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Laying Haiti's new foundation

AgentM

AgentM

Comrade from Canuckistan!
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Aid agencies and world leaders meet in Montreal Monday to begin the work of rebuilding Haiti amid hopes that the talk will be of more than bricks and mortar.

Intangibles such as the Haitian economy, education and health-care systems will be emphasized by groups such as the Red Cross and World Vision when they address dignitaries – including Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner – as well as other members of the informal group of nations calling themselves the Friends of Haiti.

“This meeting – convened on short notice in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy – will clearly and concretely demonstrate our commitment to Haiti's long-term reconstruction,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, who is hosting the conference.

If talks are too focused on the physical reconstruction of buildings and roads, “… what we'll have is new roads, but a society that's still largely dysfunctional,” said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada.

He will be proposing an approach to rebuilding based on lessons his agency learned in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. “I think we all see this as a strategic time to gather consensus to work jointly and see if we really can't move toward the Haiti that we've all be talking about for probably the last 50 years.”

Eric A. Pierre, the Haitian consul in Toronto, said the international community has taken on a mammoth task. In the long run, he said, “they have to reverse 200 years of history.”

“I don't see them accomplishing much except a photo opportunity in one day. There has to be sustained and continuous dialogue between Haitians and the Friends of Haiti. It's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take a long time.”

During a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr. Bellerive said “the situation is very different” from when he first visited Canada to discuss short-term plans for recovery. He said that he had new objectives and intended to discuss mid-term and long-term challenges at today's conference.

<snip>

Laying Haiti's new foundation - The Globe and Mail
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This is encouraging. I really hope that the people involved take Haiti's long term future seriously. This conference will hopefully be a good start!
 
AgentM said:
This is encouraging. I really hope that the people involved take Haiti's long term future seriously. This conference will hopefully be a good start!
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Step 1 and mandatory for any success: Stamp out corruption. Without it we'll be pouring money into a sink hole.

Option 2: Colonization for 50 to 100-years.

.
 
I don't know why people still think colonialism is still the answer when we see all the damage it did the first time.

Makes no sense to me.
 
Blackdog said:
I don't know why people still think colonialism is still the answer when we see all the damage it did the first time.

Makes no sense to me.
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I agree. Colonization is a horrible idea.

One idea would be to look at how Japan and Europe's economies were rebuilt after the war and take some ideas from that. Of course it's going to be somewhat different with Haiti because Europe and Japan had previous histories of industrialization.
 
AgentM said:
I agree. Colonization is a horrible idea.

One idea would be to look at how Japan and Europe's economies were rebuilt after the war and take some ideas from that. Of course it's going to be somewhat different with Haiti because Europe and Japan had previous histories of industrialization.
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I agree. He was right about one thing though. The corruption has to be rooted out and extinguished. It is so bad in Haiti, that it needs to be the #1 priority.

My wife goes to Haiti 1 or 2 times a year, or has for the last 3 years or so. The stories are amazing at how corrupt the place is. It is not isolated pockets either, it is rampant among anyone who is anyone there. I know that is a blanket statement, but in the case of Haiti, it makes Nigeria look like a wellspring of honesty.
 
Blackdog said:
I agree. He was right about one thing though. The corruption has to be rooted out and extinguished. It is so bad in Haiti, that it needs to be the #1 priority.

My wife goes to Haiti 1 or 2 times a year, or has for the last 3 years or so. The stories are amazing at how corrupt the place is. It is not isolated pockets either, it is rampant among anyone who is anyone there. I know that is a blanket statement, but in the case of Haiti, it makes Nigeria look like a wellspring of honesty.
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What I find odd is that this goes for both countries on Hispaniola. I've heard horror stories of people being hustled in Haiti, going over to Santo Domingo and getting hustled there too. Trujillo and the Duvaliers left long legacies of corruption in those islands. It almost seems like it is a characteristic of both sides. I think it is worse in Haiti but the Dominican Republic is sort of like it's slightly better brother.
 
That type of change will have to come from within, not gonna happen.....;)
 
Sean Penn actually said something nice about our military, and spoke specifically about the 82nd Airborne. A broken clock is correct twice a day. Anyway, it was a nice change.
 
Hatuey said:
What I find odd is that this goes for both countries on Hispaniola. I've heard horror stories of people being hustled in Haiti, going over to Santo Domingo and getting hustled there too. Trujillo and the Duvaliers left long legacies of corruption in those islands. It almost seems like it is a characteristic of both sides. I think it is worse in Haiti but the Dominican Republic is sort of like it's slightly better brother.
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Yes and no. Corruption in the Dominican republic is like what you would find in any 3rd world country. Haiti takes it to a whole new level. I am not talking just government, it filters down to the people in a very bad way.

The Western powers taught the Haitian people how to exploit their fellow man far to well.
 
Blackdog said:
Yes and no. Corruption in the Dominican republic is like what you would find in any 3rd world country. Haiti takes it to a whole new level. I am not talking just government, it filters down to the people in a very bad way.

The Western powers taught the Haitian people how to exploit their fellow man far to well.
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Please.......
That exploitation goes back well before Columbus sailed, & is alive & well in all of sub Saharan Africa......:roll:
 
Partisan said:
Please.......
That exploitation goes back well before Columbus sailed, & is alive & well in all of sub Saharan Africa......:roll:
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You honestly think anyone was talking about slavery? :roll:
 
Everyone agrees that a stable government is #1. Then an economic system that allows Haitians to benefit from the resources they have available to exploit. What Royal Caribbean is doing is a prime example. Some in the press started beating up on the cruise line, but the cruise line which likely has the closest link to locals of any non-Haitian business made a great point that tourism was the wrong thing to stop in the middle of this disaster. Leaving Haitians on the island unemployed because of the disaster was a mistake, and thus they continue there stops. Here is a company that thoroughly understands what they need, and ought to be invited to the Canadian summit.
 
