upon the people of Haiti by the January 12 earthquake has laid bare a massive international crime by US imperialism, which prepared this catastrophe with a century of oppression and is now attempting to exploit the disaster for its own ends.

The estimated 200,000 who have died, the quarter million or more injured and the three million whose homes have been destroyed are victims not merely of a natural catastrophe. The lack of infrastructure, the poor quality of construction in Port-au-Prince and the impotence of the Haitian government to organize any response are determining factors in this tragedy.

These social conditions are the product of a protracted relationship between Haiti and the United States, which, ever since US Marines occupied the island nation for nearly 20 years beginning in 1915, has treated the country as a de-facto colonial protectorate.
It subsequently backed the three-decade-long dictatorship of the Duvaliers, extending a series of loans that went into the family bank accounts, with the impoverished Haitian people left to foot the bill.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Washington promoted free market policies based on eliminating any safeguards for Haitian agriculture and the privatization of government enterprises and services. The results have been mass poverty, the increasing migration of destitute peasants to the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince, and the hollowing out of the countryâ??s government and infrastructureâ??all conditions that have compounded the social and human costs of the earthquake.

Now, for an entire week, with the whole world watching, millions of Haitians have been left abandoned without medical care, food, water or shelter, as US military cargo planes have ferried in thousands of soldiers and Marines, and US Naval and Coast Guard vessels have mounted patrols off Haitiâ??s shores to prevent anyone from trying to escape.

The absence of any concerted rescue effort is not an accident, nor is the agonizingly slow arrival of food, water and medicine in far from adequate quantities merely a matter of logistics. The claim that the US military, which was able to pour a quarter of a million troops into Iraq and conquer Baghdad within barely two weeks, could not rush water, food and supplies to traumatized earthquake survivors 700 miles from the US mainland is a contemptible lie.

What is involved is a deliberate and sinister policy characterized by a gross indifference to human life that borders on the genocidal.
Within the Obama administration and the American ruling elite, definite calculations were made. What was the use of saving injured members of an impoverished and chronically unemployed population that US capitalism has long treated as surplus labor? Why dig people out of the rubble only to have to provide them with medical care when Washington is attempting to ration health care within the US itself?

Even as people were still being pulled out alive from demolished buildings, US and UN officials insisted that further rescue operations were hopeless.
At the very least, saving lives has not been the priority of the US intervention in Haiti. Wherever rescue and relief have come into conflict with the primary focus of Washingtonâ??s effortsâ??the military occupation of the countryâ??they have taken a back seat.

The cargo planes that are bringing in US military personnel and supplies, it should be noted, fly back empty. There is no desire to bring injured Haitians, who will die without medical care or face the amputation of their limbs for lack of medical supplies, back to the US where they could be healed and their lives saved.

So blatant has the US military operation been that its ostensible allies in Haiti like Brazil, which heads up the United Nations peacekeeping force there, and France have registered protests with Washington. French Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet went so far as to call for the UN to clarify Washingtonâ??s role, saying that the mission was â??helping Haiti, not occupying Haiti.â?�

Groups involved in rescue and relief operations have also publicly condemned the US military response.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) protested Tuesday that its cargo plane carrying 12 tons of desperately needed medical equipment had been turned away three times from the US-controlled Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night, despite being assured that it would be allowed to land. Since January 14, five of the organizationâ??s planes have been diverted to the Dominican Republic. The result, the group said, is the deaths of hundreds of its patients, and hundreds more injured Haitians are dying daily.

