Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Hey, solutions!

Grassroots International has added an updated preface to a 1997 report on Haiti's situation entitled "Feeding Dependency, Starving Democracy." I haven't been able to download the original report yet (thank you, internet - if anyone can download this and email it to me, I'd appreciate it), but the summary is worth reading partially because it briefly outlines many of the issues facing Haiti today AND because Camille Chalmers of the Haitian Platform to Advocate Alternative Development (with the Creole acronym PAPDA), one of MCC Haiti's unofficial partners, actually proposes solutions to problems (!).

From the preface:
"What would a holistic rehabilitation and development plan of this nature require? Much more than money! It would require a reversal of policies which are at their heart counter to healthy, sustainable development. It would mean a stop to attempts to pry Haiti's economy open to imports; it would mean an end to balancing Haiti's budget by cutting health and education spending; it would mean implementing policies for environmentally-friendly food sovereignty so that Haitians can eat the food they grow in fields that hold the soil; it would mean a massive virtuous circle of support for both the governmental and non-governmental sectors so that they can grow strong together."

1 comment:

Kathy said...

I read an article in The Economist about re-building Haiti with an environmental awareness. Solar panels that would allow rural folks to have power and lessen the de-forestation. I immediately got excited and thought of you guys.