Haiti

Mar 15, 2010

The following articles come from issue 1023 of Combat Ouvrier (Workers Fight), the revolutionary workers organization in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean.

Haiti’s President Provokes

Haitian President René Préval called for patience, "Through discipline, solidarity and patience we"ll find a solution to all the problems that we confront." A fat cat politician, whose government proved its total incapacity to organize anything, dares to call on those who have nothing, neither food nor shelter, to have patience. What a provocation!

Clinton and Sarkozy in the Ruins

French President Nicholas Sarkozy made a short visit to Haiti. That won’t improve the situation of the population one bit, but it will permit him to claim the "French presence," so as to open up the possibility for some French businesses to take part in Haiti’s "reconstruction." In the same way, Hilary Clinton’s visit did the same for U.S. businesses. Traveling salesmen don’t let adversity interrupt business!

Rules are Rules–Inhuman or Not!

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) hasn’t totally or even partially cancelled the debts that Haiti owes it. The IMF said, "The alternative was to do nothing or agree to a loan. So we chose the formula of a loan, but with zero interest and a long grace period before the payback is due." Even faced with an absolute emergency, the heads of the IMF intend to respect the "rules’ of bourgeois society.

Making Money from Needed Meds

On February 9, the World Health Organization suspended the free delivery of medicine to private clinics and non-governmental organizations in Haiti, after receiving information that some patients had to pay for receiving them.

A U.N. spokesman said that a dozen hospitals, private as well as public, have started to make their patients pay.

After the earthquake, the profiteers and the corrupt continue to flourish!