Poor Haitians resort to eating dirt

It is irrelevant to debate who is responsible for people eating dirt pies.

People cannot eat accountability or culpability !

It would not be unusual for the USA to intervene in Haitian affairs:

FROM WIKIPEDIA:


The instability in Haiti provided a potential opening for German influence during the ongoing World War I. In addition, it is alleged that a popular uprising against Haitian dictator Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam threatened American business interests in the country (such as HASCO). In response, American President Woodrow Wilson sent 330 U.S. Marines to Port-au-Prince on July 28, 1915. The specific order from the Secretary of the Navy to the invasion commander, Admiral William Deville Bundy, was to "protect American and foreign" interests. Within six weeks, representatives from the United States controlled Haitian customs houses and administrative institutions. For the next nineteen years, Haiti's powerful neighbor to the north guided and governed the country. During this period, the government of Haiti was effectively under the control of the U.S. Marines.

WHY ARE THEY STARVING?
A response to an outbreak of African swine fever virus, U.S. agricultural authorities oversaw the mass eradication of Haiti's pig population. The Program for the Eradication of Porcine Swine Fever and Development of Pig Raising (PEPPADEP) caused widespread hardship among the peasant population, many of whom had bred pigs as an investment. In addition, reports that AIDS was becoming a major problem in Haiti caused tourism to Haiti to decline dramatically in the early 1980s. By the mid-1980s, most Haitians felt hopeless, as economic conditions worsened and hunger and malnutrition spread.[3]

Perhaps the Haitians would fair better if the had some control over their own crops, because if you teach a man to fish , but he still needs to but a fishing license and fishing tackle from the man. He will need to borrow money to pay the bait shop and taxes to the government if he sells his catch. - that man will be eating dirt pies soon!

Sam Kinison said it best when talking about the starving Ethiopians. We don't need to buy them food, we need to buy them UHAULS! This is sand, you know what its going to be in a thousand years? SAND! Move to where the food is!

Seriously if there is no water and no food where you live, it's time to pack up and get the hell out.

reply to post by on_yur_6


I have always thought that that would have been one of the primary drivers of human migration throughout history.
No food? Move to where this is some.
No water? Move to where there is some.
Volcano on your doorstep about to blow up. Move to where there isn't one.
etc, etc.

Pretty straight forward, isn't it??

reply to post by dgtempe


I would rather live my life then worry about other peoples food situation. Sounds mean, but I honestly don't care enough to worry about it endlessly. If a GOOD program came up, I might give them a quarter, but me grilling a nice big juicy steak will never bother me that some people will never see so much food in one place in their lives.

I stick by my philosophy to let nature take its course, and we stop trying to play God and support more people then there should be alive.

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Just catching up on this thread.

Exactly the point I was trying to make earlier; it is no good just supplying financial aid; if lasting, sustainable change is to be made then education systems and social structures need to change, AS WELL.

Too many people just want to use the US and her allies as convenient scapegoats.
These countries need to start accepting responsibility for the part they have played themselves, and continue to do so, in causing the current situation and address the inherent problems of corruption and exploitation.

Once they start doing this they can become part of the solution rather than part of the cause.

Couldn't the US give these people just a little more food until another plan was devised?
How would this hurt. At least a few more would eat. Their water supplies are probably contaminated also. Many could be drinking sewage, their mud pies mixed with fecal material. (gasp!)

[edit on 30-1-2008 by pc is here]

reply to post by pc is here


no way pc is here.

thats our food. we needz that.

the correct thing to do would be to reinstate the guy we removed (at gunpoint), who is now in exile, so it can cause massive social uproar, creating an environment where lots of people die from machete and ak47 combat.

this way, less people to feed, more food for the rest. also, cannibalism, lots of dead bodies to cook up and eat. then their problems would be sorted out right nicely. population reduced, opposition destroyed, effective government, and food for everybody!

[edit on 1/30/2008 by runetang]

sick sick sick sick.....you must be young now but trust me,
in time life will change your views BIG TIME!

reply to post by runetang


And you are a Christian?

I agree the over population of the world is a concern and is a contributory factor to world poverty but come on, advocating cannabalism and whole scale slaughter is a bit extreme, to say the least.

Surely the answer lies in better education, improved birth control and addressing inherent social issues rather than causing more misery.

Originally posted by TXMACHINEGUNDLR
We have starving people here in the USA that ate nothing last night.

And what are we doing about that? Nothing except watching our tax dollars being thrown down the drain for a needless war.

That's the problem. People don't give a damn about others. They only care about themselves. So as long as they can eat their fat dinner tonight, everything is good in the world.

