Friday, January 22, 2010

Haiti

A post written some time back that I didn't get around to publishing...

I've been engrossed in the news about Haiti. It is so terribly disturbing, devastating and catastrophic. The reports are so morbid it is hard to imagine that it is a reality for millions. The mass graves into which the bodies (disfigured and therefore unidentifiable) are dumped. The putrid smell in the air because of the rotting corpses that have not been retrievable. All the people who live in hope and fear of the news of their loved ones who are missing.

The so-called interpretations of this event by journalists has been shocking. So many have been blaming the Haitians for their problems - as though they chose to bring a natural disaster upon themselves. Yes, Haiti is the 43rd most poor country in the world. Yes, Haiti's government has been corrupt and inefficient. These factors do not make Haiti a likely culprit for natural disaster - they just make it a victim of unwarranted criticism, many times from a cultural viewpoint that is biased and self serving.

David Brooks' column
in the Times a few weeks back was appalling. It was shocking that such a piece was published in such a reputable paper. He tries to tackle the question of why aid doesn't help all countries - is it ineffective, and why? This is a highly discussed topic that deserves a great deal of scrutiny, because it is full of complications.

However, his answer to this question in the case of Haiti is that the country cannot utilize aid because its culture is inherently "progress resistant." The article is full of comparisons that are not analogous (an earthquake in a relatively unpopulated area of California vs an earthquake in the capital city of Haiti). It makes general statements about Haitians and their culture that are absurd and offensive - " [Haiti] suffers from a complex web of progress-resistant cultural influences. There is the influence of the voodoo religion, which spreads the message that life is capricious and planning futile. There are high levels of social mistrust. Responsibility is often not internalized.Child-rearing practices often involve neglect in the early years and harsh retribution when kids hit 9 or 10."

What? Firstly, how can an entire country's child rearing practices be summarized like that? Such blanket statements about individual responsibility again fall into horrendous stereotyping. This sounds like a typical White-man's assessment of a country where he created the mess. Many countries had a hand in Haiti's historical misfortune - Spain, France, Britain, Holland, and later on Germany and of course the United States. Importing hundreds of thousands of slaves from Africa and enslaving them under extremely brutal conditions. Where are these countries now when Haiti is in shambles?

Of course Haiti's history proceeds with much complication, many revolts, assassinations of leaders, and more. This post isn't even pretending to understand or examine all of that. It is just an expression of deep sympathy for a country that will need a tremendous effort to return to some semblance of equilibrium.

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