International aid organizations and governments around the world are mobilising massive relief efforts to help victims of Haiti’s earthquake but much of the devastation to befall Haiti is best understood as another predominantly manmade outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence.
How easy it has been forgotten that the source of much of Europe’s wealth, particularly that of France, emanated from the Sugar Plantations of Haiti manned by uncounted slaves. Forgotten also, indeed banished from mainstream history is, how in 1791, these slaves rose in revolt and repelled invasions by a series of British, Spanish and Napoleonic armies to create Haiti, the first, though short-lived, independent black republic outside Africa.
Haiti’s sorry history continued with United States occupation and later a brutal military dictatorship totally subservient to its nearby collosus. When it finally had a reasonably free election, the winner, Aristride, was not acceptable to the US and was deposed. Is it any wonder that Haiti is a relentless victim of never ending debt servitude to the International Monetary Fund and foreign banks, labor exploitation, and US “aid” policies that stunt Haiti’s farm and manufacturing growth?
When “Aid” is accompanied by “Free Trade” it is a subsidy to US farmers and condemns Haitians farmers to destitution forcing them to relocate en masse to the poorly built slums in order to become fodder for yet more “Aid” in multi-national sweatshops. Earthquakes are, of course, random destructive events, which are relatively unpredictable. The consequences, however, are entirely predictable.
The comparison of the impact of natural disasters in industrialized countries compared with developing countries mirror the same vulnerabilities and inequalities that are both the result and cause of unequal global development. World Bank Figures show that between 1990 and 2000, natural disasters resulted in damages constituting between 2 percent and 15 percent of an affected country’s annual GDP with the poorer countries suffering the most. The funny thing with Haiti is that the noble “international community” which is currently scrambling to send its “humanitarian aid” is largely responsible for the extent of the suffering it now aims to reduce.
Earthquakes as said are random events. How many people they kill are undetermined and as much as we would like to blame tectonics for the astronomical death toll in Haiti, we can’t. We must turn the blame not entirely to nature but to those wh
o have left the country in a place that leaves it more vulnerable to the aftermath of a natural disaster. Compare the even greater Kobe earthquake of 1995 (Japan) with this week’s. 5,000 deaths as opposed to 100,000,
While natural disasters per se cannot be averted, democratic governance can mitigate many of their consequences, such as famine and disease outbreaks, which are less prevalent in countries, like Haiti. The most vulnerable populations tend to be the most marginalized (due to a lack of access to information, to pre- and post-disaster protection, and to sustainable agricultural options) which, in developing countries like Haiti, tend to be women and children. This deepens the impact of natural disasters by disproportionately harming the most vital population for long-term development: women, and unfortunately, socio-economic development is itself a prerequisite for escaping the disaster-recovery cycle pervasive.
Yes Haiti’s corrupt rulers and government officials get the standard blame for the country’s chronic poverty, woeful infrastructure and bankruptcy. But also take a take a look at its history.
A colossal earthquake brought the world to Haiti’s doorstep. The questions, though, are why did it take that? And what will it take for the world to stick around after the rubble is cleared and help transform Haiti into the democratic, self-supporting nation it can be?
