<story><title>The end of Haiti? </title><url>http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/01/end_haiti_0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mahmud</author><text>I am from Somalia, and I have witnessed its decay right to its downfall, including the three days during which the government dispersed and the central bank threw out its stash of local currency in large garbage bins.&lt;p&gt;Haiti will not die. For one, the suffering has been universally afflicted on all Haitians. This will strengthen their bond more than anything. Even if warlords and gangs form their own fiefdoms throughout the country, the humanitarian efforts, whenever they&apos;re ready a year or ten from now, can always tap into that shared Haitian identity, forged through an equally-endured hardship.&lt;p&gt;An earthquake has no one to blame. Probably as many Somalis died as in Haiti (though not in one day) but we only have ourselves to blame, and each victim left a blood debt on his killer, which &quot;must&quot; be avenged (or it has been avenged, and now the victim&apos;s family are awaiting reprisals)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>joubert</author><text>&quot;An earthquake has no one to blame&quot;&lt;p&gt;I agree. However, you can get spin doctors and loonies who manage to convince others that some group is to blame. Once they have done that they can manipulate the situation in a direction that pleases them. Witness for example demented Pat Robertson who makes the superstitious claim that the misery in Haiti is a direct result of a pact with the devil when Haiti&apos;s people (then slaves) overthrew their French masters two centuries ago.</text></comment>
<story><title>The end of Haiti? </title><url>http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/01/end_haiti_0</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mahmud</author><text>I am from Somalia, and I have witnessed its decay right to its downfall, including the three days during which the government dispersed and the central bank threw out its stash of local currency in large garbage bins.&lt;p&gt;Haiti will not die. For one, the suffering has been universally afflicted on all Haitians. This will strengthen their bond more than anything. Even if warlords and gangs form their own fiefdoms throughout the country, the humanitarian efforts, whenever they&apos;re ready a year or ten from now, can always tap into that shared Haitian identity, forged through an equally-endured hardship.&lt;p&gt;An earthquake has no one to blame. Probably as many Somalis died as in Haiti (though not in one day) but we only have ourselves to blame, and each victim left a blood debt on his killer, which &quot;must&quot; be avenged (or it has been avenged, and now the victim&apos;s family are awaiting reprisals)</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sailormoon</author><text>&lt;i&gt;An earthquake has no one to blame.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;The event itself does not, it&apos;s true. But there certainly is someone to blame for the shoddy construction standards and  grievous lack of preparation. The government is entirely accountable for these things.</text></comment>