16850: Durban wonders if Farmer is exploiting workers (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lance Durban <lpdurban@yahoo.com>

Dr. Paul Farmer's interview on Thursday's "Fresh Air" program on
NPR (www.npr.org) is notably lacking in the vitriol found in his
first book.  That one (The Uses of Haiti, Common Courage
Press, 1994) pretty much laid responsibility for all of Haiti's
problems on the developed world... with a special place in Hell
reserved for those ugly foreigners who invest in Haiti and then
barely pay their Haitian employees enough to live on.

Hmmmmm.  On "Fresh Air", Dr. Farmer observes that to
successfully treat a child with TB in Chicago could cost
$68,000.  He compares that to $200 to successfully treat a
similarly-afflicted kid in his clinic in Cange.   "How to
explain the huge discrepancy?"  the interviewer asks.  Although
he doesn't break it down in detail, Farmer does acknowledge that
a big factor is the substantial differential in wage rates for
health care providers and staff in the two countries.

So how much do you pay nurses and other clinic staff in Haiti,
Dr. Farmer?  And would you not admit that as the only
significant employer in the area, your staff pretty much has to
take whatever small salary you might choose to pay them?   Of
course, you will want to point out that (1) it is more than they
would otherwise be making, and (2) no one is forced to work in
your clinic.   ...but inconveniently, that's exactly the kind of
argument one might hear from those exploiting factory owners in
Port-au-Prince, whom you earlier condemned.

I can't help but think Dr. Farmer might do better to stick to
medicine and leave the social philosophizing to others.
Happily, that's pretty much what he does in the recent "Fresh
Air" interview.

Regardless of the good doctor's social views, one has to respect
him for seeing a problem and working tirelessly to remedy it.
Haiti is very lucky to have him.

Lance Durban