8242: Re: 8230 Reparations and crooked leaders... (Saint-Vil answers Henrius) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Saint-Vil <jafrikayiti@hotmail.com>

Onè C. Henrius,

Regarding the question of whether foreign «aid» get stolen by crooked 
politicians, you ask me:

>So are you saying that it is not true?

No, I am not saying that. In fact I believe it IS true.  But I also believe 
this so-called AID usually goes exactly to those for whom it was truly 
intented in the first place: i.e crooked politicians in the empovrished 
«receiving» country and crooked politicians in the enriched «donor» country.

You wrote:

>I am not trying to be original.  I am presenting the a challenge to come up
>with ideas of how reparations could be carried out effectively.

Fair enough. But, I am not even going to adress this challenge because, I 
see no evidence that those who have the means and reasons to pay reparations 
understand the need to do so. People have been sent to the moon and back. I 
think it is obvious that implementing proper administrative practices is a 
much simpler task than rocket science.

However, I will be glad to explain my perception to you and to the list. 
Again, I repeat that it is not your motivation or yourself that I put in 
doubt here. I do have the upmost respect for the calibre of input you mave 
consistently provided on Corbetland and I have no reason to perceive you as 
being anti-Haitian. On the contrary! But, I do say that THE QUESTION you 
raised comes from the eurocentric tradition. Thus, I see IT as being not 
merely anti-Haitian, but anti-Afrikan.

The question of corruption in government is an international plague. Be it 
the mafia's influence on Italian government and on the Vatican, the drug 
lords' corrupting influence on Colombia's government, the multinational 
corporations, the drug lord's and even the KKK's corrupting influence on 
many levels of  U.S. government (not only where David Duke lives but in the 
LAPD, in Washignton etc...), the Granmanjè's corrupting influence on Haiti's 
current government etc...Corruption of government officials is a major 
problem that peoples around the world are facing. Yet, i see no one 
questionning whether Italy is apt to managed money from the World Bank. The 
main difference is in the strength of each country's infrastructure 
(poverty, strength of institutions are all important factors of influence ) 
and in the «color» with which scandals from each country are covered in the 
international press.

My general perception is that, unlike his/her European conterpart, an 
Afrikan leader is presumed corrupt or corruption-proned and treated as such 
by the eurocentric media which spills over on the so-called mainstream 
society and is applied to an entire race of people.  Even with the scandal 
involving the International Olympic Committee one could see how the «race» 
factor heavily influenced how the issue of  IOC corruption was suddenly 
«discovered». I can already hear one ask what does all this talk albout 
international corruption have to do with the issue of reparations to Haiti 
over AIDS we were discussing?.  I answer: my point exactly!

In other words, we have been conditionned so that every time any issue of 
reparations of any kind to Afrikan people is raised, alledged corruption of 
black leaders suddenly pops up as a side issue that clouds the environment 
and helps many to make a quick and easy get away.

For instance, when millions of Afrikans stood up in Zimbabwe to demand 
restitution of the land stolen from them by European squatters. Everywhere 
in the eurocentric press, stories started to surface about president 
Mugabe's dictatorial and despotic tendancies who is manipulating black 
«squatters». Marronage! The world turned up side down to deflect attention 
away from the real issue. I.e.: the necessity to return land to those from 
whom it was stolen and who are in dire need of land to sustain their 
empovrished families.

Yes, Mugabe is no angel. And, yes there are thieves in Afrikan countries, 
including Ayiti. That is precisely why peoples of these countries have been 
struggling for years, against all odds ! to deal with their thieves the way 
that other civilized people have had the privilege to deal with thieves in 
their midst. I.e. arrest them, judge them, put them in jail.

What have we observed in fact. The Lumumba, Machel, Mandela, MBeki, Bishop, 
and Aristide of our countries are always the ones who are attacked, 
demonised and eventually destroyed by the neo-colonial powers (Mandela 
survived with bruises, Mbeki is trying to stay alive and Aristide is bearly 
surviving and still under heavy pressure to sell out). While,  the 
Jean-Claude Duvalier, Jean Bedel Bokassa, Mobutu Sese Seko, Raoul Cédras and 
Prosper Avrils are groomed, protected and financed by our self-claimed 
friends od haiti, friends of Africa, friends of this and that.  Is it 
because, the Avril gang is more apt to combat the corruption that seems to 
make it so difficult to channel AID to our people? Or is it because with 
croonies such as Avril, the so-called AID is garanteed to return north with 
compounded interests? History seems to suggest the latter. Also, the Mugabe 
and Kabila of our world seem to become evil rather suddenly when they become 
recalcitrant about crooked diamond deals, for instance.

And, let me end by pointing out that paying reparations due to a people is 
not comparable to sending tainted AID to that people. Reparations means you 
acknowledge having benefited from the wrong done to the people. Therefore, 
the one paying reparations is ill-placed to take a paternalistic stance 
where he is dictating to the recepient how it is best to receive or use this 
reparation.  And, of course, reparations will never take place in an era of 
continued world-wide racism (i.e. organised collective racial domination - I 
am not talking about benign racial prejudice or intolerance exhibited by 
individuals - that also is a scapegoat).

I think we can all agree that the calibre of humanity exhibited today in the 
eurocentric world (formerly known as christendom) is nowhere near what would 
be sufficient to see real reparations made by these countries to the benefit 
of the empovrished peoples of this world. So I am not kidding himself but 
there is no need to add more insult to injury & insult already afflicted 
because, already, aren't we quietly watching the hyppocritical game whereby 
those who do owe reparations are «graciously» offering to cancel (some of 
the) so-called debts owed to them by the very people they continue to rob 
blind.

«Might makes right said Jesse». Oh! Jesse, Ah! That's another "corrupt one" 
who has been effectively silenced for a good while.

'nough said. M ale...Respè!

Jafrikayiti

«And the son asked his father: Dad, how come all the poorest countries of 
the CommonWealth also have a majority of "black" people? And the father 
answered: I don't know son, it could be the weather. Myself, I am Haitian 
and my country is a member of the Francophonie. Oui ! La Francophonie: la 
grande fraternité internationale !»



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