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The earthquake in Haiti is a real disaster. The victims are both the people thathave been killed as those who are now suffering from hunger, lack of water andchaos. Haiti is one of the poorest countries on earth.Much has been written these past days on the history of the country, the brutalcolonial exploitation, the dictatorship of the Duvaliers and the interrupteddemocratic process of the last decades.I would like to add two remarks, or better, questions, related to other topics thatare discussed today in social movements.First, linked to the Copenhagen climate process is the question on ‘living inharmony with nature’. An earthquake is ‘nature’, in the same way as aretsunami’s and viruses. I understand the demand of indigenous people to be ableto live ‘in harmony with nature’ but I think it should be worded differently in orderto appeal to a broader audience. People have never ‘lived in harmony withnature’. Fortunately, we are able to manage our environment in order to limit thedamage of earthquakes or of floods. We can develop vaccines against viruses. The damage done by the earthquake in Haiti could have been far less, if therehad been some urban planning and if buildings were respecting anti-seismicrules. To me, it sounds like a condemnation of Haitians to talk of ‘harmony withnature’ to-day. Surely, we should respect and protect our environment, but wecan change it when it helps to protect human beings.Second is the question on so-called ‘development cooperation’ and ‘humanitarianaid’. Why is Haiti as poor as it is today? The dictatorship has ended twenty-fiveyears ago. There was a democratization process, but the president was removedin a coup d’état and then kidnapped. There was a US occupation and the UNcame in with 10.000 mainly Brazilian military. All major humanitarianorganizations work in Haiti on a permanent basis. What have all theseorganizations been doing in the past twenty years? Why were there no structuralchanges? Why is Haiti still a ‘failed state’? If these organizations are not able todeliver any ‘development’ or ‘state-building’ then why do they remain in thecountry? We are now sending the most expensive technological equipment –mobile hospitals, mobile water treatment – in order to save lives. But till the daybefore the earthquake, people were allowed to die. Rich countries did not care.What I mean is this: we should better analyse what we are talking about when wesay ‘development’. It should not mean we cannot manage our environment. Itshould not mean that we let people die while officially giving so-called‘humanitarian aid’ and focusing on so-called ‘poverty reduction’. If we cannot‘deliver’ economic, social and political development – and I think that outsidersnever can – we should stay away and stop the hypocrisy. Development willalways have to be endogenous.
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