Reflecting on the Haitian Nation

Naomi Klien (The Shock Doctrine) fears that this latest disaster may be used to further indebt this poverty plagued nation. Several government leaders, both foreign and domestic, have already met to debate whether to forgive Haiti of its national debt. Klein reports that jury is still out on this. Meanwhile all of China donated a mere 1 million in aid. Klein argues we should be in Haiti's debt, not the other way around, for usurping finances and labor from a nation that did not have the resources to fight back for centuries.

I have a couple friends who've gone down to Haiti to witness the devastation and either report on it or help rebuild from the chaos.

Several different online articles, magazines, broadcast reports have differing opinions on what will happen to the future of Haiti. One thing is certain. Haiti was already a poor country in dire need of assistance and government reform. Now with this recent devastation and reports that the people plan to stay in their tent cities indefinitely (and with Hurricane season coming up), the situation is beyond desperate.

I've borrowed a few images from Erin Ann McBride's blog "Moments of Clarity and Chaos". She recently worked with me up at Sundance on a Haiti fundraising project. She's now actually in Haiti working on assignment for Meridian Magazine.





What will happen to these people? Are they even educated enough on how to get the resources they need to survive? Will foreign governments be able to provide them with the necessary resources without taxing them or adding debt and interest? And will their government leaders wake up and rise above the corruption this little island could do without, especially now?

I didn't know much about Haiti before this disaster, but I do wonder why it always seems to be the poorest and most desperate places on Earth that get hit like this.

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