30472: Re: 30468: Spinelli (reply) The reality of Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: loccm@aol.com


Re, reality of Haiti.  Many of us are perplexed to see so many willing workers 
without jobs who would be happy to earn something, at least enough to support a 
family.  The solution might be more complicated than it seems.  I met a man 
in Alabama who had gotten very wealthy supplying jeans to Wallmart.  I asked 
him where he had them made and he told me that they were made in Mexico.  I 
asked him if he had ever considered having them made in Haiti and he explained 
that at one time they were made in Haiti but the excessive duty that he had to 
pay shipping the fabric in and the duty he had to pay to ship the jeans out, 
made the project unprofitable.  I can't confirm this but a good friend of mine 
who keeps books for one of the largest companies in Haiti told me that the port 
in Haiti was one of the most expensive in the world.  Could it be that the 
government could improve the situation?  Recently there were two factories 
manufacturing shirts in Haiti.   Factory "a" paid about $2 a day and did not 
supply lunch.  Factory "b" paid about $3 a day and supplied a free lunch.  
Each employed about 500 workers.  One day the workers at factory "b" went on 
strike and blocked the gate.  Their complaint was that they didn't like the 
lunch.  The factory is now closed.  It seems that there are no easy solutions 
in Haiti but we still have hope for a brighter future.