Spanish English-language on-line news portal El Pais carries an opinion piece on the travails in Haiti, a place well known for unpleasant disasters for the population. This comes because rumors have been going around about Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio eating the local's pets. The article goes on to describe the verifiable problems of the country.
To begin with no mention is made of the fact that Haiti, an island country, shares the island with the Dominican Republic. Certainly through the years the Dominican Republic has had its own share of problems but nothing on the scale of Haiti. The Dominican Republic frequently gets in the news because it's a primary source of US major league baseball stars, not for overpowering social problems.
The satellite photo shows two very divergent landscapes on the same island, one green and healthy, the other barren. Come to your own conclusion.
The writer makes two salient observations: 1. That the endemic violence of Haiti is caused by illegal arms importation Florida gun runners. 2. The domestic rice production of Haiti was destroyed by US President Clinton forcing them to abandon a rice tariff meant to improve the agricultural economy of Arkansas.
In regard to claim #1, arms dealing is meant to be a profitable enterprise for the dealer, who expects to make money on the transaction. In this case, from where do the funds for arms purchases come in a place noted for its poverty? Furthermore, in order for a gun of any kind to be effective ammunition is required. No ammunition is manufactured on Haiti either. It must be purchased, at a premium, from Florida gun gangsters.
Statement #2 makes the point that a tariff on imported rice was beneficial to Haitian rice growers and its termination meant that rice was no longer grown on the island. This is a common misconception of what tariffs are meant to accomplish and the actual result. In this case, as in all other tariff situations, it raised the price of rice for consumers. Clinton's economic diplomacy meant that without the tariff rice became cheaper. Perhaps that made more funds available for arms purchases.
In any event, neither of the two issues addresses the high level of violence in Haiti. It's apparently deeper than lots of guns and cheap rice.
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