Haitians Starve; Trillions For War

I didn't see this topic anywhere on ATS, so I felt I should shed some light on the topic.

It's not a war story, it's not a political scandal story, it's not a 'what celebrity is in rehab this week' story; it's a story about starvation - possibly one of the worst, if not the worst, humanitarian problems with our world.

In a poor region of Haiti, things have become so desperate that the only source of food is...well...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - It was lunchtime in one of Haiti's worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.

The mud has long been prized by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal.

"When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said. Her baby, named Woodson, lay still across her lap, looking even thinner than the slim 6 pounds 3 ounces he weighed at birth.

Mud cookies.

It's a "source of calcium", yeah - but is this really the best we can do as humans?

We like to hang our heads high on our technological advancements; TV, phone, light bulb, aircraft, computers and more. We like to point to visiting the Moon and Mars as achievements. We like to point to our complex way of thinking; our complex social structure, all as a sign of accomplishment.

Yet, if you don't keep up, if you don't support the status quo, if you don't sell your soul to those who have managed to seize control of power over the world economic, military, and governmental systems, then you're left behind; spit on by the world, and left to die.

Why is it that we can dump trillions of dollars in to Iraq - more than 6,000 miles away - to wage war on a nation and a people whom WE armed, and whom did NOTHING to us, yet we allow people to starve and hold themselves from death by eating mud cookies, right here, practically in our back yard in Haiti?

I'm not trying to make an anti-Iraq War statement with this. I'm trying to make a common sense and human decency statement.

How can we sit and let people in Haiti, people in Africa - people all over the world - die of starvation and disease, while we support these criminal corrupt power hungry bastards that sit in the chairs of power in our countries who waste our tax dollars to support their own agendas and their own bank accounts?

Humans will never amount to anything more than intelligent savage beasts. I, personally, don't care for the stupid technological advancements, the military conquests, or the "peace treaties" that never bring peace. That no longer impresses me, nor should it impress anyone else.

What I want to see is us solve our deepest and worst social issues. I want to see us bring down the power hungry individuals who control the world. I want to see us solve world hunger. I want to see us cure diseases. I want to see everyone on the planet be able to live a full life, and have the same opportunities, freedoms, and luxuries that other humans enjoy.

Fighting and war are inevitable, so I'm not going to feed you a hippie, tree hugging, love your fellow man speech. But why allow it to be a tool of control? Why allow it to take over the world? Why allow it to line the pockets of our leaders with cash?

Why do we allow ourselves to be used as pawns on a global chessboard?

Have your hamburger and watch your television and think life is great and think we've come so far. I'd rather see everyone be able to lead their own lives and live them to the fullest, free of disease, famine, and war.

Thank you all for reading, and thank you to most of you for not giving a damn.

Source:
news.yahoo.com...

[edit on 1/29/08 by NovusOrdoMundi]

Click here for more information.

It seems that this is another America bashing thread.

Someone please tell me, why can't anyother country do something to help these people????

Iran says who cruel and evil America is, why don't they provide assistance???
Maybe because they are not muslium???

Russia does a lot of complaining about the US, why don't they help these people???

Why has noone else provided any help?????

Here's a video of Port Au' from 2004 before it got "real" bad... 'feature's Wyclef in sort of a UN PSA. The link should open in WMP. At that time the WFP was feeding 600,00 Haitians... now? No food for some. I blame Canada and the USA. The video link.

It would seem there is great political will for other pursuits... that achieve the similar ends as haiti all too often.

Vic

Exactly why have these people not been able to create a good living standard for themselves?
They have had all the same opportunites as their Dominican neighbors.

Principals of Darwin in action. There is nothing anyone can do for them.
They seem to be hardwired to self destruct.
So don't lose sleep over it.

Originally posted by monsoon
It seems that this is another America bashing thread.

Someone please tell me, why can't any other country do something to help these people????

Iran says who cruel and evil America is, why don't they provide assistance???
Maybe because they are not muslim???

Russia does a lot of complaining about the US, why don't they help these people???

Why has no one else provided any help?????

People do provide help, its just that helping someone doesn't count for profits at the end of the year.

People like Fidel Castro went to war in AFRICA to help fight a good cause with his own army and his own finances. What did he get in return? A bunch of sanctions.

Give me a break. You really think your tax dollars are being put to good use right now?

Haiti is Haiti, but look at your local ghettos, they are up there with the poorest of poorest communities around the world. I think America could without the 20,000 cruise missiles they assemble and disassemble each month thats costs them BILLIONS of dollars.


Lets face it, we're nothing but a bunch of greedy racists and its ignorant to think how people sleep at night knowing every nation in this world is in debt to a handful of men with the primary reason being WAR!!!!!!!

There is another thread here

www.abovetopsecret.com...



[edit on 4-2-2008 by Karlhungis]

I agree with the original poster on the apathy to the poor of the world, but the title of the thread should be..Why the world doesn't care. Putting implied blame on the USA solely is weak and shameless anti-Americanism.

China is sitting on over a trillion cash, why let China off the hook. World poverty is a big problem. Seems the USA can't win. Help you are an imperialist, don't help you are evil. I know everyone says this, but who stepped up quickly big time after the devastating Tsnaumi. The USA.

Hati is a poor country, but don't blame the USA for everyones problems. I don't blame the USA for my screwed up life. I blame Slovenia, 'cause they don't help the poor in the USA.

Originally posted by sbob
China is sitting on over a trillion cash, why let China off the hook.

I blame them too, but I live in the United States and I'm disappointed in how my tax dollars and the tax dollars of people I know is being spent.

China isn't spending my tax dollars on wars. My government is. Naturally, I'm going to be disgusted with them first.

I'm disgusted with every major industrialized nation who has the resources and money to help, but doesn't.

reply to post by Karlhungis


I encourage people to go to that thread since there's more discussion. But in the interest of fairness, mine was posted first.