No Shock Doctrine for Haiti
By Susan Ellis of Keylifejourneys
I have been studying the power of social media sites to be used for business purposes. In so doing I look at the impact it has on world events. In Canada, Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is a group on Facebook with - as of writing - 221,792 members. This grassroots group of concerned citizens, fearful of the erosion of democratic process in Canada, rallied and/or marched in communities across Canada, the US and elsewhere on 23rd January. Although Bob Rae (Liberal MP) was in the Toronto crowd and there were many orange NDP placards evident, this was a people motivated gathering. Here is my video showing what it felt like to be part of it in Toronto. This was people power at its best and those in political power will have regrets if they ignore it.
However I now turn my attention to another Facebook group called No Shock Doctrine for Haiti. To date it only has 32,153 members but they are from all over the world. Indeed the founder of the group comes from the UK. The name comes from the opinions expressed in The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by Canadian author Naomi Klein.
I look back on my blog The Rebuilding of Haiti is a gift to Humanity where I said
When the immediate crisis is over will we be prepared to listen to what the Haitians want from us? Or will we, as in the past, tell them what we think they need. Will we learn from the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan that just putting a democratically elected government in power does not solve all your problems? When we know that the country could benefit from industry, will we only look at our own high unemployment figures and see them as taking our jobs? Will our Corporations see a growth market to sell them unrealistic dreams which will once more create the haves and have nots? Will they then move on when a cheaper labour force is found elsewhere? Haiti's fate was created by colonization, slavery and sugar cane. Haiti's future depends on our ability to change our mindset and learn that cooperation, sharing and working together in one world as one family is the life lesson we were put on earth to learn. There is a gift, waiting.
Traditionally, companies rush in to profit from disaster, countries rush in to push their value systems on others and those in financial power take control by indebtedness - another form of slavery.
Today I read about a group of American Baptists who thought they were doing the right thing (imposing their values on others) by attempting to take a group of children over the border illegally to the Dominican Republic from Haiti for adoption in the US. No wonder the Haitian PM wants to personally sign off on each adoption. These are not Barbie Dolls or Cabbage Patch dolls waiting in boxes on shelves to be bought by affluent consumers.
On the No Shock Doctrine for Haiti page on Facebook it states -
The shock doctrine is the idea that disasters are a chance to push through unpopular right wing economic reforms.
The people of Haiti need help. We must dig them out of the rubble. We must feed and clothe them, and then we must work with them to re-build their country.
Yet some see this as an excuse to strip their economy of what assets it has left. Some see the shock of the earthquake as an opportunity to impose unpopular policies on a grieving people.
America's radical right have long seen disasters as a chance to push devastating policies on the distracted poor. They know it is the only way people will accept their economies being plundered.
This "Shock Doctrine" which brought us General Pinochet and Russian oligarchs is now moving swiftly on Haiti. These are the people who forced through the privatisation of social housing after Katrina - pushing the poor out of their homes without their consent. They used the Asian Tsunami as an excuse to take coasts out of the possession of poor fisherman, and hand them to western hotel conglomerates.
And now, one of the most influential American think tanks - the Heritage Foundation - is already suggesting they do the same to Haiti. The IMF are alleged to have demanded pay freezes and energy price hikes in exchange for a help.
We must help the people of Haiti build a country they want, not one which is forced on them by the people who brought us the credit crunch, South America's generation of dictators, and George W Bush
There was a reference there to the Heritage Foundation. Let me quote from one of their articles. While reading it use the name of your own country instead of Haiti and register your own emotion as you read what another power thinks they should do to you without your permission.
"Things to Remember While Helping Haiti" Posted January 13th, 2010
Today, the United States began surveying the damage inflicted by a devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake should address long-held concerns over the fragile political environment that exists in the region.
The U.S. government response should be bold and decisive. It must mobilize U.S. civilian and military capabilities for short-term rescue and relief and long-term recovery and reform. President Obama should tap high-level, bipartisan leadership. Clearly former President Clinton, who was already named as the U.N. envoy on Haiti, is a logical choice. President Obama should also reach out to a senior Republican figure, perhaps former President George W. Bush, to lead the bipartisan effort for the Republicans.
While on the ground in Haiti, the U.S. military can also interrupt the nightly flights of cocaine to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the Venezuelan coast and counter the ongoing efforts of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to destabilize the island of Hispaniola. This U.S. military presence, which should also include a large contingent of U.S. Coast Guard assets, can also prevent any large-scale movement by Haitians to take to the sea in dangerous and rickety watercraft to try to enter the U.S. illegally.
