HAITI: There Are Daggers In Men's Smiles....

[shondradawson]

"From the ground, people hear the sound of helicopters above. Twenty Black Hawk helicopters circling the airport!

Water! Food! Medical supplies!

The people wait as the helicopters of the 82nd Airborne division land and hundreds of U.S. paratroopers become visible. But the paratroopers are in combat gear and armed with automatic machine guns.

There they're at the General Hospital and the Palace.

Water! Food! Medical supplies!

SECURITY!

No food or water or medical supplies until Haiti is SECURE! The U.S. announces that over 2,000 paratroopers will be followed by 8,000 more heavily armed U.S. Marines. Almost two weeks since the earthquake hit Haiti, whole communities have yet to receive water, food, or medical attention. But the whole world watched the U.S. show of power:

Watch and listen Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia-Haiti belongs to the U.S.!

This is Haiti several days after the January 12, 2010 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Over 2 million Haitians are starving. Hundreds are dying from lack of medical attention. It's estimated that over 200, 000 Haitians died as a direct result of the 7.3 earthquake.

But the U.S. thinks as an Empire thinks! It thinks militarization, invasion, occupation, corporatization, privatization-more resources and an expanded labor base. It thinks: HAITI NEEDS TO BE SECURE. Is it really a surprise that the U.S. command at the airport in Haiti 3 times turned away 5 Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) planes carrying 12 tons of much needed medical supplies?

Can we expect anything else from such an entity? Haiti needs to be saved from U.S. militarized security!

But Peace Man announces his priority: to search and to rescue US Embassy personnel! The people of Haiti can wait and wait and wait. But do keep this in mind Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia-and, oh, yes, you Haitians-the U.S. will be there for you! "We will be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward."

"Going forward" only means that Amerikkka has its target set on the poor and working class of Haiti."


This is taken from an article on CommonDreams.org titled, "We Are Haitians, We Are People Like Anybody Else." It articulates my worst fears as the network news covers the increase of looting and "the need for mitilary security." For I shuddered as I learned the America's initial response to the earthquake was to send troops...

The well-meaning American people (and others around the world) have answered to the devastation in Haiti with compassion, sending food, medical supplies, and prayers for the people of this long suffering country. Alas, it is a classic show of American foreign policy that we are more concerned with securing our interests in Haiti, which have never included the people...

It is not even a secret (unless you live in America, of course) that the US has systematically overthrown every democratically elected leader in Haiti during most of its assumed independence. Haiti's constant state of political upheaval, interrupted by periods of dictatorships, is, in essence, our foreign policy objective: the Third World is not allowed to become democratic. With the people of these respective nations in power, it becomes difficult for our corporate interests to exploit the resources and labor of these regions. Better to instill and support with money and arms a dictator to keep the people under control...

Whether in Haiti, Latin America, or the Middle East, America's idea of democratizing a country is oppressing the peoples of these regions under our form of government and economy.

With all my heart I do hope Americans in Haiti with the people in mind are able to get around the obstacle that our corporate (also known as Congressional) interests have always presented when the good people of this country dare to extend their humanity beyond our own borders.

I hope they shame the American military operations by truly honoring this country by a show of compassion and peace toward others around the
world, and the courage to speak out against any who would thwart their gentler endeavors.

With all my heart, I do hope the people of Haiti do not believe that those Black Hawk choppers mirror the hearts of all Americans.

There are indeed those of us who do recognize and respect Haitians to be people like anybody else...

[anonymous171]

1. Security is fascist. Food riots are awesome. nt

[Mojorabbit]

5. + 100 nt

[cliffordu]

2. Let them fight over the food.

Recall all soldiers.

What a complete waste of ones and zeros

[Duke Newcombe]

19. Yeah. Old people, kids, and sick folks. Fuck 'em.

They shoulda stayed healthy, so they can muscle their way to the front of the food queue. :sarcasm:

[cliffordu]

20. That's right.

Survival of the baddest.

