6529: Re: 6514: Dorce responds to Chamberlain (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: LAKAT47@aol.com

In a message dated 01/03/2001 7:11:57 AM Pacific Standard Time, Greg 
Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com writes:

<< The average thinking Haitian of whatever social class is well aware of what
 the country's real problems are and the need to tackle them urgently.  
 
 But demagogues, politicians and local (and foreign) ideologues incapable or
 unwilling to do anything practical to help Haiti will always see rich
 rewards to be gained by persuading people to blame an easy and obvious
 external target.  This is little more than a criminal and tragic attempt to
 divert a heroic people's energies from what needs to be done (with or
 without outside help) at home. >>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I agree that it is more productive and healthier for a less powerful group to 
look to itself for solutions instead of to the more powerful group, who has 
little motivation to change any abusive or unfair treatment, except to be 
decent and do the right thing  (that is irony..).  To wait for fair treatment 
from a group that sees every action through the prism of self interest, is 
folly.  But to pretend that that same self interest hasn't manifested itself 
in actions that have been harmful to third world countries is also foolish.  
Blame alone is non-productive, especially if you expect the blamed to show 
remorse and make remunerations (which, I predict, will never happen).   
Knowing the true nature of a friend/enemy is productive, especially when you 
are talking about a very powerful friend/enemy.

Is there anyone out there who will disagree that Haiti is less than a 
sovereign country today? If you agree that Haiti needs the US to help them 
financially, then you must agree that Haiti is less than sovereign because of 
all those strings attached.   Aristide is not free to do anything he feels 
necessary to run the country, because he is being watched by the US.   If you 
must blame Haitians for this, then so be it.  It is my wish that they look to 
others for help (Guy Antoine brought this up in his great article on his 
recent visit to Haiti to observe the election.), and not to the US.  And of 
course, I agree with Henrius that it is unfortunate that Haiti is so near to 
the US.  If the US didn't want to use Haiti, then what in the world is all 
the attention about?  Love of democracy?  (that is more irony...).   
Unfortunately, using Haiti is bad news to the "already stretched to the 
limit" majority class.

Kathy Dorce~