Meanwhile, the U.S. must be prepared to insist that the Haiti government work closely with the U.S. to insure that corruption does not infect the humanitarian assistance flowing to Haiti. Long-term reforms for Haitian democracy and its economy are also badly overdue. Congress should immediately begin work on a package of assistance, trade, and reconstruction efforts needed to put Haiti on its feet and open the way for deep and lasting democratic reforms.
The U.S. should implement a strong and vigorous public diplomacy effort to counter the negative propaganda certain to emanate from the Castro-Chavez camp. Such an effort will also demonstrate that the U.S.’s involvement in the Caribbean remains a powerful force for good in the Americas and around the globe.
I just love the concept of "A powerful force for good". It sounds like a repeat of operation Iraq and Afghanistan to me. Haiti was made poor in the first place by France, the United States, Great Britain, other Western powers and by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank. Did you know that freed slaves had to pay 150 million francs in reparations to French slave owners to prevent a trade embargo? Yes, slaves had to pay off their masters to be free. They had to borrow the money from French banks and then US banks and then German banks. By 1947 they had succeeded in paying off 60% of the debt. Haiti is controlled by foreign banking debt. It's rice industry was destroyed by the IMF so that it was forced to import food - supporting foreign agribusiness.
So why is Haiti being kept dependent by certain powers and why is the US so determine to be the country with the military presence? The answer lies in the article entitle "The kidnapping of Haiti" by John Pilger published 28 January 2010 in the New Statesman
"Oil was found in Haiti's waters decades ago and the US has kept it in reserve until the Middle East begins to run dry. More urgently, an occupied Haiti has a strategic importance in Washington's "rollback" plans for Latin America. The goal is the overthrow of the popular democracies in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, control of Venezuela's abundant petroleum reserves, and sabotage of the growing regional co-operation long denied by US-sponsored regimes."
I hope as you read the newspaper articles and see the results of rolling TV cameras you will understand that a game is being played. Why were so many references to violence the first things we heard and saw? Well it supports a military presence doesn't it? Initially the IMF offered a new loan. It was public pressure from grass roots organizations that roared. Now they are offering a grant. Public pressure is on forgiving past debts. Forced debts. Revenge debts.
I use the website www.avaaz.org to register my voice for change on many issues. Getting the IMF to change their loan into a grant was a major victory. Last week Avaaz explained why it was needed
It's shocking: even as aid flows in to Haiti's desperate communities, money is flowing out to pay off the country's crushing debt -- over $1 billion in unfair debt racked up years ago by unscrupulous lenders and governments…
…Even before the earthquake, Haiti was one of the world's poorest countries. After Haitian slaves rose up and won their independence in 1804, France demanded billions in reparations -- launching a spiral of poverty and unjust debt that has lasted two centuries.
In recent years, the tremendous worldwide campaign for debt relief has awoken the world's conscience. And in the last few days, under mounting public pressure, lenders have begun to say the right things about erasing Haiti's still-devastating debt burden.
I wonder what Haiti would look like today if from Independence it had not been saddled with the debt of paying off the slave masters. I wonder what Haiti would look like if the IMF had not destroyed its agriculture. I don't think we would be talking about Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Because of our punitive behaviour Haiti has always paid out in bank debt far more than it has received in aid. But apparently we needed it that way. It was in our best interest to send food, giving our farmers work, not plough shears to give their farmers work and self sufficiency.
Give and ye shall receive. How true But if transparency entered the equation the new paradigm could be Give what others need and create a win-win situation. Sleep well tonight knowing our value system from the old paradigm is alive and well in Haiti. But there is still time to change the outcome. Consider supporting avaaz.org No Shock Doctrine for Haiti on Facebook and let that country tell us how it wishes to rise again.
I have been studying the power of social media sites to be used for business purposes. In so doing I look at the impact it has on world events. In Canada, Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is a group on Facebook with - as of writing - 221,792 members. This grassroots group of concerned citizens, fearful of the erosion of democratic process in Canada, rallied and/or marched in communities across Canada, the US and elsewhere on 23rd January. Although Bob Rae (Liberal MP) was in the Toronto crowd and there were many orange NDP placards evident, this was a people motivated gathering. Here is my video showing what it felt like to be part of it in Toronto. This was people power at its best and those in political power will have regrets if they ignore it.
