[Radix] Haiti

[George Kent]

James, the high level of corruption undoubtedly accounts for many of  
the problems in Haiti. Then we have to ask why it is at such a high  
level. Here is a thumbnail historical account from the Guardian:

/quote/
Only Aristide has the mandate to lead Haiti's recovery

Letters www.guardian.co.uk

It took a catastrophe to put Haiti back on the political map. Yet its  
contribution to world civilisation is considerable. Having extended  
the 1789 French revolution to Haiti, Black Jacobins ended slavery,  
leading the way for abolition in the Americas. Western governments  
never forgave this impertinence, imposing crippling debt, occupations  
and dictatorships.
But Haitians never lost awareness that they could overcome and, if  
necessary, overthrow. In 1986, a mass movement kicked out the  
murderous Duvaliers whom the west had backed for decades, and in 1990  
elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a liberation theologist determined to  
move the population "from destitution to poverty with dignity". He  
prioritised food security, health and education, encouraged  
agricultural co-operatives, and raised the minimum wage. Within months  
a US-backed coup overthrew him. Elected again in 2000 with over 90% of  
the vote, he was again removed in 2004, not by "a bloody  
rebellion" (Haiti's exiled former president vows to return, 15  
January) but by bloody US marines.
Haitians continue to call for Aristide's return. Will the only person  
with a mandate to govern be kept from leading their recovery and  
reconstruction?

Selma James
London
  /unquote/

We also have the Guardian document you circulated on this list on Jan  
16.

Aloha, George





On Jan 18, 2010, at 5:38 AM, James Lewis wrote:

>
> On Transparency International's Perceived Corruption Index (2009),  
> Haiti comes in at 168 amongst a total of 180 countries. The higher  
> the figure, the higher is the extent of corruption as perceived by  
> indigenous observers. In varying degrees, reflected by the index,  
> corruption pervades every country and every sector of activity.  
> Construction industries world wide have been identified as amongst  
> the most corrupt; corruption intrudes in the allocation of contracts  
> and permits to build (governing buildings' location), the  
> influencing of inspections and supervision, and the construction  
> processes themselves by the omission, substitution or depletion of  
> crucial materials or requirements.
>
> Without adequate governance systems to oversea post-earthquake  
> reconstruction, the results of the next earthquake will show no  
> improvement.
>
> Examination of media images showing collapsed buildings, reveals  
> visible differences in the rubble. Bare and twisted steel standing  
> proud of concrete broken to gravel, implies insufficient cement in  
> the concrete mix. Chunks of concrete hanging off minimal  
> reinforcement suggest inadequate reinforcement steel to hold the  
> concrete together. Buildings collapsed like a pile of sandwiches,  
> with floors intact but columns broken, suggests a reasonable  
> construction attempt but with insufficient attention to structural  
> capacity and detail, especially at junctions of floors with columns.  
> The ultimate comparison is the buildings that remain standing  
> amongst those that do not.
>
> These personal observations apply anywhere where ubiquitous  
> reinforced concrete is in use. Yes, seismic fault systems play  
> tricks where some areas might escape and others do not, but there is  
> enough to see (for at least this armchair critic) to be reasonably  
> certain of these hitherto unshared observations upon which comments  
> would be welcome.
>
> James
>
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