From the far right we have Pat Robertson explaining Haiti's troubles away as the result of the Country's Pack with the Devil. And on the far left there is Danny Glover believing that the recent earthquake was caused by the breakdown in negotiations at Copenhagen.
Wackos, the both of them.
But something has certainly gone wrong with Haiti and something sure as hell needs to be done to fix it.
Already commentators are looking at spending more money as a final cure to what ails this tiny country of less than 10 million - not much bigger than a modest sized modern city. That is to say: money on infrastructure; money on schools and hospitals; money for this and money that.
But money alone is not the answer. If money was the cure, Haiti would be one vibrant nation today despite the recent Earthquake.
Even at yesterday's Montreal Conference, you had the President of Haiti stating that another 10 years of international financial help is required.
Hilary Clinton, in turn, spoke about the need to work through the Haitian Government to effect change.
They are both wrong.
First, in regard to an additional 10 years of international funding; it will take at least twice that long to achieve success and only under the conditions I've outlined below.
Second, to see funding funnelled through a Haitian Government, as suggested by Hilary, will only see it dissolve into a sea of corruption and inefficiency. Christopher Dufour, a resident of a homeless camp near (Haiti's) national palace, says it best, "don't give the money to the government (Haitian) because they are going to take it and steal it."
There is a problem greater than even the corrupt Haitian Governments and that relates to the lawlessness rampant in their Society. Sadly, it gets little attention but until it is successfully addressed, real progress will never be made.
This Leads To My Solution:Marshall Law needs to be imposed as a first step.
It is the only way to address the combined negative issues of lawlessness and corrupt / inefficient governments.
This step should be taken by the United Nations, but given its pathetic track record, will more likely have to be done by the United States, with strong backing from Canada.
Our two Countries are Haiti's most important geographical neighbours, each of us with a long history of providing support for this poor, ignorant and down-trodden nation.
So once its dead are buried and its injured attended to, a concerted effort must be made to address these two major underlying problems.
Only when peace and security have been attained, and good government put in place, can the other essential ingredients of nation building, mentioned above, be achieved.
This work can be done in parallel, but the early emphasis must be on restoring public order. Put the hoodlums to work and those not willing to work - lock them up until they are.
Build a police force that is properly staffed, trained and equipped. (An army for such a tiny nation is not needed).
Educate the children and get them ready to take back the reins of power. This alone will take nearly a generation to achieve.
All the while, North American Military Officials can work with the Haitian people through their councils and various committees, but all the while retaining central control.
You can imagine the howls of indignation this action will create from the near-by dictatorships - the Cuba's and Venezuela's, but those howls will simply confirm that we are on the right track.
One could argue that a generation to effect real change is too long to wait, but for a nation that has already waited for over 200 years., it is but a moment in time.
A few years back my wife and I visited the Dominican Republic. One day we went out on excursion to visit some of the ubiquitous sugar can plantations. There we found Haitians working from sun-up to sun down hacking away at the canes with machetes. Their pay was but a pittance; on a good day they earned but $5.00 US and were paid by the ton cut. Their lifeless eyes told the story.
Sadly, this continues to this very day - modern slavery at its worst.
To sum up, if we here in North America cannot help a tiny nation on our doorstep to achieve a decent life what chance is there for those nations further afield - primarily in Africa?
As I see it...
"Galagher"
