16519: Dorce: Re: 16480: Durban: Reply to Dorce: what sort of jobs? (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: LAKAT47@aol.com

In a message dated 8/22/03 4:50:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Lance Durban
<lpdurban@yahoo.com> writes:

<< Hmm, decent jobs (not manufacturing??  Can you please give us some idea of
 what you have in mind.  Besides manufacturing, I am assuming you are not
 talking about domestic household jobs, probably not street vendor
 positions, possibly not peasant farming.  So then what kind of jobs could
 realistically be found in Haiti which would make more than a minor dent in
 the massive unemployment one finds in Haiti?  >>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Ahh Lance, when I typed those two fateful words "not manufacturing" I knew I
was inviting your response!  You have to wonder why I do that to myself.
Today, the only thing that will employ thousands or millions of Haitians would be
manufacturing; this I know.  But this is not what is best for Haiti or
Haitians.  The money from manufacturing does little to help the country (I'm sure
there is graft involved so someone is benefitting) but goods and profits go out
of Haiti, am I right?  Conditions are poor, hours long, backbreaking work, very
low wages.  No one can work at a factory in Haiti and hope to save money for
the future (when they can't work anymore) or for education for the children.
It's not a matter of working hard and moving up.  You never get even.  Am I
right?  Will you tell me a speck is better than nothing at all?  I'm sorry
Lance, but when I say jobs, I'm talking about the ones you have to have an
education to get.  Middle class jobs.  Teachers, nurses, secretaries, clerks.  I'm not
talking about keeping the poor people where they are.  There have to be jobs
where hard work will get you someplace.  It's not right that the only way to
improve your life is to go to another country.  Manufacuring is no way to
better your life.  Barely making enough to eat is not the goal.  I know this is not
doable right now, but that has to be part of the plan for the future of
Haiti.  I am also against removing factories from the US and building them in third
world countries.  It's immoral to have a factory in a place where worker's
conditions and envirnmental  protections do not have to be taken into
consideration.  I'm not saying there should be no factories, but that can't be the only
option for the poor classes.  Why not help them not be poor anymore?

Kathy Dorce~