Reality in Writing : Caribbean Political Economy

Originally posted on: Rabble.ca Posted on: July 15th, 2010 Original Link: http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/07/monsanto-charity-comes-haitian-farmers-0 Monsanto 'charity' comes to Haitian farmers By: Kevin Edmonds Rabble.ca July 15th, 2010 Despite the inexcusable stalling and siphoning off of aid to Haiti six months after the devastating earthquake, the people of Haiti are currently fighting the charity of one overly eager corporation: Monsanto. In a seemingly generous offer, the corporation donated over 470 tons of hybrid corn and vegetable seeds to be distributed through USAID and the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture. The only problem is that Monsanto and USAID are determined to solve a problem that doesn't exist. The problem in Haiti is not one of seeds. There is no shortage of them in Haiti. The problem is of what the seeds represent. Jean Baptiste Chavannes, the leader of the Mouvman Peyizan Papay, ...

Orignally posted on: NACLA.org Posted on: Mayb 17th, 2010 Original link: https://nacla.org/node/6576 Empty Promises and Empty Bellies: Bill Clinton’s Doubletalk on Haitian Agriculture By: Kevin Edmonds NACLA.org May 17 2010 The trade policies enacted under the Clinton administration in the 1990s ruled out the possibility of a future for Haiti’s roughly 3 million small farmers. This is according to the former U.S. president himself. In March, Clinton, who is now the UN Special Envoy to Haiti, admitted that U.S. free market agricultural policy towards Haiti “has not worked.” He told journalist Kim Ives, “ . . . We made this devil’s bargain on rice. And it wasn’t the right thing to do. We should have continued to work to help them be self-sufficient in agriculture.” However, when discussing the possible future of Haiti’s agriculture at the International Donor’s Conference in New York on March 31, Clinton did not mention restoring the rice crop he helped destroy. “We’re t...

Originally posted on: NACLA.org Posted on: April 5th, 2010 Original link: https://nacla.org/node/6501 NGO's and the Business of Poverty NACLA.org April 5 2010 By: Kevin Edmonds Haiti has the most privatized social-service sector in the Americas, with some 80% of the country’s basic services provided by the private sector through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). No other country in the world has more NGOs per capita. Edmond Mulet, head of the UN mission in Haiti, conservatively estimates that there were more than 10,000 before the January 12 earthquake. Many Haitians ironically refer to their country as a “republic of NGOs.” The Haitian government, regularly accused of corruption by the U.S. State Department, has been marginalized in post-earthquake recovery and rebuilding efforts. Less than one cent of each dollar of U.S. earthquake relief is going to the Haitian government. As reported by the Associated Press, NGOs w...

Originally posted to: NACLA.org Posted on: February 22nd, 2010 Original link: https://nacla.org/node/6427 The Undermining of Haitian Health Care: Setting the Stage for Disaster By: Kevin Edmonds NACLA.org Feb 22 2010 In December 2003, the dedication ceremony of Haiti’s first and only public medical school, a project jointly supported by the governments of Haiti, Cuba, and Taiwan, took place at the University of Tabarre in Port-au-Prince. At the time of the school’s opening, Haiti had one of the worst doctor-to-patient ratios in the world (one to 10,000 in urban areas and one to 20,000 in rural areas), and the school’s ability to provide free medical education was considered one of the most important achievements of former president Jean Bertrand Aristide’s administration. In a declaration full of optimism and hope, the Dean of Health Sciences, Dr. Yves Polynice stated : “The inauguration of the Aristide Foundation University is an...

Originally posted on: NACLA.org Posted on: February 4th, 2010 Original link: https://nacla.org/node/6392 St. Lucia: Life After the Lome Convention Nacla.org Febraury 4 2010 Kevin Edmonds My uncle, George James, a longtime St. Lucian banana farmer, sits on the front step of his dimly lit kitchen, sucking his teeth loudly to show his frustration. “I have land, but can’t sell it because nobody wants to work it,” he says. “Bananas are not making money. Nobody wants to be a farmer. Young people look at us as fools. The work is too hard, and the money is too small. That’s why all the young boys want to move drugs. It wasn’t always so bad.” The frustration in his voice comes from almost 20 years of living in a constant state of uncertainty and continually declining prices due to a trade dispute between the European Union (EU) and the United States. In December an agreement was reached that will see the EU further reduce tariffs on impo...