Lessons from Haiti

[aflineman]

Haiti has been FUBAR for more years than I want to count. Rebuilt the hospital and 10 schools down there. Plus rebuilt a couple of main roads in Port-a-Prince. Went back a few years later, and it looked worse than when we started. There are good folks down there, the reality is they need to do some hard things just to survive. You could rebuild everything, and it would sadly not be enough. Old habits are very hard to overcome. Especially when they have been going on for generations.

 

[Certaindeaf]

And then there's South Africa. It'll all turn around though when the government expropriates all property without remuneration from whites. you'll see

 

[Argonaut]

Haiti has been FUBAR for more years than I want to count. Rebuilt the hospital and 10 schools down there. Plus rebuilt a couple of main roads in Port-a-Prince. Went back a few years later, and it looked worse than when we started. There are good folks down there, the reality is they need to do some hard things just to survive. You could rebuild everything, and it would sadly not be enough. Old habits are very hard to overcome. Especially when they have been going on for generations.

I totally agree. We see it many places in the world. They have incredible natural resources, weather and location that is perfect for many industries, tourism,agriculture, incredible natural advantages that have been squandered by the political gangster class that have operated the country since WW2. The Catholic Church hasn't helped any either.........Trump could fix this place in very few years. Establish the rule of law so outside people had some confidence in investing and traveling there............it could be a garden paradise and rival Las Vegas in short order. If it was safe, how many retirement condos could you sell there?

 

[CamoDeafie]

All one has to do is look at Dominican Republic, its one of the largest economies in the Carribean area, and seems to be doing just fine politically... interestingly, they took their independence from Haiti after declaring independence from colonial powers. Might be interesting to study the potential effects of a DR takeover of Haiti... then again, maybe it won't work out well for either one.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I totally agree. We see it many places in the world. They have incredible natural resources, weather and location that is perfect for many industries, tourism,agriculture, incredible natural advantages that have been squandered by the political gangster class that have operated the country since WW2. The Catholic Church hasn't helped any either.........Trump could fix this place in very few years. Establish the rule of law so outside people had some confidence in investing and traveling there............it could be a garden paradise and rival Las Vegas in short order. If it was safe, how many retirement condos could you sell there?

You mean PIRATES right....
Things never change.

 

[aflineman]

You mean PIRATES right....
Things never change.

Not really. Political gangsters is aptly termed.

 

[308]

And then there's South Africa. It'll all turn around though when the government expropriates all property without remuneration from whites. you'll see

Lauren Southern has a great documentary on this one

 

[nwslopoke]

I am so sorry for Haiti but dang I don't want them here

Both Bush & Clinton banned Haitians immigrants during the 1990's and no one batted an eye. I guess Haiti is that little fish that swims with sharks. It's only the fact they swim with sharks that makes them remotely interesting. In this case the shark is the hundreds of millions that have been sent to Haiti over the years but literally only a handful of people that benefit from it.

 

[tac]

You mean PIRATES right....
Things never change.

'To err is human, but to aaaarrrrgghhh is to be a pirate.'

Apologies for thread drift.

tac

 

[KKG]

We've got our own Haiti right here. They're called Native Americans. I worked for a small Police Department (4 man) and we had Seventy-five(75) First-Aide Kits that just sat because they were out of Band-Aids!!! They had no money to buy the Band-Aids but plenty to buy more complete First-Aide Kits. Your Tax Dollars at work and the BIA at there finest!

Reservations: A Hole in the Land into which WE Dump Money that never makes anything Better!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Lauren Southern has a great documentary on this one

Yes I've seen that, good info.

 

[bbbass]

It started in blood back in the late 18th century, and ended up, as usual with these 'affaires', with the leader of the revolt, Henri-Christophe, proclaiming himself as 'emperor'. He bled his impoverished nation dry by building a gigantic stone fortress on the top of a mountain, had a stroke, and finally blew his brains out. Apart from the last, most similar ventures end the same way. Where black people and white people are concerned, it's revenge for their enslavement. Where black people and black people are concerned, it's tribal.

When you have nation where the national religion is based on the King of the Dead - Baron Sam'di - and his mistress - Maitresse Erzuli - mixed with a sprinkling of good ol' time pre-Renaissance Roman Catholicism, and where your neighbour may well have been dead for a few years, but refuses to lie down, you just know that it's all going to go to rat-plop.

Ever seen one of those incredible sink-holes in the waters behind a great dam? Y'know, where the water just glides at a bazillion gallons a minute into the abyss?

Hint - turn the sound OFF -

You can imagine Haiti as the sink-hole, and your dollars disappearing down it.

tac

Old habits are very hard to overcome. Especially when they have been going on for generations.

You mean PIRATES right....
Things never change.

Apologies for thread drift.

Not at all... history helps explain why countries are what they are.

Mods, don't get all excited, it's not copyrighted material:

From 1630 onward, the island of Tortuga was divided into French and English colonies, allowing buccaneers to use the island as their main base of operations. In 1633, the first slaves were imported from Africa to aid in the plantations. However, by 1635 the use of slaves had ended. The slaves were said to be out of control on the island, while at the same time there had been continuous disagreements and fighting between French and English colonies.

In 1635 Spain recaptured Tortuga from the English and French, expelled them and left. As they soon returned, Spain conquered the English and French colonies for a second time, only to leave again because the island was too small to be of major importance. This allowed the return of both French and English pirates. In 1638, the Spanish returned for a third time to take the island and rid it of all French and the newly settled Dutch. They occupied the island, but were expelled by the French and Dutch colonists in 1640, at which time the French built Fort de Rocher in a natural harbour; the fort enabled the French to defeat a Spanish invasion force the following year.


A drawing of Tortuga island from the 17th century.

By 1640, the buccaneers of Tortuga were calling themselves the Brethren of the Coast. The pirate population was mostly made up of French and Englishmen, along with a small number of Dutchmen. In 1654, the Spanish captured the island for the fourth and last time.[7]

In 1655 Tortuga was reoccupied by English and French interlopers under <broken link removed> , who secured a commission from Col. <broken link removed> , acting as military Governor on Jamaica, to serve as "Governor" of Tortuga. In 1660 the English appointed a Frenchman <broken link removed> as Governor who proclaimed the King of France, set up French colours, and defeated several English attempts to reclaim the island.[8]

By 1670 the buccaneer era was in decline, and many of the pirates turned to log cutting and wood trading as a new income source. At this time a Welsh privateer named Henry Morgan started to promote himself and invited the pirates on the island of Tortuga to set sail under him. They were hired by the French as a striking force that allowed France to have a much stronger hold on the Caribbean region. Consequently, the pirates were never really controlled and kept Tortuga as a neutral hideout for pirate booty.

And it still is!!!