14318: Durban on Stotsky/Anonymous (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lance Durban <lpdurban@yahoo.com>

Actually, I thought the Stotsky op-ed piece in the Miami Herald
(Corbett #14291) was reasonable enough, so that would put me at
odds with Mr. Anonymous (Corbett #14299).  I do agree on one
point however, namely where he says:

      To blame Haiti's quagmire entirely on foreigner
      governments, which Stozky explicitly does, is
      ridiculous and likewise reflects (t)his man's
      ignorance of Haiti's complex sociopolitical reality..

He's got that right.  For those hung up on the $500 million
dollars in blocked international loans, it is worth remembering
that this comes to only about $60 per person living in Haiti...
hardly something that is going to turn the country around,
particularly since it's loan money which will have to be repaid.
 HOWEVER, blocked international loans do have one very
beneficial effect for the Lavalas Party, namely they provide a
very convenient whipping boy to cover up their own economic
mismanagement.

As for "Haiti's complex sociopolitical reality", I have news for
Mr. Anonymous:  Most of the elites in Haiti are totally
oblivious to this as well.  I spent New Year's Day at the
beaches and saw and heard huge fireworks displays as neighboring
wealthy families tried to outdo each other.  Talk about crass.
While the masses in Haiti are struggling with survival issues,
the wealthy think nothing of exploding many, many thousands of
dollars in ever more elaborate pyro-technic displays.  And the
gasoline shortage was obviously no serious problem for these
folks, either, as the beaches were packed.  OK, Daniel Simidor,
maybe I have to retract my earlier criticism of your comments on
Haiti's elites.

Lance Durban



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