Haiti -- Earthquake, Cholera, & Now This...

By John Ballard

My heart cries out for Haiti. Over the years two of my best employees were of Haitian origin. They never worked together and didn't know each other, but if I put together a dream team from the several thousand employees I managed over forty years both would be in it. Both had unmatched dependability, bright smiles and energy levels rare in any workplace. I don't miss the food business but when I remember employees like these I sure miss the people.  So when I hear of trouble in Haiti my memories of these two employees makes it deeply personal for me. I never discussed politics with either of them. Food service employees are focused on putting food on tables -- both guests and their own -- and have more to do than worry about than crap like that.

(Arguing about politics is a luxury working people cannot afford. That's why smart political types get up in the morning trying to keep working people doing what they do best -- working. It keeps them quiet.)

Here are the Top Tweets for hashtag #haiti at this writing. For readers with time to drill, the two links are to good collections of other links.  First.... Second....

Crawfird Kilian's H5N1 Blog has been the go-to place for tracking the Haitian cholera epidemic and this comment was left at his first post when the news of Duvalier's return was announced.

Here's a surprise for many of us. Miss Manigat has agree to accept millions from Pr�l and let him with many tens of millions of dollars, she agree the return of Duvalier, and besides..

Why is this some sort�s of surprise?

After all she is Leslie Manigat�s wife. Let�s not forget that the infamous Tonton Macoutes were Leslie�s brainchild. Yes, he is the one who advised Francois Duvalier to create the private militia known as the Tonton Macoutes.

Leslie also walked through the people�s blood after the massacre of November 29, 1987.

The Manigats will stop at nothing on their way to the Palace.

When Leslie was president he started a secret police called Gris Gris. He was a mean person and a criminal of Humanity.

It is yet a disappointment to see one of those who claims to speak for my people, Miss Manigat, like all the rest, interested only in DOLLARS.

Oh, BTW Bill Clinton team in Haiti support Manigat.

Again all the above is duly corroborated.

So to sum it up; Preval will keep about 50 to 100 millions dollards from gifts for Haiti, Miss manigat had already received an estimated 10 millions with 40 more to come, while Duvalier who already stole 600 millions will get about 50 millions.

The near ones of Miss Manigat will have plenty just as Duvalier.

Michel Martilly should have won, since he is already wealthy from his songs and shows. But Us, Canada and France do not like him because of his social concerns and intention to help the people. He escape an assasination attemps while campaining, while Miss Manigat has bulllet proof cars brought by US.

What it means folks is that Martilly will either call the youth to revolt, get killed or come to Montreal.

Meanwhile Duvalier, Pr�l and Manigat party will have about 40% of the money sent to help Haitians.

As for Aristide he is definitively personna non-gratta since he stated that the Oil exploitation of Port au Prince and off shore would be nationalized.

Sadly the UN forces support Manigat.

We probably have another lost generation living in abject poverty while the fat cats get fatter.

Hope this help people understand what is going on in Haiti.

Snowy

Is it my imagination or does the smell of corruption get in the air as I read?
From the moment I read that Duvalier was returning I wondered why it wasn't Aristide. I realize both left under dark clouds, but from all I have read Aristide, once a priest, was likely the most popular and certainly more attuned to common people.

This morning's link to Stanley Lucas, also appearing in the same comment thread but the origin of this other link gives me a stronger feeling of credibility.  Their mission is more humatarian and medical than political. At this point I'm still watching, waiting and hoping for a good outcome.

This snapshot of Haitian immigrants in the Miami-Dade School system indicares that those who can afford to leave the country are doing do. More at the link.

Last year after the earthquake in Haiti, Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of the Miami-Dade schools � the fourth-biggest district in the nation, with 345,000 students � expected to enroll thousands and thousands of survivors arriving from the devastated country.

He was wrong. A year later, his district has 1,403 survivors � the highest number in the nation, but far below what he predicted.

He expected most to be poor; Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. �I thought they�d need a lot of government services,� he said. The district made plans to convert an old Baptist hospital in Homestead to a school for 125 survivors, who would also be sheltered there.

Wrong again. The arriving Haitians did not need the old hospital. �They were a higher social status,� Mr. Carvalho said. �Definitely middle and upper-middle class.