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Schnews: Haiti - The Aftershock Doctrine

24.01.2010 08:00 | Anti-militarism | Social Struggles | South Coast | World

As the rescue effort winds down and the body count piles up, SchNEWS takes a look at why this earthquake hit so many so hard, and how the international aid effort is being subverted by military and corporate power.

As Haiti’s total estimated dead hovers at around 200,000, the earthquake has hit the country so hard that it’s dropped a whole digit off its former population of 10 million. It’s almost a law of world injustice that the poorer the country, the more vague the body count.

Haiti is a unique place. The only nation to be founded by a slave rebellion, its angry population of African slaves managed to defeat the French back in 1791. Renamed as Haiti - the original Arawak name for the island - it was the Cuba of its day- an inspiration to enslaved peoples the world over and a thorn in the side of the imperial regimes.

Also in Schnews 706: MOBS AND COPPERS Smash EDO demo runs rampage - again | STOKING THE FIRES English Defence League counter demo on January 23rd | LANARKY IN THE U.K Mainshill site has pre-eviction gathering | GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN Anarcha-feminist gathering at Brighton's Cowley Club



Unfortunately for Haitians, the western powers have long memories. Unable to reconquer Haiti militarily, the people of Haiti have been subjected to blockades and one sided trade agreements ever since. The prize for most outrageous treaty probably goes to the 19th century French government, which demanded that Haitians pay France reparations for lost earnings following the loss of ‘their’ slaves.

As French neo-colonialism was replaced by the American variety, years of massive loans on impossible interest rates has meant that any money from Haiti’s cash crops have gone directly to international banks, after corrupt leaders took their cut.

The infamous hereditary dictatorship of ‘Papa’ Doc and ‘Baby’ Doc Duvalier ruled the country with a unique form of voodoo oppression between 1957 and 1986. The three decades of Duvalier rule saw Haiti change from being able to feed its population to becoming a cash crop economy reliant on US food imports.

One of the many unpleasant sights from the Haitian disaster was former US presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton standing together, earnestly encouraging people to help Haiti. Haiti’s former president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was deposed by Bush Senior in ’91, reinstated on Clinton’s orders by US troops (on condition that he sign up to harsh neo-liberal measures), only to be deposed by the Marines in 2004.

All of this provides some sort of context for the relief effort that’s underway. Lack of money and the complete absence of almost any social function of the state meant that when the magnitude 7 quake hit so close to Port au Prince, whole neighbourhoods of the slum city disintegrated. The airport, seaport, roads and communication links were all so badly built and their destruction so total that the normal routes for aid and rescue teams were barred.

Whilst everyone else from Medicine San Frontiers to the Icelandic government were busy sending food, medics and drinking water, the Americans dithered, sending the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson three days later, without emergency relief supplies but with plenty of sidewinder missiles and combat helicopters. Even as the rest of the world pitched in, the Americans claimed they couldn’t deliver aid without making sure Haiti was safe first. In that peculiar form of helping that we’ve learned to know so well, the Americans sent in the marines (again). Some 10,000 troops have been, or are about to be deployed - a readymade army of occupation.

As of Tuesday, the US military is officially in direct control of Haiti. But then, in reality, Haiti has been effectively under occupation on and off for years now. The troops providing aid should be seen in this light - As the Geneva Convention states: “The duties of the occupying power include ... providing the population with food and medical supplies; agreeing to relief schemes... maintaining medical facilities and services; [and] ensuring public health and hygiene.”

In an effort to prove that the military presence is somehow necessary, the US media has been hard at work painting a picture (just like New Orleans post Katrina) of criminal gangs, mass lootings and ‘human rats’ (to quote Time Magazine) that need pacifying in order to be given assistance. Yet the word from agencies on the ground is that, apart from the desperate search for food and basic supplies, the population has been relatively quiet.

The militarisation of the Haiti aid effort has caused huge problems for international NGOs. Medicine Sans Frontiers has publicly criticised the USA for slowing down and mismanaging the aid effort. Since Sunday MSF medics and 5 planes carrying 85 tonnes of drugs and surgical supplies have been turned away from the airport due to the prioritisation of military air traffic.