However I now turn my attention to another Facebook group called No Shock Doctrine for Haiti. To date it only has 32,153 members but they are from all over the world. Indeed the founder of the group comes from the UK. The name comes from the opinions expressed in The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is a 2007 book by Canadian author Naomi Klein.
I look back on my blog The Rebuilding of Haiti is a gift to Humanity where I said
When the immediate crisis is over will we be prepared to listen to what the Haitians want from us? Or will we, as in the past, tell them what we think they need. Will we learn from the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan that just putting a democratically elected government in power does not solve all your problems? When we know that the country could benefit from industry, will we only look at our own high unemployment figures and see them as taking our jobs? Will our Corporations see a growth market to sell them unrealistic dreams which will once more create the haves and have nots? Will they then move on when a cheaper labour force is found elsewhere? Haiti's fate was created by colonization, slavery and sugar cane. Haiti's future depends on our ability to change our mindset and learn that cooperation, sharing and working together in one world as one family is the life lesson we were put on earth to learn. There is a gift, waiting.
Traditionally, companies rush in to profit from disaster, countries rush in to push their value systems on others and those in financial power take control by indebtedness - another form of slavery.
Today I read about a group of American Baptists who thought they were doing the right thing (imposing their values on others) by attempting to take a group of children over the border illegally to the Dominican Republic from Haiti for adoption in the US. No wonder the Haitian PM wants to personally sign off on each adoption. These are not Barbie Dolls or Cabbage Patch dolls waiting in boxes on shelves to be bought by affluent consumers.
On the No Shock Doctrine for Haiti page on Facebook it states -
The shock doctrine is the idea that disasters are a chance to push through unpopular right wing economic reforms.
The people of Haiti need help. We must dig them out of the rubble. We must feed and clothe them, and then we must work with them to re-build their country.
Yet some see this as an excuse to strip their economy of what assets it has left. Some see the shock of the earthquake as an opportunity to impose unpopular policies on a grieving people.
America's radical right have long seen disasters as a chance to push devastating policies on the distracted poor. They know it is the only way people will accept their economies being plundered.
This "Shock Doctrine" which brought us General Pinochet and Russian oligarchs is now moving swiftly on Haiti. These are the people who forced through the privatisation of social housing after Katrina - pushing the poor out of their homes without their consent. They used the Asian Tsunami as an excuse to take coasts out of the possession of poor fisherman, and hand them to western hotel conglomerates.
And now, one of the most influential American think tanks - the Heritage Foundation - is already suggesting they do the same to Haiti. The IMF are alleged to have demanded pay freezes and energy price hikes in exchange for a help.
We must help the people of Haiti build a country they want, not one which is forced on them by the people who brought us the credit crunch, South America's generation of dictators, and George W Bush
There was a reference there to the Heritage Foundation. Let me quote from one of their articles. While reading it use the name of your own country instead of Haiti and register your own emotion as you read what another power thinks they should do to you without your permission.
"Things to Remember While Helping Haiti" Posted January 13th, 2010
Today, the United States began surveying the damage inflicted by a devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake should address long-held concerns over the fragile political environment that exists in the region.
The U.S. government response should be bold and decisive. It must mobilize U.S. civilian and military capabilities for short-term rescue and relief and long-term recovery and reform. President Obama should tap high-level, bipartisan leadership. Clearly former President Clinton, who was already named as the U.N. envoy on Haiti, is a logical choice. President Obama should also reach out to a senior Republican figure, perhaps former President George W. Bush, to lead the bipartisan effort for the Republicans.
While on the ground in Haiti, the U.S. military can also interrupt the nightly flights of cocaine to Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the Venezuelan coast and counter the ongoing efforts of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to destabilize the island of Hispaniola. This U.S. military presence, which should also include a large contingent of U.S. Coast Guard assets, can also prevent any large-scale movement by Haitians to take to the sea in dangerous and rickety watercraft to try to enter the U.S. illegally.
Meanwhile, the U.S. must be prepared to insist that the Haiti government work closely with the U.S. to insure that corruption does not infect the humanitarian assistance flowing to Haiti. Long-term reforms for Haitian democracy and its economy are also badly overdue. Congress should immediately begin work on a package of assistance, trade, and reconstruction efforts needed to put Haiti on its feet and open the way for deep and lasting democratic reforms.
The U.S. should implement a strong and vigorous public diplomacy effort to counter the negative propaganda certain to emanate from the Castro-Chavez camp. Such an effort will also demonstrate that the U.S.’s involvement in the Caribbean remains a powerful force for good in the Americas and around the globe.
