Comments on: Why is American tv coverage of the Haitian disaster driving me to drink?

By: Westerly

Westerly — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:43:04 +0000

Thank you so much for this. I can’t say I’ve been innundated with coverage – I’ve been avoiding televised coverage precisely because I am NOT looking for a “Katrina – Round II” in terms of the media; but I have been reading about it on various blogs and sites. It’s refreshing to read something with a political dimension, that is actually historically interested and factual, and goes beyond the “Haitian babies garage salw” mentality that MSM is voraciously promoting.

It’s a relief to read something intelligent.

By: Foxessa

Foxessa — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:35:14 +0000

Graduate students (3 of ours alone were airlifted out of Haiti in the first two days, via the DR), musicians, artists, dancers, anthropologists, musicologists, enormous numbers of mormon and evangelical missionaries, medical personnel, writers like Madison Smartt Bell — who owns a house in the north of Haiti — musicians, filmmakers — Jonathan Demme owns a house in Haiti — agronimists and other ngo and as well govement agency people — quite a lot more than 45,000. As of today one of our very best friends is back, who lives there part time, and is an artist — he’s coming in through the DR to get his Haitian wife’s 6 year old daughter, who until now wasn’t allowed to be in the U.S. with her mother and stepfather. There are at least a million Haitian Americans, and they spend as much time in Haiti as possible.

But yes, many of the individuals there are there to keep U.S. control of the country, and now, that the U.S. has again taken complete control of the state, surround Cuba with its military might, and have a good platform from which to launch an attack on Venezuela, if it so decides.

Love, C.

By: Neal

Neal — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:24:31 +0000

Okay, when I heard that there were 45,000 American citizens in Haiti, I thought, “huh?” Not that it’s not a respectable place to visit, but something tells me it’s not a tourist hot spot. To me, that’s a lot of Americans in one spot to be serving any other purpose than snooping on its closest non-Dominican neighbor: Cuba. Anyone with further insight or facts?

By: Dong Caparelli

Dong Caparelli — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:53:01 +0000

What a remarkable post.

By: bindicated

bindicated — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:07:58 +0000

Just noticed one little thing–your links for the Liberia and Bangladesh contributions both go to the Liberia story. :)
B.

By: Foxessa

Foxessa — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:26:03 +0000

There are other sizes of sea-going vessels than liners and container ships.

Haitians have been fishing the waters around their country for a long time.

Many Haitians here grew up either doing this themselves or know people who have and still do, and who travel between many a Caribbean island by sea. They are a sea-going people. Look at the central figures pof the Religion

Have you noticed that the U.S. has brought many a military vessel to Haiti filled with U.S. troops — not to help Haitians, but to patrol the Haitian coasts — to keep the Haitians from leaving the island, and trying to get to the U.S.? Also, of course, to have the troops handy to quell any ‘larger social disturbance,’ I believe was the language used by the commander, beyond the ‘looting.’

Love, C.

By: SA

SA — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:38:15 +0000

Haiti has a lot of coast. You can get there, then, without an airport.

What are you suggesting here? Transporting supplies in canoes? Because you can’t just sail a cargo ship up onto a sandy beach…

By: Léna

Léna — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:51:12 +0000

Thanks a lot for the first link. I’m French, and this part of my country’s history is really, really not teached at school. The same kind of individualize French/undifferentiated Haitian mass is working here too. How lovely is “fivety thusands deads, 2 millions starving, twenty French missing” ?

By: Tonya

Tonya — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:46:25 +0000

Thank you so much for this! This will keep me occupied with reading the links for a while and learning crucial info

By: Foxessa

Foxessa — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:19:55 +0000

Yeeeesssssssss my precioussssssss, we wants our lootersssssss, yesssssss we doesssssssssss.

Why No Aid Distribution in Haiti.

In the meantime the local Haitian communities here are managing to get into Haiti, bringing supplies and assistence, while the nearly 2000 rescue and assistance groups crowding the airport — controlled by the U.S. military — have managed to rescue about 70 people ….

A terrific grass roots organization is BSVAC, the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, is sent over a number of people.

This is so much like what happened in New Orleans. Haiti has a lot of coast. You can get there, then, without an airport. Funny how nobody else thinks of this, except, um, Haitians ….

Love, C.