Haiti, We’ve Got a Problem

Imagine living in a country, with 47% of its citizens subjected to malnourishment. Imaging living in a country, with 66% of its citizens making less than $1 a day. Imagine existing in some nation, with such a high price of food, that a self-imposed fast is conducted for at least a week! Just Imagine! One need not imagine, for that country is Haiti. Haiti is only approximately 500 miles from Florida, and yet a blind-eye and deaf-ear is turned to its plight. What a moral-disgrace!

          With the majority of Haiti’s destitute population earning less than $1/day, the inability to afford the “doubled-price” of rice, wheat, beans and cooking oil, has hampered the sanity of its populace. The critical state of Haiti has become one in which, the cost of a miniature can of rice is 65 cents, with oil and charcoal both costing 25 cents. To many, that consumes the hard-labor of a two-day wage. Notwithstanding, the undernourishment of a repetitive rice-only diet. The Haiti food crisis has become an incremental disaster, worsening and bloodying as the day goes by. It is only fit, that the mainstream media’s month-long obsession over The-Rev-Dr-Jeremiah-Wright-controversy, reminds us of their disconnection with the suffering and travails of everyday people.       

          With the rise of street riots and violent protests in Haiti, it seems as if political instability is the inevitable. With a disproportionate ratio of police officer to civilian (1:1286), something rapid must be done to prevent the imaginable worst. It is reported that over the last month alone, there have been copious looting, burning, arson, and murder cases; all linkable to the unprecedented surge in food prices. The U.N has deployed 9,000+ peacekeepers to mediate this tragedy, but the overwhelming number of starving and hungry protesters have consistently overpowered the workers. This albatross gives a new meaning to the old adage: “A hungry man is an angry man.”

          In the wake of this outburst, many citizens remained confused and befuddled at the probable cause of this sudden explosion. In the late 1980s, there was a conscientious decision by the U.S to subsidize Haiti’s farming. This was achieved by the incessant exportation of cheap rice to Haiti. Ever since, Haiti’s farmers have progressively lost their market. Failing to compete successfully with American farmers has rendered them jobless. Within the last 20 yrs, rice production in Haiti has been cut in half, with the American import remaining dominant. All this activities can be seen as factors in the recent food-price augmentation. It is for this reason, that a lot of concerned folks believe, that the U.S has a moral-responsibility in granting financial support to stabilize the region.

          Many vehicles of abetment can be transported to alleviate the traumatic situation in Haiti. Groups like “Haiti Support Project”, “Direct Relief”, ”U.N. World Food” and “Catholic Relief Services” are asking for support to further their mission in Haiti. Legislative proposals have also been made, such as the “Jubilee Bill” by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL); an attempt to liberate insolvent nations of their debt to America. This offer, while magnanimous, was met with steep opposition by some senators such as Rep. Diaz-Balart. President Bush on Friday, May 2nd, pledged to resolve the emergency by stating, "I think more needs to be done and so today I'm asking Congress to provide an additional $770m to support food aid and development programmes." In light of this offer, I contest that a lot “more” must be “done” if a serious dedication to the catastrophe of food crisis is to be engaged. The problem of world poverty looms larger than Haiti. Many African countries like Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Ghana and Jamaica suffer from sickening food-shortage. As a matter of fact, one need only look at certain cities in America, and shutter at the level of gut-wrenching peasantry that plagues our society. The answer to this nevertheless, is not a festivity of hand-outs, but a constant reminder that when you bemoan at high gas-prices, someone, somewhere, is too sick, hungry, lost, forgotten and weak to cry, let alone complain. Peace!

Technorati Tags: Food Crisis Gas-Prices George Bush Haiti Help Hunger Politics Poverty Rep. Barney Frank Rep. Diaz-Balart Rep. Maxine Waters U.N U.S World Crisis