21102: Leiderman: Haiti: The Eroding Nation -- Florida Sun-Sentinel series (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

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


dear Readers:

I'd like to recommend your reading the excellent series "Haiti: The
Eroding Nation" published by the Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper, Ft.
Lauderdale.  they originally appeared December 7, 2003 and have been kept
on the newspaper's website.  the introductory text is appended below.

thanks,

Stuart Leiderman

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Haiti: The eroding nation

The Eroding Nation was conceived and reported by South Florida
Sun-Sentinel staff writer Tim Collie and staff photographer Mike Stocker,
who made several trips to Haiti and spent more than a month traveling
throughout the nation. They interviewed several hundred environmental and
land-use experts, government officials, foreign policy analysts and
Haitians.

TO OUR READERS:

The role of a newspaper is to alert its readers to the world around them.

Many in South Florida and elsewhere are not paying attention to one of
the most compelling stories in all of the Caribbean: Haiti.

Once a natural jewel among Caribbean nations, it is now facing the most
severe environmental catastrophe in the Western Hemisphere and, perhaps,
the world.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel staff writer Tim Collie and staff photographer
Mike Stocker spent time with Haitians, Haitian exiles, environmentalists,
political leaders and experts in international affairs to understand the
growing crisis in Haiti and its regional and international implications.

The result of their work is this special section: "The Eroding Nation."

As they dramatically show, Haiti's environmental problems reach every
aspect of community life. Famine, disease and disaster are daily risks.
Haiti now is a country whose vital statistics are comparable to the
poorest regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

Past political crises in Haiti have sent waves of refugees to South
Florida's our shores, seeking a better life. And the growing ecological
crisis has the potential to create an unprecedented exodus from Haiti to
Florida.

The images and words in this section are not always pretty or easy to
take, but they tell a story that we feel must be told.

Earl Maucker
Editor

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