One of the many reasons Haiti was so unprepared for any sort of disaster is because of a lack of resources. There were only two fire departments to service the whole country, and few hospitals or medical centers, and very few medical supplies. Why is Haiti so poor? It’s because of US farm policy.
When the US started the Farm Subsidy System, which subsidized US rice farmers, it made rice cheaper to import from the US than to grow in Haiti. This was compounded when Haiti, under pressure from the US, removed the tariff on imported rice. This put many of Haiti’s subsistence farmers out of business. Without a way to support themselves, they moved into the towns to try to support their families, sometimes working for as little as a dollar a day.
There are other issues that, during this disaster, arose from this imbalance. Without stockpiles of food in-country, everything needs to be imported. But when the disaster struck, all transport in stopped for a time. If there had still been subsistence farms in Haiti, the problem of food would have not been as severe.
It will be interesting to see what arises out of Haiti’s ashes. I suspect, as did in the areas hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami, there will be, in true Shock Doctrine
fashion, a plethora of glittery hotels and casinos in a few years’ time, all built by Multi National corporations.
