oaf@mit-vax.UUCP (Oded Feingold) (02/11/86)
Like Monsieur Simon, I am pleased as punch that Duvalier is gone.
I even believe the Haitians have a fighting chance of making
democracy happen - I don't doubt they intend to try. Of course,
Mr. Reagan has a powerful voice in that - he can dangle the
country by its pursestrings.
I've met quite a few Haitians - the neighborhood around this side
of MIT is pretty full of them. If those people are at all
representative, they deserve far better. [Everyone does, but
these guys seem yet nicer than the average persecuted minority.]
On to American relationships with Haitians - the state department
has consistently labeled their refugees economic rather than
political, and refused them entry. American boats carrying
refugees have dumped them into the ocean to drown, rather than be
apprehended carrying them. [Presumably, that's partly motivated
by the reaction the State Department has had toward them.] In
Boston, city of racist gangster punks, they have been singled out
for physical attack, for rent-gouging (Cambridge too, by golly),
for shitwork, for low pay, for general abuse. During the time
when being Haitian was considered a risk factor for AIDS (a
hypothesis recently debunked) they received worse treatment
still, as well as the light-hearted assumption that any Haitian
male was gay, hence open to yet more ostracism and abuse.
It's a _Good_ _Thing_ they're just niggers -- could we
explain such mistreatment of humans?
The US treatment of Haiti has been shameful, to put it mildly.
That goes for public attitudes as well as government policy. I
don't understand why they don't hate Estadounidenses guts.
(Maybe they do but they're just polite.) In any case, we owe
them - the major powers have enslaved that country long enough.
[Aside: Once the airport opens, I think I'm going to zip down
there and see the place. Also take a few measurements as to what
medical (and other) supplies are most urgently needed. If my
French is broken enough to pass muster in Quebec, the language
should be a snap. If my ghostwriter doesn't quit, I may even
report on that in a few weeks.]
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Oded Feingold MIT AI Lab. 545 Tech Square Cambridge, Mass. 02139
OAF%OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA {harvard, ihnp4!mit-eddie}!mit-vax!oaf 617-253-8598