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**AliceFromHouston** · 01-14-2010, 05:30 AM

Politics should not get in the way of helping the most destitute over something like this...

Agreed.

...even if they do choose to elect a-ssholes to govern themselves.

Like elsewhere, Haitian voters aren't always given great choices in candidates and Preval is hardly as bad as they come. Compared to the Duvaliers, he's Mother Theresa. Centuries of maldevelopment stemming from corrupt elites as well as foreign exploitation, interference, and occupations have conspired to leave Haiti in a sorry state.

Haiti is bereft of resources in every sense. Its infrastructure is all but nonexistent. Deforestation, erosion, desertification, and polluted drinking water are but a few of its environmental problems. It's one of the few places in the Caribbean where Malaria remains endemic. Grinding joblessness and food shortages contribute to crime and instability. The situation there has been so dire and desperate for so long that most people lucky enough to get an education try to find a way off the island. The citizens who cannot leave are left competing for scraps. How can you run an effective government when the best trained would-be civil servants have left the country or a judicial system when the same is true of potential judges?

It may be satisfying to say "throw the bums out" but good leadership alone will not solve Haiti's problems. I wish I had answers, but there is no magic wand. Solving these problems will take decades. In the meantime, people are suffering and donations to worthy NGO's will help alleviate misery.

01-14-2010, 05:30 AM	#32
AliceFromHouston Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 506 Senior Member	Politics should not get in the way of helping the most destitute over something like this... Agreed. ...even if they do choose to elect a-ssholes to govern themselves. Like elsewhere, Haitian voters aren't always given great choices in candidates and Preval is hardly as bad as they come. Compared to the Duvaliers, he's Mother Theresa. Centuries of maldevelopment stemming from corrupt elites as well as foreign exploitation, interference, and occupations have conspired to leave Haiti in a sorry state. Haiti is bereft of resources in every sense. Its infrastructure is all but nonexistent. Deforestation, erosion, desertification, and polluted drinking water are but a few of its environmental problems. It's one of the few places in the Caribbean where Malaria remains endemic. Grinding joblessness and food shortages contribute to crime and instability. The situation there has been so dire and desperate for so long that most people lucky enough to get an education try to find a way off the island. The citizens who cannot leave are left competing for scraps. How can you run an effective government when the best trained would-be civil servants have left the country or a judicial system when the same is true of potential judges? It may be satisfying to say "throw the bums out" but good leadership alone will not solve Haiti's problems. I wish I had answers, but there is no magic wand. Solving these problems will take decades. In the meantime, people are suffering and donations to worthy NGO's will help alleviate misery.
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