:sarcasm:

(Just in case anyone missed it. I'm an ass but not a republican)

[shondradawson]

3. Food Riots are a symptom, not a solution to the problem in Haiti

My post was an attempt to inform people that the American response to Haiti is questionable at the government level. The article was written with special emphasis on the fact that the whole world is watching this goverment response and it may indeed overshadow the truer efforts on the part of Americans to aid and support the rebuilding of Haiti. Our history of foreign relations in Haiti, exacerbated by our ongoing wars in the Middle East and our tensions with Venezuela in Latin America, do nothing to strengthen this nation that is dangerously weak, militarily, economically, and politically. It is the last thing we need, to antagonize another weaker nation, in fact, a devastated and so most vulnerable one, before the already disapproving eyes of the world.

Watching the Haitians fight over food is bad enough: watching Haitians fight while supplies are being turned away by American military is enough to cut our already fraying alliances. This is a worst case scenario, I realize, but nonetheless a possible outcome. The more immediate problem, however, are the suffering people of Haiti: nothing is more sadistic than piling up food and medical supplies before starving and dying people, and making them devour and kill each other for it. It is meant to degrade and humiliate, to deflect attention to the facts, that America has played a ruthless part in Haitian history. Should they be discussed, the "show" of military operations will establish that these rioting people needed to be controlled by the dictators we instilled...as always, it was for Haiti's own good, not America's.

[aquart]

4. Anybody else would riot and kill for food, too, honey.

What bloody sanctimonious racism, feeling you have to explain that Haitians are human.

And let me know your brilliant plan for distributing food and water to three million starving people in different locations.

[Glorfindel]

6. I don't get it...what resources? Haiti doesn't have anything to exploit

And as for labor, aren't we having to guard the southern border diligently to PREVENT the influx of cheap(er) labor?

[Hannah Bell]

7. cash flow from haiti to the outside world is positive. you'd think a working poor

person has "nothing to exploit" either, but putting them in debt & milking them over their lifetime = cash cow.

haiti was once the richest colony in the world; agriculture, mining, & other.

[shondradawson]

9. You've summarized the objectives of the IMF and the World Bank

quite succinctly, my dear: the Third World countries are the cash cows of the Western industrialized nations.

Curious, how Americans can believe they we live in an empire, but can't quite grasp that America does what all other former empires did to obtain and maintain their power. America is as guilty of exercising ruthless military force as was Rome; of exploiting foreign countries for natural resources (including the people)as was Spain; of colonizing (read: subjugating)the people of conquered territories as was France and indomitable England.

I fear that we are assisting Haiti as an empire, and not as a compassionate country...

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Haiti has much in the way of resources.

The World Economic Forum devoted a whole session to discussing the resources, and the "opportunity"
for investors to move into the area.
They are drooling over the " 10 million consumers" in Haiti.

Pls. see my earlier post about this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7608260

A congressional hearing was held ( also discussed in my post) in which James Dobbins said we would need military for at least 3 years !!!! to maintain "security" and Chris Dodd asked we could not just place
Haiti into "receivership"..as if we owned the country.

While many Haitians are still going without food, we are having suddenly scheduled hearings and meetings to discuss how to pick the carcass.
Not covered widely in the MSM, of course.

[shondradawson]

Three cheers for you, darling! I was not aware that you had posted

on the dubious approach to American aid and assistance in Haiti, and only yesterday!

I have just read it...as your post chronicled the American plans for Haiti's future, my post is highlighting an arictle I read on CommonDreams.org that simply wilted my pride in what I want to believe are honest efforts to help the people of Haiti. I know there are Americans who are giving and doing their best to rebuild Haiti for the people of Haiti; I also know there are Americans who are intent on rebuilding Haiti for their own profit.

It makes me ashamed to think that the conditions of Haiti have much to do (some say all) with our foreign policies of the last century. I am afraid that the deployment of troops was only to secure our interests of the past, present, and future in that country, and to show the world that we will continue to play the tune for the Haitian people to dance to...