I just love the concept of "A powerful force for good". It sounds like a repeat of operation Iraq and Afghanistan to me. Haiti was made poor in the first place by France, the United States, Great Britain, other Western powers and by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank. Did you know that freed slaves had to pay 150 million francs in reparations to French slave owners to prevent a trade embargo? Yes, slaves had to pay off their masters to be free. They had to borrow the money from French banks and then US banks and then German banks. By 1947 they had succeeded in paying off 60% of the debt. Haiti is controlled by foreign banking debt. It's rice industry was destroyed by the IMF so that it was forced to import food - supporting foreign agribusiness.
So why is Haiti being kept dependent by certain powers and why is the US so determine to be the country with the military presence? The answer lies in the article entitle "The kidnapping of Haiti" by John Pilger published 28 January 2010 in the New Statesman
"Oil was found in Haiti's waters decades ago and the US has kept it in reserve until the Middle East begins to run dry. More urgently, an occupied Haiti has a strategic importance in Washington's "rollback" plans for Latin America. The goal is the overthrow of the popular democracies in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador, control of Venezuela's abundant petroleum reserves, and sabotage of the growing regional co-operation long denied by US-sponsored regimes."
I hope as you read the newspaper articles and see the results of rolling TV cameras you will understand that a game is being played. Why were so many references to violence the first things we heard and saw? Well it supports a military presence doesn't it? Initially the IMF offered a new loan. It was public pressure from grass roots organizations that roared. Now they are offering a grant. Public pressure is on forgiving past debts. Forced debts. Revenge debts.
I use the website www.avaaz.org to register my voice for change on many issues. Getting the IMF to change their loan into a grant was a major victory. Last week Avaaz explained why it was needed
It's shocking: even as aid flows in to Haiti's desperate communities, money is flowing out to pay off the country's crushing debt -- over $1 billion in unfair debt racked up years ago by unscrupulous lenders and governments…
…Even before the earthquake, Haiti was one of the world's poorest countries. After Haitian slaves rose up and won their independence in 1804, France demanded billions in reparations -- launching a spiral of poverty and unjust debt that has lasted two centuries.
In recent years, the tremendous worldwide campaign for debt relief has awoken the world's conscience. And in the last few days, under mounting public pressure, lenders have begun to say the right things about erasing Haiti's still-devastating debt burden.
I wonder what Haiti would look like today if from Independence it had not been saddled with the debt of paying off the slave masters. I wonder what Haiti would look like if the IMF had not destroyed its agriculture. I don't think we would be talking about Haiti being the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Because of our punitive behaviour Haiti has always paid out in bank debt far more than it has received in aid. But apparently we needed it that way. It was in our best interest to send food, giving our farmers work, not plough shears to give their farmers work and self sufficiency.
Give and ye shall receive. How true But if transparency entered the equation the new paradigm could be Give what others need and create a win-win situation. Sleep well tonight knowing our value system from the old paradigm is alive and well in Haiti. But there is still time to change the outcome. Consider supporting avaaz.org No Shock Doctrine for Haiti on Facebook and let that country tell us how it wishes to rise again.
Posted by Key Life Journey's Blog at 2/1/2010 3:48 PM 
Categories: opinions and thoughts
Tags: IMF Facebook No Shock Doctrine for Haiti Naomi Klein. The Shock Doctrine Haiti Avaaz.org
Categories: opinions and thoughts
Tags: IMF Facebook No Shock Doctrine for Haiti Naomi Klein. The Shock Doctrine Haiti Avaaz.org
I completely agree with the above comment, the internet is with a doubt growing into the most important medium of communication across the globe and its due to sites like this that ideas are spreading so quickly.
Reply to this
Only want to say your article is as tonishing. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can take for granted you are an expert on this field. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with succeeding post. Thanks a million and please keep up the ac complished work.
Reply to this
Pretty insightful post. Never thought that it was this simple after all. I had spent a good deal of my time looking for someone to explain this subject clearly and you’re the only one that ever did that. Kudos to you! Keep it up
Reply to this
Fantastic article as always, I am seriously considering something along the lines of an affiliate section on my own site… so very timely post.
Reply to this
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
Reply to this
hey there I just wanted to comment your blog and say that I really enjoyed reading your blog post here. It was very informative and I also digg the way you write! Keep it up and I’ll be back to read more soon mate
Reply to this