Let The Looting of Haiti Begin
Earlier this month, in a post on Pat Robertson and Haiti, I said, “Convergent thinking turns Haiti into a divine object-lesson or a pragmatic political opportunity (just you wait and see).”
Then yesterday, this article from The Nation:
It was less than twenty-four hours after Haiti was hit by an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude that the Heritage Foundation issued a release recommending that “In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region.”
[...] As one financial analyst observed in a particularly frank article titled “An Opportunity to Heal Haiti,” published a day after the earthquake in The Street, “Here are some companies that could potentially benefit: General Electric (GE), Caterpillar (CAT), Deere (DE), Fluor (FLR), Jacobs Engineering (JEC).” And that’s not to mention the mercenary companies that, as The Nation‘s Jeremy Scahill has observed, are now setting their sights on Haiti.
Just saying. As Americans pour out their compassion toward Haiti in a variety of ways it’s doubtful that our government and corporations will be able to resist the temptation to pick Haiti’s pocket as well. What will be interesting to see is whether American Christians, Churches, and non-profits speak out against the injustice of profiteering on a larger scale. (HT: Blake Huggins)