But this is not a time to be territorial, is it? May the US always lace every act and address around the world with imperialism, just in case the anyone forget that we are still in charge? It is simply ridiculous!

Thank you for your post: it was hopeful, all things considered, to read it and the responses. We should give a damn how our country represents itself, especially to a misrepresented people...

Outside of the North and South Poles, where is a sudden infestation of cockroaches not possible? (sigh)

[shondradawson]

13. Three cheers for you, darling! I was not aware that you had posted

on the dubious approach to American aid and assistance in Haiti, and only yesterday!

I have just read it...as your post chronicled the American plans for Haiti's future, my post is highlighting an arictle I read on CommonDreams.org that simply wilted my pride in what I want to believe are honest efforts to help the people of Haiti. I know there are Americans who are giving and doing their best to rebuild Haiti for the people of Haiti; I also know there are Americans who are intent on rebuilding Haiti for their own profit.

It makes me ashamed to think that the conditions of Haiti have much to do (some say all) with our foreign policies of the last century. I am afraid that the deployment of troops was only to secure our interests of the past, present, and future in that country, and to show the world that we will continue to play the tune for the Haitian people to dance to...

But this is not a time to be territorial, is it? May the US always lace every act and address around the world with imperialism, just in case anyone forget that we are still in charge? It is simply ridiculous!

Thank you for your post: it was hopeful, all things considered, to read it and the responses. We should give a damn how our country represents itself, especially to a misrepresented people...

Outside of the North and South Poles, where is a sudden infestation of cockroaches not possible? (sigh)

[Yurovsky]

15. Any link to the Dodd quote?

It just sounds so incredibly stupid I'd like to read more to see if there was any type of context that might make it less damning. I'm not a fan of Dodd's (corporate banking's best friend in the Senate...), but I didn't think he was capable of saying something that fucking stupid.

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. He said at a Congressional haering I was listening to.

Another DU member heard it too and we commented on it in the thread that I posted above.
I happened to glance at the screen as he said it, and the expressions on people's faces in the room
were remarkable.

[malaise]

10. Really?

Then why are so many people attempting to steal Haitian children and human organs from anyone they can capture. So who is letting these criminals in and how many of them are claiming to be Xtians but are really human traffickers in children and organs. You have no idea what is profitable these days.

[Codeine]

11. That's the stupidest, most paranoid bullshit

I've ever read on DU.

Well, not true - there's some stupid-ass woowoo shit here almost daily - but this is right up there.

[Quantess]

12. Unrecommended.

I only wish I could unrec more than once. What a steaming pantload.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Around here, shondradawson, you have to watch out for the seagulls.

That is why my ignore list is growing so fast.
Your post could benefit from a direct link to the article, but otherwise is stating an important issue.

[shondradawson]

16. Is it possible that America's foreign policy with regards to Haiti

is not well known among DUers?

When I wrote in my post that it is no secret that America has overthrown every democratically elected leader in Haiti, unless, of course, you live in America, I was simply being cheeky. Although, I know it may not be generally known among the American people who would not wound their zealous and so blindsighted patriotism with the slightest implication that America may not be the greatest country in the world...watch out for the seagulls, indeed! (smile)

To tell a truth in this country is the only form of treason, it seems, even underground...

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. Reality screws up some people's complacency, as you know.

I have a feeling you also know what Plato said about the Philosopher, in The Cave.
the prisoners of the cave have an unsettling tendency to want to kill the person who shows them the light.
:evilfrown:

So I always assume loud seagulls mean truth is nearby.

edit spelling

[ellenfl]

21. name one disaster on american soil in which our first

responders were not military/police/fire . . . not counting katrina, of course? that's what our national guard does. we train our military in disaster assistance. would you rather have chaos? i doubt anyone had the time to organize to only protect our interests . . . which are what?

ellen fl