People care more about saying "we're the greatest country in the world" than they do about actually proving it.

One would believe that in this time of age, people would NOT be going through something like this. Instead, we -those not in the third world country- are competing to the next best thing, whether it be technology or science.

I wholeheartedly agree with one of the first previous posts of Freeborn.
I've used to give money, but not anymore. Never mind that everybody and their mothers started calling my home at any time of day (or night) asking for more money.
I will give money again only when I can see it going directly to the people. These organizations should get creative. Use Youtube, live cameras, something to show me that they are delivering the goods.
I don't feel good at all; I feel shame when I see humans having to live like this. It makes me sad. But how can we really help? How can we really make a difference in the lives of these people, when their own governments and their own peers don't give a damn?
For most of us is hard to understand. We think that money can solve anything. I’ve been in South America and saw it first hand. Maybe not as bad, but bad enough.
I’ve personally given money directly to people, helped some of them for a short period, but I cannot do this forever. This is not the solution.
I believe that they should start doing something there first, among them. They should say enough is enough. Start a fight, revolution, whatever it takes. Maybe the world will help afterwards, maybe not. But I think that the answer of a lot of problems actually lies with the individual or immediate society, not with outside help.

Ban?
Dominican delegation to ask Haiti President to lift poultry ban today

www.dominicantoday.com...

Another thing that shocked me was,

After meeting with Préval, the commission will speak with Haitian business leaders to convince them that the chickens and eggs aren’t affected by the bird flu virus.

The pale brown biscuits, known by locals simply as "terre", have traditionally been eaten by pregnant Haitians and children as an antacid and source of calcium.

www.telegraph.co.uk.../news/2008/01/30/whaiti130.xml
Then this is nothing new but they have less to eat because of a ban of poultry perhaps?

Aid Agencies Taking Donations for Haiti
ap.google.com...

All located in America, alrighty then

[edit on 123131p://bWednesday2008 by Stormdancer777]

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by runetang

 

I dont know if you where joking or not lol.. but in most cultures it is considered highly taboo to eat another human.. many would die before they did it.

here are other forms of cannibalism
endocannibalism ritualist and spiritual

For example, according to anthropologist Beth Conklin in article by Ellie Shick mortuary cannibalism amongst the Wari tribe of the Amazon rainforest had a "socially integrative dimension." Upon consumption of the deceased group member, the spirit of the dead was believed to be absorbed by the entire tribe and was considered by them to be one of "the most respectful ways to treat a human body."

www.crimelibrary.com...

Two words can explain this entire situation : "Malthusian Disaster".

I'm with rockpuck on this one... if a population grows beyond its means, it will suffer. There is nothing that can be done to bail them out beyond physically giving them food.

If this seems like a heartless statement, think about the long term consequences rather than the short term humanitarian one.

Through such fire is mankind purified.

Food Sovereignty and the new Face of Global Agriculture





[edit on 30-1-2008 by pai mei]

I feel bad for these people too, but on the other hand... why the hell are teens getting pregnant when they can't even take care of themselves??? So you live a life of poverty and what do you do? Bring another life into an existence of poverty? I don't get it.

They don't need food, they need education. A lot of it.

The more charities we send, the more kids they have... which means they need even more charities, etc. It's an endless cycle. They're going to have to learn to take care of themselves and not depend on foreign aid forever.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime... or something like that.

Originally posted by NovusOrdoMundi

Originally posted by TXMACHINEGUNDLR
We have starving people here in the USA that ate nothing last night.

And what are we doing about that? Nothing except watching our tax dollars being thrown down the drain for a needless war.

That's the problem. People don't give a damn about others. They only care about themselves. So as long as they can eat their fat dinner tonight, everything is good in the world.

People care more about saying "we're the greatest country in the world" than they do about actually proving it.

The USA gives more money in financial aid to the rest of the world than anyone else. In fact I bet you can combine the financial aid of every nation on earth and it still won't match what the USA gives. It's a joke that people think it should be more. Help your own neighbor before begging the USA for more money.

reply to post by Bunch


try to be patient once obama gets to be president he will bring them all to the usa

reply to post by yahn goodey


First, I don't know why you direct your answer at me.

Second, since you directed your response at me I will let you know what I think about it.

Republicans had make a living of bringing more illegals to this country and then resort to different forms of amnesty to cover their mistakes. Reagan did it and Bush wants to push for amnesty too.

I don't know where Barack Obama fits into this issue other than he's black and you are assuming than since he is black he is going to fill every state of the country with black immigrants. Is that your point?

[edit on 30-1-2008 by Bunch]