René Préval sold Haiti to the USA for US$100 million. The Americans' pledge of US$100 million in assistance to Haiti following the earthquake disaster of January 12 must have sealed the agreement for US control over Haiti. The Americans have been deeply embedded in Haitian politics from its independence, through various dictatorships and throughout its fragile democratisation. A commitment to Haitian democratisation has never been a priority for America. They opposed Aristide because democracy for him, and for the masses he represented, meant a transformation of the way Haiti did politics -- aimed historically at the exclusion and impoverishment of the majority of Haitian people. Since the removal of Aristide by the Americans, French and Canadians from Haiti in 2004, the US government has been keen to put in place authorities whom they could easily manipulate. Following the fiasco of rogue leaders since the removal of Aristide, the US also sought leadership that would have some measure of democratic credibility to the international community. Since the US claims to be the defender of democracy globally, some measure of respect for democracy seemed to be part of their approach in Haiti. They found their man in René Préval, and they have also had tremendous success in gaining support from UN forces in Haiti to crush the possibility of a rise of Fanmi Lavalas to power. They might have convinced the international community of a commitment to democracy, but the Haitians know better. It is not accidental that Haitians refused energy biscuits from the UN in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. After not having eaten for two days, who would stop to check the expiration date on food coming from as reputable a body as the UN? The Haitians are suspicious of the international community and this has everything to do with the track record of the UN, the US and France in Haiti. They have little credibility in Haiti. Reports out of Haiti are that UN forces, MINUSTAH, have collaborated with death squads in Haiti in their bid to remove meaningful opposition to undemocratic regimes there.

There has been no shortage of funding for the relief effort in Haiti. The US has asked its citizens to donate cash, avoiding assistance in food and supplies. The US authorities argue that this would be too costly a venture in time and effort. I do not believe that there is a shortage of volunteers who would dedicate their time to such an effort, but time is of the essence. The question that comes to mind then is, why did the American army take so long to get assistance to the Haitian people? The rescue efforts were the first sign of failure. One hundred and thirty-four people were rescued before the UN ended the search and rescue mission. It has been estimated that 200,000 died. We saw on televised news reports Haitians digging in search of their loved ones and fellow countrymen, while few rescue workers were shown at hotels and UN sites. There seemed to be a 'hierarchy' of humans in the minds of rescuers.

Following closely the failure of rescue efforts was the delay in getting food and medicine to the injured and hungry. It took five days for food and water to begin reaching Haitians, and reports are that the movement continues to be slow. The US commandeered the Haitians ports, with the permission of René Préval, and has been blocking the movement of personnel and supplies they have deemed unnecessary at this time. The US had 3,500 forces on the ground in Haiti within hours of the quake and forces have swelled to over 12,000. How many planes would it take to bring these forces to Haiti? Within a day after the quake, we saw Americans being returned home from Haiti, while Jamaican doctors could not land in Haiti last week. Jamaican doctors further complained that when they did arrive, their medicines did not pass through US customs in Haiti. US medics are also complaining that they too do not have enough access to medicines and materials needed to effectively carry out their work. Meanwhile, the US' priority has been getting bulldozers and soldiers through the ports into Haiti and it has managed to get valued Americans out of Haiti.

The US blamed its slow response on conditions on the ground, particularly security concerns, even while top US military commander Ken Keen argued that: "The level of violence we see now is below pre-earthquake levels." The cash-strapped Cuba was able to have medics working assiduously and the Israeli hospital was up and running, while the Americans dedicated their efforts to security. Journalists and even American doctors have repeatedly intimated that security concerns are overblown. Amy Goodman's report on Democracy Now shows that at the main university hospital in Port-au-Prince, they were starved of doctors and other medical personnel because the US army determined that it was not secure. Medics were sent to other hospitals with fewer patients because they were seen as "secure". US soldiers are now present at the hospital and Haitians who had been caring for their loved ones are now denied access to the hospital. The authorities have repeatedly told us there is a security threat in Haiti. Journalists and laymen have been asking, 'What security threat?' They have noted the patience and order of the Haitian people, when days after the quake they had not been receiving even clean water.

What does America want with Haiti? Before the fall of Baby Doc, Haiti was the ninth largest exporter of assembled goods to the US, made in American export-processing zones. This was so because of extremely low pay scale and repression of labour in Haiti. USAID opposed Aristide's 1991 efforts to raise the minimum wage from 15 to 25 gourdes, approximately US$3 per day. (Nineteen years later, the UN has committed to paying Haitians US$3 per day in reconstruction efforts, indicating there has been little progress since the removal of Aristide.) In response to Aristide's attempts to raise the minimum wage and improve workers' rights, USAID claimed the president was anti-investment; ensuring the well-being of Haitians amounted to being anti-investment for Americans.

The earthquake in Haiti must be seen in the context of America's control of the world for profit, as well as in the context of a long history of pillaging of Haiti and the subjugation of Haitian people. Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalismâ wrote on her website on January 13, that "the Heritage Foundation has been one of the leading advocates of exploiting disasters to push through their unpopular pro-corporate policies". She noted that the following quote was on the foundation's website but was removed following the quake:

"In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the US response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti offers opportunities to reshape Haiti's long dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region."

That the US should see this quake as an opportunity would not be out of character with its capitalist imperial designs. In this effort, my feeling is that the world will finance this latest opportunity through their pledges of compassion.

The Caribbean has a responsibility to Haiti, the first beacon of hope for enslaved people in the region, following the Africans' success at removing the French from Haitian soil. The region must ensure that this earthquake does not allow the US to continue to exploit the Haitians for their profit. Any rebuilding effort should initially focus on building the capacity of Haitians to feed themselves, following the destruction of peasant farming by the Americans. It must also be centred on the desires of the masses of Haitians to decide their own fate, despite the efforts of American and Haitian elites to destroy democracy there.

THAME... The earthquake in Haiti must be seen in the context of America's control of the world for profit,

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