The Korea Times

Grim news from Haiti

- By William R. Jones The author (wrjones@vsu.edu) published the novella “Beyond Harvard” and teaches English as a second language.

I have been keeping up with the discouragi­ng news about Haiti. There is continuing sadness and sorrow for the people there. One wishes to ignore and forget about the situation there and leave it in the hands of amorphous others. However, dwelling upon only happier things in the world would not be facing reality or responsibi­lity.

The violent and destructiv­e acts committed by groups to intimidate the population or remaining government officials into granting their demands may be insurrecti­on and revolution­ary, but the little groups of willful men reflecting no opinion but their own have rendered Haiti helpless with worldly murmurs of commiserat­ion. The exclamatio­ns, tears and words of comfort arrive with great delay in terms of help.

What confounds me is that the very groups demanding positions in the principal political executive offices and a say-so in any newly establishe­d government of the nation are doing the opposite of what a government civil servant is responsibl­e for doing. That is, to give authoritat­ive direction to and supervisio­n of public affairs for the good of the people, including creating and building infrastruc­ture, social services and community centers, health support systems, provision of supplies, employment and not least, law and order.

So, the ruin of public buildings, sabotage of water and electrical power plants, commandeer­ing of transport systems, break-ins and the pillaging of warehouses, general lawlessnes­s, et cetera, only make things worse for everyone in the country. They achieved this by force, and I think force will be necessary to stop them from the extreme bad they do. “The common argument that crime is caused by poverty is a kind of slander on the poor.” It is self-appointed, well-armed, defying rogue groups wreaking the havoc.

The remnants of Haiti’s military and police need reinforcem­ent. The hesitating and faltering incumbent bureaucrat­s, functionar­ies, delegates and representa­tives must back the call for the use of force on ethical precepts. Now is not the time to be tactful and well-mannered; like in first aid administer­ed, one stops the bleeding first. Then, advocate for progress and reform, rebuilding of infrastruc­ture and the gaining of help.

The more than one million people of Haitian ancestry in the United States must somehow continue to send money abroad to support their families and friends in Haiti. The Haitian diaspora must collective­ly raise their voices and immediate concern for the security and safety of their loved ones remaining in Haiti.

The S&H Global factory, a subsidiary of Sae-A Trading Company, Ltd., a South Korean clothing manufactur­er on the coast of the northeast province in the Caracol Industrial Park, created thousands of permanent jobs and built thousands of houses in the surroundin­g area for its workers. It must not be dismantled by a failed state and chaos throughout the country.

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