â??We donâ??t have any more morphine to manage pain for our patients,â?� said Rosa Crestani, MSF medical coordinator for Choscal Hospital. â??We cannot accept that planes carrying lifesaving medical supplies and equipment continue to be turned away while our patients die. Priority must be given to medical supplies entering the country.â?�

Similarly, a Spanish aid group active in Port-au-Prince called a press conference at the Madrid airport Tuesday to denounce the US militarization of the response to the Haitian earthquake and to warn that the â??obsession with securityâ?� was disrupting efforts to save lives. The groupâ??Intervención, Ayuda y Emergenciaâ??said that it had never encountered anything like it in responding to disasters from Sri Lanka to Turkey.
The real character of the US â??aidâ?� effort is expressed in President Barack Obamaâ??s choice of his predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, to lead it. Both have Haitian blood on their hands. The Bush administration orchestrated the 2004 coup that ended with the kidnapping and expulsion of elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, together with the killing of thousands by CIA-trained death squads. Clinton sent troops into Haiti in 1994.

It is the Democrat, Clinton, who in some ways has expressed most nakedly the attitude of the US ruling elite, which is characterized by class hatred for Haitiâ??s oppressed and barely concealed racism.

In media interviews, Clinton has praised the government of President Réne Préval for its subservience to Washingtonâ??s demands. He has spoken of Haiti coming out of the earthquake better than before, treating the mass carnage and social disaster as little more than a speed-bump on the road to progress, which is to be measured in increased US investment.
This is Washingtonâ??s real and malignant purpose. It aims to exploit the countryâ??s tragedy in order to impose more direct colonial control and create conditions for US firms to make massive profits by exploiting virtual slave labor working for starvation wages.

At the same time, it is reasserting its domination in an area that it long regarded as its â??own backyard,â?� the birthplace of Yankee imperialism. Facing growing challenges from its economic rivals in Europe and China for trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere, as well as a deterioration of its influence over the states of the region, Washington is utilizing military force to pursue its interests.

The corporate-controlled US media has played a particularly odious role in supporting this process. It has glorified the role of the US military, while deliberately concealing the obstructions that the US occupation forces have placed in the way of rescue and aid work.

At the same time, it has sensationalized stories about â??lootersâ?�â??for the most part, hungry people searching through the rubble for some means of sustenanceâ??in order to provide a pretext for the massive military response. The real criminals under these conditions are not the so-called looters, but the hoardersâ??those who defend private, profit-making control of vitally needed supplies and those who withhold them from the hungry and homeless people.

The crimes being carried out against the Haitian people are inseparable from the assault on the conditions of the working class and the oppressed masses all over the world, which is driven by the economic crisis of capitalism. The rescue of Haitiâ??s workers and oppressed from the conditions created by over a century of oppression can be achieved only by uniting their struggle with that of workers in the United States and across the globe to put an end to the profit system.

Thank you!!! I thought I was the only one seeing this!! Haiti Will probably become another "common wealth" (bullshit... we know it means colony) like Jamaica and a Naval base will probably be built there within the next 20 years.

Get real....america has donated BILLIONS of Dollars to haiti since the mid 90's under clinton thats been stolen and hijacked by ruthless drug lords and corrupt politicians......how about the worthless UN take charge? Oh yea....thats right....the only thing the UN runs well are their brothels in the Sudan which I can post pictures of if ya need. How much $ have YOU donated from your air conditioned homes with computers in it, Spoiled Brats. :pimp:

Maybe we as HUMANS should wait till they stop pulling dead children from the rubble till we start bashing entire nations....unbelievable.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

CARICOM Refused Entry Into Haiti by US Occupation Forces

THE CARIBBEAN Community's emergency aid mission to Haiti, comprising Heads of Government and leading technical officials, failed to secure permission Friday to land at that devasted country's aiport, now under the control of the United States.

Consequently, the Caricom 'assessment mission', that was to determine priority humanitarian needs resulting from the mind-boggling earthquake disaster of Haiti last Tuesday, had to travel back from Jamaica to their respective home destinations..

On Friday afternoon the US State Department confirmed signing two 'Memoranda of Understanding' with the Government of Haiti that made 'official that the United Stateas is in charge of all inbound and outbound flights and aid off-loading...'

Further, according to the agreements signed, US medical personnel 'now have the authority to operate on Haitian citizens and otherwise render medical assistance without having to wait for licences from Haiti's government...'

