Regarding Haiti, By Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture

January 13, 2010 Whitney Farmer 0 Comments

When Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola where the nation of Haiti is now located, he wrote in his journal that he had found Eden.  He wrote of it being the breast of the earth and dripping with milk.

With the monstrous earthquake that struck that island today, the world’s gaze is resting on her, this place, which now most closely resembles Hell.  It wasn’t always this way. But beauty incites envy which provokes avarice which invites power. Be warned now that this blog entry is a buzz kill, but I know you’re up to it.

Within 25 years of Columbus’ landing, the Taino tribe that called the island home was extinct.  How this began is part of the legacy of Columbus. He had promised gold to the Spanish crown. When he couldn’t find enough, it was his idea to enslave the people.  After a brief time, the once free and now slaves rebelled.  They were slaughtered by the occupying conquistadors who had been trained in genocide during the Inquisition which had been launched by the same Queen Isabella who had launched Columbus’ fleet.

With the Taino dead, replacement slaves would be needed to work the fields.  The Spanish crown looked to Africa, and this is where it all began.  The first African slaves brought to the Western Hemisphere arrived in Haiti. They began to work the sugar plantations, a very damaging crop to cultivate which leaves the land stripped of nutrients.  The descent from paradise to Hell continued with the destruction of the land. Massive deforestation began as slash and burn farming for the sugar harvest was used alongside the conquistadors’ slash and burn warfare, another Inquisition tactic that was perfected in Alhambra to leave enemies with neither shelter nor food. Colonial rulers changed, but the destructive work continued the same under each.

Even with this, the country was approximately 91% forested at the turn of the 20^th century…until the United States stepped into the arena as an occupying force and tried its hand at being a colonial power.  From 1915 to 1934, the U.S. ruled this land. This is when severe environmental degradation took hold, most often through poorly conceived and politically corrupted public works projects. Halliburton – yes, that one – was one of the largest U.S. contractors there at that time.  There was one project – to build a dam for the Army Corps of Engineers – which illustrates how things can go horribly wrong.

The dam was built to provide hydroelectric power to an area which didn’t even have power lines. Probably still doesn’t.  As the water rose, it engulfed the fertile land in the valleys that allowed the farmers to cultivate surplus crops as well as enough to feed their families.  Because of this, the farmers were driven into higher elevations and steeper slopes to try and work the land.  This required deforestation, and the removal of the trees on these steeper slopes precipitated the loss of topsoil during the rainy season.  And the loss of topsoil caused erosion and the land became arid.  So, the farmers were forced to move higher. And begin the process again. And again.  That area now has no arable land. An account of this is found in the book Mountains Over Mountains, the story of Harvard’s Paul Farmer, M.D. founding Zanmi Lasante.

Haiti is now the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 80% of her people live in poverty with 54% in what is defined as abject poverty. The largest industry is agriculture. Within this, charcoal production continues to be a major activity. Two thirds of her exports are described as from the apparel sector, a significant portion of this being recycling used clothes. The annual wages earned are $1,300 per person. The revenue for the entire country was reported as $11.53 billion in 2008 dollars, with a 0% industrial production growth rate. No domestic oil or natural gas production or reserves. It has two radio stations and two television stations. The population is 9,035,356.

This land, the second one in the history of the world to establish a democracy after witnessing the model of our Revolution, needs help. Our help.

Haiti needed to be rescued before this earthquake, but now the world can see her for a brief season, until the next disaster arrives and distracts us. I had written to a relief agency a few months ago that I wanted to do some type of event for Haiti at the Club.  I envisioned a concert that is taped that could generate evergreen revenues to support relief work there. I was thinking of Matisyahu and Wyclef Jean and No Doubt and others…I haven’t heard back yet, and I don’t know what else I can do.  But this is something. And this might help. Tomorrow, I’ll start making some calls…