Partisan said:
Please.......
That exploitation goes back well before Columbus sailed, & is alive & well in all of sub Saharan Africa......:roll:
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Yes, and Africa never had to deal with any colonization. :roll:
 
Delegates arrive for the conference, and the inevitable photo ops.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9692qcr8OM"]YouTube- Haiti emergency aid conference opens in Montreal[/nomedia]
 
Hmm....Haiti needs foreign capital.

So it needs to guarantee that property held in Haiti is safe from government corruption, and that money in Haiti is safe.

As the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, it should be willing to sew it's way to prosperity. Yes, that means encouraging textile companies to set up shop in Haiti and pay low wages. No reason Bangladesh should keep that monopoly, is there? If the Haitians don't want to do honest work for their money, let'em starve.

No reason Haiti can't become a banking haven like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. They're an independent nation. They certainly should not allow "aid givers" an opportunity to take control.

And they should make the nation safe for tourists, to encourage foreign travellers, and not just the pedophiles. They have a wonderful beautiful island which should be marketed at the gem it is.

But first they need a government that will protect individual property rights and control gangs and corruption.
 
Scarecrow Akhbar said:
Hmm....Haiti needs foreign capital.

So it needs to guarantee that property held in Haiti is safe from government corruption, and that money in Haiti is safe.

As the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, it should be willing to sew it's way to prosperity. Yes, that means encouraging textile companies to set up shop in Haiti and pay low wages. No reason Bangladesh should keep that monopoly, is there? If the Haitians don't want to do honest work for their money, let'em starve.
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They already have some textile operations there. Companies like Disney contract out to Haiti-based textile sweat shops (that incidentally treat the Haitians pretty poorly).

No reason Haiti can't become a banking haven like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. They're an independent nation. They certainly should not allow "aid givers" an opportunity to take control.

And they should make the nation safe for tourists, to encourage foreign travellers, and not just the pedophiles. They have a wonderful beautiful island which should be marketed at the gem it is.

But first they need a government that will protect individual property rights and control gangs and corruption.
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Free trade zones to encourage investment might be another idea. I wonder how well that has worked in other countries who've tried it?
 
Blackdog said:
You honestly think anyone was talking about slavery? :roll:
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No were talking about exploitation, many people think that started with the New World, when black on black exploitation started way earlier........
You might as well insert WHITEY, when referring to Western civilization, because that's what you mean.....
Blaming their plight or character on 'western civilzation', is still playing the same old race card.....:roll:
 
I read a title of a source that states it will take about 10 years to rebuild Haiti.

To be completely honest, I think the Haiti reconstruction project will take at least 20 years, excluding the high plausibility that another natural catastrophe will strike it again.

I think it is possible to cut the rebuild time down tremendously, but in two months the celebrities, the media, and most people will have forgotten about Haiti.
 
Partisan said:
No were talking about exploitation, many people think that started with the New World, when black on black exploitation started way earlier........
You might as well insert WHITEY, when referring to Western civilization, because that's what you mean.....
Blaming their plight or character on 'western civilzation', is still playing the same old race card.....:roll:
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No it is not. Colonization helped create the problem. You can try and deny it, but fortunately history says no.

You can try and make this into some kind of race thing, but it is not.

You can leave the racist undertones someplace else.
 
Partisan said:
No were talking about exploitation, many people think that started with the New World, when black on black exploitation started way earlier........
You might as well insert WHITEY, when referring to Western civilization, because that's what you mean.....
Blaming their plight or character on 'western civilzation', is still playing the same old race card.....:roll:
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Of course the West isn't entirely to blame, but colonization certainly hasn't helped...
 
AgentM said:
Of course the West isn't entirely to blame, but colonization certainly hasn't helped...
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No, it has not....
I truly hope that the Haitian people will rise up & grab the rope that is being thrown to them.....
....And, grab the bull by the horns to take advantage of the goodwill both spiritual & financial that will be bestowed upon them in the coming years....;)
 
Update

Nations calling themselves the Friends of Haiti have made a 10-year commitment to help the devastated island country recover from the earthquake and pull itself out of the depths of poverty.

Participants at a Montreal conference on Monday agreed in a joint statement that “an initial 10-year commitment is essential.” They also said that reconstruction must be directed by Haitians and that it must be co-ordinated, effective and transparent.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told members of the loosely organized group of nations that calls itself the Friends of Haiti.

The declarations were made as the International Monetary Fund indicated it would announce a $100-million, interest-free loan for Haiti. However, the bank has no plans to meet demands from aid agencies to forgive Haiti's nearly $900-million debt.

Mr. Harper said that when the immediate needs of Haiti's wounded, hungry and homeless have been met, the long restoration process will begin and aid nations must be prepared to go the distance.

“The international community must be prepared for a sustained, significant effort in Haiti, relying on the leadership of the government of Haiti and in line with its priorities.”

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World leaders commit to 10 years of hard work for Haiti - The Globe and Mail
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Wow, the IMF was nice enough to give Haiti a loan! How the hell is Haiti supposed to pay off a loan? It barely has an economy! At least the loan is interest free, better not count on getting the "loan" back. Hopefully the IMF doesn't go further indebting a nation that can't afford it. :(

Aside from that minor complaint, I'm glad that the international community is making long-term commitments to Haiti.
 
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