Prior to the US taking control of Haiti's airport, a batch of some 30 Cuban doctors had left Havana, following Wednesday's earthquake, to join more than 300 of their colleagues who have been working there for more than a year.

Last evening the frustration suffered by the Caricom mission to get landing permission was expected to be raised in a scheduled meeting at Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport with US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

...

Asked whether the difficuties encountered by the Caricom mission may be related to reports that US authorities were not anxious to facilitate landing of aircraft from Cuba and Venezuela, Prime Minister Golding said he could 'only hope that there is no truth to such immature thinking in the face of the horrific scale of Haiti's tragedy...'

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Originally Posted by Islandborn

Get real....america has donated BILLIONS of Dollars to haiti since the mid 90's under clinton thats been stolen and hijacked by ruthless drug lords and corrupt politicians......how about the worthless UN take charge? Oh yea....thats right....the only thing the UN runs well are their brothels in the Sudan which I can post pictures of if ya need. How much $ have YOU donated from your air conditioned homes with computers in it, Spoiled Brats. :pimp:

Maybe we as HUMANS should wait till they stop pulling dead children from the rubble till we start bashing entire nations....unbelievable.

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1.You don't know me so shut up!
2.You shouldn't believe every thing You hear from corporate media.
3.It's only a prediction based on whats happened in the past(and what is still going on today).
4.Why not donate billions of dollars and get rid of the drug lords...It will make it a better land to colonize later on.
5.All this shit about helping them is all a sham to gain the trust of the Haitian people.
6.The U.S. gov is just as worthless as the U.N.
7.Watch the documentary American Drug War
8.As for corrupt politicians... Gee maybe you trust your government too much, because if you haven't noticed they really don't care. They do what they have to do to keep us out of their hair.

:wtf: ... I'm guessing this earthquake was a nefarious plot by George Bush, and Dick Cheney, right ? ... :wtf:

yup, got all the 'evidence' right here, from today's news:

" Hugo Chavez Mouthpiece Says U.S. Hit Haiti With 'Earthquake Weapon'

Thursday, January 21, 2010

AP

" Hugo Chavez blames the U.S. for the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

The United States apparently possesses an "earthquake weapon" that set off the catastrophic quake in Haiti and killed 200,000 innocents. Don't believe it's true? Just ask Hugo Chavez. " .... etc., etc., etc., ...

but, WAIT ! ... Bush is gone, Cheney is gone ! ... is it possible, did Obama cause the earthquake ? :wtf: ... after all, it's Obama, that now has his thumb on the 'earthquake button' ... ooohhhh, I'm so scared ...

gimme a break :wtf: :D

Obama doesn't care about black people :D

Haiti is no different than other countries that we have manipulated and bought off leaders. We do the same thing on a regular basis in Isreal. Thats why I'm a Ron Paul fan. Just leave these countries alone unless they ask for our help. Close the majority of our military bases around the world. They're just a waste of money.

Well, they probably have the technology already since they have been working on it for a while now, never heard of the HAARP project?

u.s. imperialism? is that why haitians speak french?

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Originally Posted by terjeSSS

u.s. imperialism? is that why haitians speak french?

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very insightful, your lil comment almost made me forget that Haiti won its freedom from France in the early 1800s, and were done bleeding the country dry in the 1920s, which just happens to be shortly before the US government first carried out a occupation on the country that lasted nearly 20 years...

