And That's My Take...(Haiti's Grim Future)

AND THAT’S MY TAKE…(HAITI’S GRIM FUTURE)
©2010 by Curtis Sagmeister. All Rights Reserved.

Haiti has been on the receiving end of considerable misfortune over the past several years. Civil unrest, corruption, a horrific economy (second poorest country in the world), an almost complete erosion of its ecology, and a host of natural disasters, the most recent of which has been the leading story on worldwide news, have all contributed to its current nightmare existence.

The silver lining is the outpouring of humanitarian relief, the realization of how lucky we are that it is not us amid the suffering, and the global coming together of friend and foe to identify ways to contribute assistance to Haitians. Even with their recent downward spiral, the depth of consciousness of the plight that Haitians faced, it seemed, has been only that it was just one more country needing aid of some sort.

The economic aid Haiti will receive shall come at a price however.

Opportunistic financiers and bullying multinational corporations, the names of which we are all familiar, shall pressure what remains of the Haitian government to employ policies and theories for its future economy that will provide precious little benefit to Haitians. Countless similar economic structures evolving exist in recent history with Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Poland, South Africa, Iraq, and just about every country in Central America, being but a few clear examples of where Haiti is headed.

Haiti will experience massive restrictions in social arenas while proclaiming itself ‘open for business’, selling off what little it has in terms of state industries, and creating huge revenue streams for those claiming to help. Because it is poor, with equally precious few options, Haiti will have no choice but to agree to those policies and theories. There is even a name for this practice – shock therapy.

Shock therapy, as the name implies, involves immediate and extreme changes to policy and theory. There will be no gradual reduction in services or programs. In fact, there will be no ‘gradual’ anything. Everything will be altered without prior warning, without consultation, and without regard to their impact on Haitians. Trade unions will be severely restricted. Union leaders harassed and jailed. Social programs will cease to exist overnight. Individual rights will be restricted. Government workforces will be shrunk, except the police and military which will be needed to control the anti-government demonstrations and rallies sure to erupt.

Most countries in which shock therapy has been employed have even seen a sinister braiding of economy and black ops, where those opposing or exposing the corruption surrounding shock therapy have gone missing, or been found dead under mysterious circumstances. Is this the future of Haiti as well?

While we are all focused on delivering food, water and medical care during this challenging time in Haiti, there are already foreign entities shamefully arranging their prominence to siphon the cream from a country that has not a drop to spare.

And that’s my take…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photographer. Author. Poet. Songwriter. Student of Human Behavior. Community Activist. Social Commentator. Environmental Steward. Wage Slave.

Visit Curtis Sagmeister online at www.sagmeister.ca
Visit Curtis Sagmeister blog at http://curtissagmeister.blogspot.com