22169: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Unified Effort, Useful Policies (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Unified Effort, Useful Policies

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Posted May 29 2004



Heavy rains have created a humanitarian crisis on the island of Hispaniola.
Americans and people from other countries have responded quickly with aid,
but the magnitude of the disaster, caused partly by an ecological domino
effect, requires a profound reappraisal of attitudes and policy,
particularly in Haiti.

The downpour began about two weeks ago. As the rainfall continued, rivers
overflowed and floods washed away homes, roads, buildings and villages. The
death toll could top 2,000 as rescue workers continue to find bodies. More
than 11,000 families are homeless in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which
share the Caribbean island.

The terrible tragedy is likely to rank as one of the worst natural disasters
ever in the region, in terms of devastation and loss of life.

But the impact is an uneven one. The death toll on the Haitian side is
estimated to be about five times higher than in the DR.

That's in large part because of the massive deforestation of the Haitian
hillsides.

A special section in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel illustrated last
December how trees are cut to produce charcoal, one of the few products with
market value in Haiti, whose 8.1 million people rank among the Western
Hemisphere's poorest. Destruction of the trees removed a barrier against
soil erosion, and a safeguard against mudslides and flooding.

The devastating floods compound the heartbreak in Haiti, where a violent
political revolt led to plenty of bloodshed and division earlier this year.
Since then, the country has struggled for stability.

The calamities should be a call for unity among Haitians. They must accept
the necessity of putting aside divisions, bitterness and disagreements in
order to build support for long-term strategies to invigorate their economy
and to turn the tide on many decades of ecological abuse.

The message for the Dominican Republic is less stark, but just as clear.
That country is also going through an economic crisis and has just elected a
new president. Dominicans must also resolve to work together to produce
sound public policy promoting even-handed prosperity.

The United States must do more than provide emergency aid and rescue help,
as necessary and vital as that aid is right now. In Haiti, for example, the
Bush administration and the Congress should enact the so-called Hero Act
that would give Haiti's textile industry a needed boost.

But the international community's helping hand can't be effective in a
polarized environment. Haitians and Dominicans must resolve to achieve
unity, the one element that generates support for useful policies.

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