Either we don't do enough or we do too much. Can't win. We are really the only country doing much at all. The U.S. immediately sends $100 million in aid (I know, its booby-trapped, or bribery, or something else nefarious ) while China and India contribute $1 million each ( a conrtibution matched by Brad and Angelina by the way), and we are the bad guys? Fuck you all. We should just leave the entire rest of the world to its own devices. Starve your own people, kill each other, I don't give a shit anymore. We should start selling arms to both sides in every conflict around the world, and immediately stop ALL foreign aid of any kind. Want food? Buy it. Got no money? Tough shit, starve, you backasswards ungrateful barbarian SOB.

and the topic flies over someone's head..., but I like how you transferred from the topic of military occupation and 100s of years of mistreatment and abuse of the country into brad and angelina's donations, I got a good laugh thanks. Sure hope the cash is going directly to the government though or worthwhile charities cuz if they giving a million to red cross haiti only gonna see bout 150k of that lol... but since yuh brought up money, this would be a good time for France to repay Haiti the money it extorted from it :thumbsup:

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Rather than giving donations, it would be preferable that they cancel Haitiâ??s debt: totally, unconditionally and immediately. Can we really speak of donations when we know that this most of this money will either be used to repay foreign debt or to implement â??national development projectsâ?� decided on the basis of the interests of these creditors or local elites?

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Originally Posted by RedLocks

and the topic flies over someone's head..., but I like how you transferred from the topic of military occupation and 100s of years of mistreatment and abuse of the country into brad and angelina's donations, I got a good laugh thanks. Sure hope the cash is going directly to the government though or worthwhile charities cuz if they giving a million to red cross haiti only gonna see bout 150k of that lol... but since yuh brought up money, this would be a good time for France to repay Haiti the money it extorted from it :thumbsup:

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Guess I'm just a moron, brainwashed by the U.S. Government. If only I could be as enlightened as you.

I don't know shit about all this. What I know is there is less people on the earth.

:wtf:

just the fact that you guys are discussing something that you dont have the power to change, should give you an idea of what and why it happened.

We are talking about the government. WTF the same people that made cannabis illegal, the same people that we blame for every tragedy.

nobody here has the power to do anything so it is our job to help ourselves and anyone in our arms reach.

If you believe in GOD pray, if you believe in the government pay

whatever floats your boat, all i can do is feel bad about this kind of situation happening to such a poor country.

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Originally Posted by superskunk1

just the fact that you guys are discussing something that you dont have the power to change, should give you an idea of what and why it happened.

We are talking about the government. WTF the same people that made cannabis illegal, the same people that we blame for every tragedy.

nobody here has the power to do anything so it is our job to help ourselves and anyone in our arms reach.

If you believe in GOD pray, if you believe in the government pay

whatever floats your boat, all i can do is feel bad about this kind of situation happening to such a poor country.

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Absolutely. The first thing I thought when I heard of the tragedy in Haiti was "why them of all people, haven't they suffered enough already?" Of course, I'm American. so it was really my financial interests I was worried about. In fact, I'm thinkin' I might want to call down an earthquake upon someone. Hmmmm?

So what your saying is they have it better than most in the states.

I live next to the biggest Amphibios Marine base in the states and let me tell you it is me running around after a badass herricane tears us a new ass helping the marines get it back together. Not the other way round mind you.

They are never allowed to help civie's here. Why not ?

Because our military can not spend money on civilians in the States.

I feel very bad for the people of Hati and will help all I can. But as soon as we leave it just goes back to what it was before if we do not leave military police. Can you say crooked beurocrats ?

I think if we the people are to be blamed for such as this. Then we NEED to go back to the old ways.

If WE THE PEOPLE have to help you then you must become one of the PEOPLE.

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Originally Posted by superskunk1

just the fact that you guys are discussing something that you dont have the power to change, should give you an idea of what and why it happened.

We are talking about the government. WTF the same people that made cannabis illegal, the same people that we blame for every tragedy.

nobody here has the power to do anything so it is our job to help ourselves and anyone in our arms reach.

If you believe in GOD pray, if you believe in the government pay

whatever floats your boat, all i can do is feel bad about this kind of situation happening to such a poor country.

