by Mark Silva
"Haiti isn't doomed,'' writes Bill Clinton, the United Nations special envoy to Haiti and former president who, as is his custom, has been attempting to make a personal connection with an earthquake-stricken nation.
"Hillary and I went to Haiti for the first time in December 1975,'' Clinton writes in an essay for Time magazine. "A banker friend of ours had some business down there. He had built up a lot of frequent-flyer miles and called and said he was giving us a delayed honeymoon. We were married in October, and we went down there in December. Both of us just kind of fell in love with the country, and I have kept up with it ever since.
"Why is Haiti so special to me?'' Clinton writes. "Haiti is completely unique in our hemisphere because of its history and culture. There are other French Caribbean islands, but none of them have Haiti's particular Creole influence. None of them feature Haiti's distinctive mix of West African religious and cultural influences, the most visible of which is the persistence of the voodoo faith, which is practiced alongside Christianity.
"Unfortunately, ever since the first slave revolt by Haitians in 1791, the country has been beset by abuses caused from within and without. It has never been able to fulfill its potential as a nation,'' he writes. "But I think it can. Haitian immigrants do very well when they come to America or France or Canada. I've always thought that given the right organization and support, Haiti could become a self-sustaining and very successful country. I still believe that.
"In order to stave off a disaster and get Haiti on its feet again, the world needs to respond in rapid and coordinated fashion. The focus first must be on search and rescue, and on meeting people's basic human needs....
"Haiti isn't doomed,'' Clinton writes. "Before this disaster, Haiti had the best chance in my lifetime to fulfill its potential as a country, to basically escape the chains of the past 200 years. I still believe that if we rally around them now and support them in the right way, the Haitian people can reclaim their destiny.''
Comments
I didn't think Frequent Flyer Miles started until the 1980's ?
Is this a lie to cover upsomething else, or did he just want to make it look like he was "poorer" than he was ?
Posted by: Dennis Leh | January 18, 2010 9:12 PM
As a management consultant I am interested in assisting the Haitian government rebuild the country. Please contact me if you have interest.
Bill Tallman
President
The Tallman Group
whtgroup@sbcglobal.net
Posted by: Bill Tallman | May 9, 2010 3:43 AM