Francoise Saulnier, head of MSF’s legal department said, “We lost three days, and these three days have created a massive problem with infection, with gangrene, with amputations that are needed now, while we could have really spared this to those people."

Just as it did in Iraq, the US military has been trying to control the flow of information out of Haiti. Yesterday ( 21ST) the military ordered the removal of all international journalists from the Haitian capital’s airport, without bothering to supply any explanation.

Assuming that aid workers can prevent starvation and disease from taking many more lives, the aid effort will slowly turn into a reconstruction effort. As much as Haitians no doubt appreciate any help right now, the form of aid will have a major bearing on Haiti’s direction over next few decades. The IMF is talking about a Marshall Plan for Haiti. Originally the plan was for a loan of $100 (£60) million that included demands for wages cuts and raised prices.

Public pressure from debt relief activists such as Jubilee USA, complete with the facebook campaign “No shock doctrine for Haiti” managed to curtail some of the most obviously exploitative aspects of the IMF’s proposal. Anti-capitalista Naomi Klein called this victory "unprecedented in my experience and shows that public pressure in moments of disaster can seriously subvert shock doctrine tactics."

As witnessed during Katrina and the ‘04 Tsunami, the public response looks set to overwhelm the response of governments and international institutions. In Britain alone, the public has already donated £31 million via the Disasters Emergency Committee. The DEC is part run by the government, and, although they may be good at distributing aid, don’t expect much in the way of criticism over the handling of Haiti’s ongoing disaster. For anarchists/activists who do want to donate to the aid effort without compromising their anti-state credentials, Medicine Sans Frontiers and Medicine Du Monden have a consistent track record of doing (and saying) the right thing.

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

For the syndicalists amongst us

23.01.2010 00:29

In addition to MSF, the TUC's appeal -  http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-17424-f0.cfm - will be used by the trade union movement in Haiti for emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation of victims in collaboration with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Donnacha DeLong
mail e-mail: donnacha.delong@tiscali.co.uk
- Homepage: http://donnachadelong.wordpress.com


questions and more questions

24.01.2010 09:42

good article, schnews, thanks for posting it.

i cant give any money since i haven't any, but where can i send stuff to, does anyone know??
like clothes and water??



concerned veggie


"Listen, don't rush on boats to leave the country."

24.01.2010 13:11

Not only are American interests being protected on land with tens of thousands of US troops, but the US government in the guise of the Department of Homeland Security have activated the Operation Vigilant Sentry task force to keep any Haitians who might think of fleeing their devastated country.

Amongst the operations this task force have put in place includes at least one plane flying and broadcasting radio messages five hours a day over Haiti, saying (in Creole) "Listen, don't rush on boats to leave the country. If you do that, we'll all have even worse problems. Because, I'll be honest with you: If you think you will reach the U.S. and all the doors will be wide open to you, that's not at all the case. And they will intercept you right on the water and send you back home where you came from."

They have also move the current occupants of South Florida's main detention centre out to clear space for any Haitians who manage to reach US shores. At the same time a massive tented city has been erected by the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay to house any Haitians intercepted at sea.

 http://nobordersbrighton.blogspot.com/2010/01/prioritising-us-interests.html
 http://nobordersbrighton.blogspot.com/2010/01/haitian-refugges-to-be-held-at.html

No Borders Brighton
mail e-mail: bightonnoborders@riseup.net
- Homepage: http://nobordersbrighton.blogspot.com/


Unpleasant truth

24.01.2010 22:29

Sad thing is Haiti would no doubt be far better off if they hadn't kicked the French out 200 years ago but had remained a French colony till the 20th Century (or even become a part of France like Guadalupe).

Ed


Grassroots fund to send aid direct

25.01.2010 20:26

The Foundry/Haiti fund has been set up by a group of artists who recently visited Port au Prince and were working in one of the poorest areas of the city.

