Paltry US effort to help Haiti
published: Friday | February 27, 2004
THE EDITOR, Sir:
AS AN American living in Jamaica, I am truly saddened to see my country's response to the situation in Haiti. The Bush administration's apathy towards the suffering of our Haitian neighbours is morally reprehensible.
The U.S. has sent in a paltry contingent of Marines to fortify the American Embassy and is employing the Coast Guard to make sure that no refugees are able to seek asylum on their shores. The richest and most well-equipped nation in the world has left the difficult work of arbitrating the political crisis in Haiti and dealing with the humanitarian aftermath to others, with the bulk of the burden falling on the economically stretched CARICOM.
It may seem that the Bush administration is 'doing nothing', but their inaction is a statement of opposition to Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Conservatives have always been uncomfortable with Aristide and his populist, left-leaning politics. Although Aristide has his faults and the people of Haiti have remained the poorest in the Western Hemisphere under his presidency, he is a legitimately elected leader. Allowing vigilantes to overthrow him is in direct opposition to the democratic principles the United States supposedly holds in high esteem.
