29173: Vander-Zaag (reply) RE: 29171: Esser (news) Shoot the Messenger - The Lancet and the Critics (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

> From Ray Vander Zaag
Reply to 29171 Esser

Once again (see my earlier critique, post 29096), the objection is NOT about the specific findings of the research - there is little doubt that was a great deal of killing, rape and violence in Port-au-Prince after Feb 2004, by criminals, police, ex-military, anti-Aristide supporters, etc.

The problem is the lack of analysis (or, more accurately, the mis-analysis) of the context and longer history of violence in Haiti.  Esser writes that the research shows that "Western policy has again unleashed mass killing on Haiti."  Kolbe research in no way proves such an 'unleashing'.

The study does not provide any evidence that the reported level of violence was higher than during the pre-Aristide departure era. It did not ask about or determine this.  It does not provide direct evidence that the killings were purposefully directed by 'Western policy'.   Perhaps the evidence is there, but it is not given by the study.

Sad as it may be, violence by official state actors in Haiti is not a new story that is very interesting in the profit-driven western media (except in Canada, where we are quite sensitive to any hint that our saintly peace-making armed forces might be involved in so much as threatening the recipients of our peace-making.)  The new story that is interesting/entertaining is the politicization of (the findings of) social science research.

Ray Vander Zaag
Assist. Professor of International Development Studies
Canadian Mennonite University
Winnipeg