14265: Sanba: Re:14249: Ray: 14236: Pierre Jean:Re: 14234: Sanok: Re: 14227: Vi sas (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: sanba@juno.com

I have been reading the exchange about fees being paid and the extent of time tourists or foreigners can spend in Haiti nowadays. I would like to water the fire ready to consume the essence of the issue, while we had rather come up with rationale sustaining both sides of the discussion. Particularly after having read both Matt Ray point of views and Pierre Jean's.
It's time for us to command all organizations who are undertaking some charitable works in Haiti, such as Healing Hands for Haiti Foundation, Inc. We understand their claims as it is normal for them to consider the cost for repetitive travels in order to obviously help the country. On a trial and error basis, we can concede that such organizations must enjoy a big break, to some extent similar to "franchise douanière", the duty free concept. We may agree that the government is being pushed into imposing heavy taxes for survival, but those taxes can be selective. Indeed, there is a difference between a back and forth situation required by the nature of helping and a one shot deal trip a year as in vacationning that can be taxed as it is done by the US Consulate in Haiti.
Having said that it is a good reason for all charitable organizations to put the politics of the measure into the equation. The BIG SHOTS INTERNATIONAL such as BID, IMF, WORLD BANK, UNION EUROPEENNE, are creating a situation against the government in place, the effect of which will necessitate more and more trips from them to Haiti. Today, the Haitian government is being economically asphyxiated. The Charitable Organizations have to wonder why? A comparative why! so that, they discover the nonsensical aspect of the decision. Then they will have to use their status to somehow influence and even straighten the worse than bias position of above all the US towards the present government. Such position has to be viewed as one, if not the main root of the problem to excise, unless their objective is to be permanently helping Haiti, which is not helping but fathering at best.
At any rate The Charitable Organizations have to know that the US politics towards the government elected by the large majority of Haitian people is a punitive one at best. In fact it's a war at the people of Haiti for having elected the "wrong" person. There is a name for so doing. It's either abuse of effective power, or interferring with other nations affairs, or worse. That has to be stopped. Then the task of all charitable organizations will become merely educative in the mid term and very remote later on obliterating the need for repetitive trips and taxes.
Meanwhile I suggest that the organizations contact the Consulates of Haiti and present their particular cases for special consideration.

Happy New Year to all