23027: Esser: Re: 23021: RE: 22984: Bell Re cruise into History (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser <torx@joimail.com>

Dear Madison Bell,

Cruising into History has sunk (as you like to put it) because it
aligned itself, albeit temporarily, with some of the same elements
that one day, and I am sure of that, will have to account for the
torture, disappearances and murders as well as the imprisonment of
political activists and Fanmi Lavalas partisans since the coup d'état
of February 29th. These elements are well incorporated in Haiti's
current government. This coup, as I hope you know by now, was aided
and abetted by actions of the most vile and reactionary elements in
U.S. society. This leaves people residing in this country (of ours, I
presume) with a special responsibility to ameliorate current
conditions in Haiti, as opposed to further increasing the suffering.

Do you seriously advocate to overlook these criminal acts against
humanity in order to proceed with partying and consumption?
I have to agree from a (petty-) bourgeois point of view (meaning the
viewpoint of the social strata you belong to) it is disconcerting
that the suffering of common folks interferes with commerce and
enjoyment of privileges. But war never has been pretty, including the
one currently waged against Haiti's majority for daring to stand up
to a post colonial system that keeps the likes of you (and me too) in
cushy comfort while people elsewhere have to die, be it for oil,
territory or as in the case of Haiti, the desire to claim ones
rightful place at the table. The outrage here is not the small amount
of commerce lost to the North of Haiti, it is the mental impairment,
inherent to the sense of self of the very bourgeoisie we belong to,
to feel compassion for the suffering of the majority of the people
less fortunate within society; be it global or local. And I understand
that too well since a large part of my ancestors were owners of means
of production and by fortune of place of birth and skin-color
profited handsomely from colonialism and it's aftermath. That in turn
meant of course that they always had the same misgivings as you about
political activism to help the oppressed of the world, it just wasn't
good for trade and consumption and as in this case: tourism. While I
am fumbling for words: Karl Marx put it very succinctly when he
stated "Das Sein bestimmt das Bewusstsein" which I believe can be
translated as "Being determines consciousness", meaning that very few
people are able to transcend the confines of their upbringing and
social class to understand the plight of others and stand in
solidarity when needed. The case of the gripes about losing minute
sums of money by doing what is just in the eyes of the suffering
Haitians proves this once again.

While people get hacked to death and die in all sorts of horrible
ways at the hands of people aligned with and supported by the de
facto (undemocratic) government in Haiti and politicians such as Yvon
Neptune languish in prison while kangaroo courts absolve murderers
for their crimes - is it now the time to worry about increasing
tourism? If it is, then you were surely against the boycott of South
Africa under Apartheid and believe that profits go over human life.
Where is your outrage about the dismantling of the educational
advances that were made in Haiti, the destruction of hard-earned
trust in justice, the extra judicial killings, the re-emergence of
murderous, and once again state sanctioned, characters such as Jodel
Chamblain?

Suffering can be rather abstract when it happens far away and to
people one has no direct connection with. That doesn't absolve anyone
of us from the responsibilities to stop it. Especially when
privileged and clearly in a position to affect change. While your
actions and opinion are not of great concern to me it is the
multitude of persons with opinions such as the ones you espouse that
make terror possible or if duly concerned could stop it from
happening. It is possible to report the truth and stand courageously
up for what is right, many Haitians and others prove it daily, the
alternative is to fall in line and become an accessory to the crimes
against humanity regardless where they are committed. Wether it is
the tens of thousands of Iraqis that died because of our quest for
oil or Haitian community activists that unwittingly found themselves
in the firing line because of hegemonic interests that call for more
compliant governments; it is in our name that these murders take
place and you can choose to condone them for the economic good they
undoubtedly will bring us, or make a principled stand and be in
solidarity. My privileges are of no value to me if others have to
suffer for them and I will not stand for injustice and the spreading
of untruths no matter if my little existence might benefit from it or
not. It may not be easy to see for some why the Haitian elite has
this thirst for blood or this repulsive aversion to the common good
and I won't be able to go into it here. But it is imperative that we,
those who can, speak out about it and help to break the vicious cycle
of violence against the poor and unprivileged masses of Haiti. The
true disaster Mr. Bell are all the journalists that fail to report
the full truth against better knowledge and all the bystanders, so to
speak, that do not recoil in horror when hearing about the atrocities
in haiti.

You bemoan the loss of business. Think of all that commerce, hotel
stays, car rentals etc. that a bloody coup carries in it's wake, all
the journalists that need to be housed and fed. I am sure that the
perpetrators of mainstream reporting on the US
intervention/occupation du jour, spent significantly more money in
Haiti than all the cruise ships that have or will ever dock on
Haiti's shore's. Would you construe this as justification for coup
d'états, I hope not...

That Ron Daniels pulled out of associating with the Haitian
government was in the end also serving his own needs, because the
outcry within Haiti, the diaspora and among politically concerned
citizens of all origins became to strong to survive without changing
course. While the whole idea of cruising into poverty stricken,
neocolonial and troubled waters leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, I
do understand why the cruise was organized for whom and with what
motivation. It seems to finally have  become clear to the organizers
that by staying the course they would be stained by some of that
blood that's still being spilled in Haiti and the took the honorable
way out, short of canceling the now infamous cruise altogether.

D. Esser


Ps.: You err when you state that Mr. Daniels managed to offend the
rulers of Haiti. Au contraire: they were rather anxious to have the
cruise as a vehicle of legitimization, as anybody who is familiar
with the particulars of this story might tell you.
.