History of Interventions & Exploitation Against Haiti
Hurricane Matthew’s devastation in Haiti is amplified by several remnants of colonial relations, military interventions by Woodrow Wilson and Roosevelt, and now today by “poorly implemented aid projects.” Law Street Media traces the history of economic exploitation of Haiti by France and Spain, and demonstrates the progression of “disappointments” by the United States and the United Nations: the U.S. continuing economic exploitation, and the UN continuing to deny responsibility for the increasing spread of cholera. Law Street cites IJDH’s Beatrice Lindstrom: “The need for a new UN response that both controls and eliminates cholera and compensates the victims who have suffered so much is now more dire than ever.” Using history and recent examples of exploitation, the article concludes: “Haiti will continue to be plagued with problems if the impoverished country is unable to properly recover from disease outbreaks like this, as well […]
Does the U.S. really support “﻿elections that reflect the will of the Haitian people”?
As Haiti’s current political crisis began to unfold, the United States continually tried to force fraudulent elections to continue despite broad popular disapproval. Now that the elections have been postponed in hopes of a more legitimate strategy, the State Department “reaffirms its support for credible, transparent, and secure elections that reflect the will of the Haitian people.” But has the State Department ever supported the will of the Haitian people? This article outlines U.S. intervention in Haiti over the past century, in ways that certainly did not support the Haitian people. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text. Sure, Washington Has Always Supported Democracy in Haiti Greg Grandin, The Nation January 26, 2016 “As in the past, the United States is taking great interest in how elections in Haiti are unfolding,” a State Department spokesperson announced a […]
How the Post-Quake Response Could’ve Improved…But Didn’t
As part of the investigation and public release of Hillary Clinton’s personal emails by the State Department, a telling memo from Chelsea Clinton has also become public. The memo, inspired by a visit to Haiti soon after the 2010 earthquake, reveals the incompetence and lack of accountability of many of the organizations on the ground who were supposed to help Haiti with relief and recovery. While her mother seemed more focused on preserving the US image of “success” in Haiti, Chelsea was very frank about the need to include Haitians in the recovery effort and the unwillingness of the aid organizations to do so. Unfortunately, her recommendations showed a similar disconnect to that of her parents when she recommended increasing their power over the relief efforts in order to improve them–something which did happen later but made no improvement in the […]
Chelsea Clinton Memo on 2010 Earthquake Response
Among the recently-released Hillary Clinton State Department emails is a very detailed memo from Chelsea Clinton which describes the many failures of the international response to Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. In the memo, Chelsea describes the utter incompetence of many who were supposed to be helping Haitians, a great number of which were UN agencies. Chelsea ends the memo with recommendations on how to make the post-quake response more organized and effective, including working with local partners, having more centralized oversight of the response, and working with the Haitian government rather than undermining it. Click HERE for the full text. ———————- To: Dad, Mom Cc: Cheryl, Doug, Justin There is a context section at the bottom, which is longer than I would like, but I think it is important to articulate what I saw and whom I spoke with (and what I […]
How the Clintons “Govern” Haiti
Hillary and Bill Clinton often discuss their love for Haiti ever since they traveled there for their honeymoon. However, their track record of unfulfilled promises to Haiti, especially after the 2010 earthquake, leaves more questions than answers. This article delves into the Clintons’ influence in Haiti and why some say that “after everything is in place…you see the Clintons at every level” of goings-on in the small country. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text. The King and Queen of Haiti Jonathan Katz, Politico Magazine May 4, 2015 Sunday, January 30, 2011. Two hundred thousand people occupied Egypt’s Tahrir Square, defying a military curfew to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Tunisia’s authoritarian leader had just been overthrown, unleashing a wave of anti-government protests from Yemen to Syria to Morocco. South Sudan’s provisional president […]
Ever since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, everyone has had a crucial question in mind: Where did all the aid money go? The Clinton Foundation is one group that could answer this question, as they allegedly led the fundraising and recovery efforts. A group of Haitians, rightfully upset at the scant results of those efforts, gathered in from of the Foundation’s offices to demand answers. Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text and video. Clinton Foundation HQ Protested For ‘Missing Money’ In Haiti Recovery Washington Free Beacon Staff, The Washington Free Beacon January 12, 2015 The Clinton Foundation is facing protests due to its mismanagement of resources for the post-earthquake recovery efforts of Haiti. Five years after a disastrous earthquake ripped through the small island nation, disturbing reports of a lack of progress in the […]