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Currently the homeless of Philadelphia are banding together to gahter goods to donate to Haiti, so if the homeless can stand up and help like this, all of us can. Remember, if you're going to donate money, check out what charity is the most worthwhile. I saw there is a watchdog group that monitors charitable organizations, not sure if it was these guys or not American Institute of Philanthropy - Charity Watchdog Helping Donors Make Informed Giving Decisions

I am a volunteer for a "charitable" organization, and I see from the inside how much of it is greed and lining the pockets of the people who run the shit, and how much of it is actually charity. It's because of this I am wary when donating, so my advice is, do a lil research and decide for yourself where a donation can do the most good. Personally I would suggest Y�©le Haiti - Blog but it is all up to the individual.

-Bless

and a afterthought.. Even though the American Government and Military are disallowing refugees entering our country, or even leaving Haiti. Jamaica, a bankrupt ass country, is planning on opening their borders for Haitian refugees and have began to prepare "refugee camps" for the Haitian people. While camps like this aren't the best solution, at least it is something. Hillary Clinton had "promised" that the US would be giving somewhere in the neighborhood of 12mill USD to Jamaica to assist with this.

Ya i understand, and i do apologize if i sounded a little like an asshole but i havent had my L in a while.
But i really feal bad about this tragedy and just thinking about the children that dont have parents or the families that dont have food just makes me think about how unfair life is.
I am from Dominican Republic and i dont know if any of you guys know but even though D.R and Haiti live on the same island they have there wars and fights from here and there (not like terrorism). Now that i have heard that D.R opened up the borders to help bring any hurt Haitians. It makes me think about how such a terrible tragedy can bring people together.

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Originally Posted by superskunk1

Ya i understand, and i do apologize if i sounded a little like an asshole but i havent had my L in a while.
But i really feal bad about this tragedy and just thinking about the children that dont have parents or the families that dont have food just makes me think about how unfair life is.
I am from Dominican Republic and i dont know if any of you guys know but even though D.R and Haiti live on the same island they have there wars and fights from here and there (not like terrorism). Now that i have heard that D.R opened up the borders to help bring any hurt Haitians. It makes me think about how such a terrible tragedy can bring people together.

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no worries, wasn't attacking you or anything, I'm much more volatile when I attack ;)

and yeah, makes me feel bad too, especially since I have a lot of Haitian friends, I don't even know what to say to them, most of them don't have a clue what has happened to their families. When Peru got hit my friends I was asking my friends if everything was ok with their families back home... but in this situation, it is just so heartbreaking what happened, I just don't know what to say, all I can do really is pray for their Families... and God Bless the individuals, organizations and countries that are honestly doing everything in their power to help, and Big Up to DR for opening up their borders to their Hispaniola brothers and sisters despite the differences they had in the past!

Dieu n'est que tout le monde. Rien d'autre, Si tu ne t'aide pas et que personne ne t'aide, rien ne changera.

God is only all of us. Nothing else, If you don't help yourself and nobody helps you, nothing will change.

:thumbsup::wtf:

and another addition...

Senegal has offered free land to the Victims of this horrible disaster "The president is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian that wants to return to their origin,"


got a laugh out of this after reading American coast guard would "repatriate" any Haitians trying to gain entrance into the USA back to Haiti.. not sure how they felt in the right using the word repatriate when what it really is is deportation back to their devastated former Slave colony... not sure if this was words from actual Amerikkkan Government representative or if it was words of the media.

I never donate to any charity that has paid employees. If it has paid employees then its really not for profit is it.
Its a very simple philosophy and prevents people from getting rich off of my money.

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Originally Posted by killerweed420

I never donate to any charity that has paid employees. If it has paid employees then its really not for profit is it.
Its a very simple philosophy and prevents people from getting rich off of my money.

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True!

Was odd when i was hearing bout this watchdog organization.. sounded a bit weird how they rate charitable organizations, something about financial strength amongst other things.. and I am thinking, are they saying they rate by which organization has the most money or... huh?

Look into the presence of HAARP energy on the days before the earthquake.

another odity, the day before the quake DISA ran a Haitian Disaster Relief Scenario in Florida..

A Haiti Disaster Relief Scenario Was Envisaged by the US Military One Day Before the Earthquake