18866: Leiderman: "dangerously flimsy boats" (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stuart M Leiderman <leidermn@cisunix.unh.edu>

dear Readers:

I have to laugh at the black humor of it all, everytime I read a news
article about Haitian refugees leaving their country in "dangerously
flimsy boats".  do the writers care more about the quality of the
boats or about the desperation of refugees?  if given a choice, would
writers prefer refugees had better-built craft or would they simply
dispatch a few empty cruise ships to offshore waters, take on a hundred
thousand or so refugees and maintain them until this bad storm blows
over?  actually, some photos seem to show refugees in ocean-worthy boats;
I think Haitians are capable of building them and I am completely opposed
to government practices of sinking them when intercepted.  that's an
unforgivable waste.

why don't we accelerate this whole crisis and start a boat-building
industry in Haiti?  any entrepreneur could see a pretty profit in that;
even modest boats would be in great demand.  American charities could
just ship the materials over, hire people to build, provision and crew
them, and auction them off so refugees could help each other escape.  a
huge flotilla out on the Caribbean flying Haitian flags, Greenpeace
flags, United Nations flags, etc. could be seen from space and would
attract enough attention to cut through the fluff of international
diplomacy and maneuvering about Haiti's future.  by the way, there is
plenty of off-the-shelf technology for onboard fresh water, solar
electricity, safe cooking, etc. and plenty of fish in the ocean.  there
are probably historical precedents for Bedouin-like existence on the high
seas; if not, there's always a first time.

regards,

Stuart Leiderman
Environmental Response