Abstract

The Trials of Haiti

The author argues that the United States and the Organization of American States are blocking badly needed aid to Haiti in the form of loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) because it opposes Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Most Americans if they visited Haiti would, I imagine, come away with new definitions of poverty. What you notice most of all are absences of the most basic things. Water, for instance. In a recent survey of the potable water supplies in 147 nations, Haiti ranked 147th. Contaminated water is one of the causes of Haiti's extremely high rate of maternal mortality, the main reason there are so many orphans available for carrying water. Haiti is in dreadful shape. No one disputes the fact. So it seems odd that over the past few years foreign aid to the country has actually declined. Haiti still receives assistance, from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Japan and various United Nations organizations, but the total amount has been reduced by about two-thirds since 1995. Aristide's preaching and criticisms of the United States, combined with his great popularity among the Haitian poor, made him a natural target for right-wing politicians, such as Jesse Helms, who had denounced Aristide, even retailing slanders against him. It is sinister if, as Aristide's supporters say, part of Washington's strategy is to make room for an opposition by crippling Aristide's government -- by blocking IDB loans, for example.