While most Americans are proud of the US military for stepping into the void in Haiti, and American families watch loved ones leave home with only a couple days of notice to risk their lives in filth and chaos. And, while all the news is filled with warm and fuzzy stories of American school children collecting pennies for the kids of Haiti, the World Socialist Web Site, a Socialist (really Marxist?) rag, is saying it is all about US imperialism and a plan to take over Haiti! Hey WSWS, most Americans don’t want Haiti!
The US military intervention in Haiti is criminal in both form and content. Disguised as a humanitarian rescue operation, its main aim is to build up the necessary firepower to terrorize the masses into accepting a shocking lack of treatment without protest. Even taken on its own terms, the US occupation of Haiti has not taken the opportunities available to it to treat wounded Haitians.
This operation recalls the March 1993 US intervention in Somalia, when US forces invaded that strategically-located country, supposedly to help relieve famine. US forces were soon deeply entangled in civil war and hated by the population, leading up to a shoot-out between US forces and civilians in Mogadishu. Current US operations in Haiti are preparing similar confrontations with the population.
The rescue efforts in Haiti are held hostage by a US national security establishment that is completely impervious to popular sympathy for the victims of the earthquake, and unanswerable to the masses—of Haiti or any other country, including the US itself. Instead, as the death toll mounts, there is an unspoken but unanimous agreement in the international media that it is legitimate for the US military to dictate how operations will proceed.
And, if that is not enough they go on to say we are going to imprison refugees. Let me tell you WSWS, a large portion of the American public thinks it’s o.k. to help Haitians where they live in the initial humanitarian rescue phase, but they needn’t come here. Believe it or not, we don’t need more cheap labor. Another large portion of the American public also thinks we ought to be rebuilding Detroit before we rebuild Port au Prince.
US officials are also warning Haitians that, if they try to flee from Haiti to the US, they will be deported back to Haiti. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said: “There may be an impulse to leave the island to come here. You will not qualify for TPS [Temporary Protected] status.” This would allow the US to deport them upon arrival.
Officials in Miami, a city with a large Haitian immigrant population, are watching for signs of a mass flght from Haiti to the US. Democratic Representative Kendrick B. Meek noted, “The entire community is emotionally attached to Haiti, and it’s been rough,” adding that Haitian-Americans form the bulk of the workforce for many major employers in the region. However, officials are preparing prisons for potential Haitian refugees.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would move 400 detainees from the Krome detention facility to an undisclosed location, to free up space in case any Haitians manage to reach US shores.
Most Americans agree that would be a prudent thing to do, even the Socialist-leaning Obama Administration knows that.
When the average American sees this attack on our generosity, the reaction is probably similar to mine—o.k. Socialists of the world just hussle yourselves to Haiti and take care of the mess and leave America alone!
Readers: It looks like Haitian refugee issues will be with us for a long time, so I’m making a new category for Haiti. I’ll go back shortly and be sure all the posts we’ve previously written on the subject are placed in the category for your review.