To send money directly, see  http://www.foundry.tv/haiti/


Tracey as part of a group of 35 artists has just returned from taking part in the Ghetto Biennale - Port-Au-Prince. As you know the people of Haiti are in a terrible situation in the aftermath of the earthquake.

The Ghetto Biennale has supported the setting up of the foundry/haiti fund with the Foundry in London for the artists community www.atis-rezistans.com in Grand Rue, Port-au Prince.

The Foundry and Ghetto Biennale have forged links with this community over the last several years. The Grand Rue ghetto district is home to artists who make sculpture from refuse as well as running many community workshops. They are incredible for what they have done to make their community full of good, creative energy.

Please give generously to the Foundry/Haiti fund which will be allocated directly to our friends in Port-au-Prince.

We have already distrubuted £3,000 directly to the ghetto which has enabled them to buy food and water

for info


IMF Shock Doctrine

26.01.2010 20:12

so here goes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) again forcing it's 'Conditionality' onto the poor, with demands to lower wages and increas prices in order to get 'aid'. How will this help those who are so poor they literally eat mud?

 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080130-AP-haiti-eatin.html

Shame on the IMF


CrisisCamp hacklab volunteer relief support effort every Saturday in London

27.01.2010 14:39

Crisis Camp Haiti - London is one of the international Crisis Camps organized in support of Haiti.

Where: London Knowledge Lab 23-29 Emerald Street London WC1N 3QS
When: Every Saturday, 10am - 5pm+

What:

For more links and info, and to sign up to help capacity planning, see  http://crisiscamphaiti-london.eventbrite.com/
If you want to see a video of what happened last week have a look here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCv8j_RRW_I

The day is dedicated to working on Crisis Commons projects, hoping to make life easier for people on the ground by doing what we can do from here. Common tasks are programming, working on maps, and helping to gather information from around the web into usable forms.

Please come if you think you can help in any way, even simple things like helping people who are not at the camp keep in touch with what is going on, or keeping the hackers fed-and-watered. There are plenty of tasks anybody can do.

We are actively looking for people to help resource and organize Crisis Camp London. There is a lot to do!

Please bring a laptop if you have one. 3G dongles/Mefi may be very useful as venue wifi often has problems with the large load. Pens, pencils, paper, anything you need to be productive.

Tom
- Homepage: http://wiki.crisiscommons.org/wiki/Crisis_Camp_London


Hubris

28.01.2010 22:28

hacklab -big for your egos not much use for Hiatan's but hey start your own NGO twitters

birdbrain


Catholic Workers on the Ground in Haiti........

30.01.2010 16:58

The Catholic Worker is 70+ year old radical anarcho-pacifist movement of some 180 autonomous communities (mostly in North America) combining the practise of the acts of mercy and nonviolent resistance. The CW houses and projects refuse all state funding. The Philadelphia Catholic Worker operates a free clinic and has a longstanding relationship with the "Mathew 25 -House of Hospitality" free clinic in Haiti.

The Catholic Worker delegation presently in Haiti includes CW nurse Joanna Berrigan, radical Detroit Bishop Thomas Gumbleton who has a long anti-war history and sanctios breaking in Iraq in the '90's and radical lawyer Bill Quigley who has longstanding involvement in Haitian human rights cases.

Background on the CW dlegation and Mathew 25 project (including a television news report) can be found on this link.....
 http://www.indymedia.ie/article/95531&comment_limit=0&c...64761


Most recent update from Bill Quigley
 http://www.indymedia.ie/article/95645

Catholic Worker


the political history IS crucial

04.02.2010 18:01

how do we get the actual background to all this into the news reports
tectonic shifts cause earthquakes, but corruption is what lets the schools, hospitals etc fall down!

my name isnt that crucial


Blue Hats

26.02.2010 03:09


The role of the UN
Source: Reuters 26 Feb 2010 00:00:35 GMT
Haiti aid effort marred by slow U.N. response
* Peacekeepers offered little immediate help to Haitians
* First responders handled security but gave no relief

www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25200825.htm

jo