Sandy: Haiti fears food shortages after hurricane-Added COMMENTARY By Haitian-Truth

Child walks through damaged fields in Leogane - 27 October Farmlands in southern Haiti were extensively damaged

Fears are growing of food shortages in Haiti, after the strong winds and heavy rain of Hurricane Sandy caused extensive crop damage.

Aid workers and officials are also warning that flooding could lead to a sharp rise in cholera cases.

Sandy is blamed for some 70 deaths in the Caribbean. Of these more than 50 were in Haiti.

In Jamaica and Cuba, which took direct hits from the hurricane, the clean-up is also continuing.

Sandy, which was a category one hurricane when it clipped Haiti last week, brought heavy rain and flooding.

At least 54 people died in what Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe called a “disaster of major proportions”.

There is concern that floods and unsanitary conditions could led to an increase in cholera cases.

More than 7,500 people have died in the cholera epidemic in Haiti since late 2010. Hundreds of new cases are still being registered every week.

Another big worry is the damage to the agriculture sector.

More than 70% of crops – including bananas, plantains and maize – were destroyed in the south of the country, officials said.

Food insecurity, particularly in this part of Haiti, was already a major concern.

Rising food prices have in the past triggered at times violent demonstrations in Haiti.

In Jamaica, Sandy caused extensive damage to crops, including coffee and bananas.

Dozens of houses were destroyed and many more damaged.

“Even before the hurricane we faced serious economic challenges. This has been made worse by the passage of Hurricane Sandy,” Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said.

Man salvages bricks in Santiago after Hurricane Sandy hit - 27 October Santiago in eastern Cuba bore the brunt of the hurricane

Eleven people died in Cuba, making Sandy one of the deadliest storms there in recent years.

The eastern province of Santiago was the worst-hit, with flooding and landslides destroying crops, knocking out power and damaging buildings.

President Raul Castro, who toured the area on Sunday, warned that recovery would take a long time.

“It’s been hard. But Santiago is Santiago. It’s resisted gales and wars of every type. It will overcome this,” he was quoted as saying by the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

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COMMENT: HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG

In 1986, Haiti was an exporter of food supplies. However, the American desire to inflict Democracy on Haiti saw this positive balance turn into a negative one – coupled with the loss of security, good schooling, investment, tourism, law-and-order and Hope – all for the word DEMOCRACY a term that was better understood by Duvalier than Aristide and Preval.

Immediately after Duvalier’s departure, the Americans dumped vast quantities of American rice into Haiti, effectively destroying the rice production of our Artibonite Valley. Haiti produced large quantities of poultry and eggs. Now we import a zillion eggs and chicken from the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere.

Any effort to revive the rice production will be met with violent opposition of the mafia that now controls importation of rice…. now worth something close to $1,000,000,000 per year.

Some make fortunes while many starve.

Democracy has no calories.

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1 thought on “Sandy: Haiti fears food shortages after hurricane-Added COMMENTARY By Haitian-Truth

  1. I can recall Marc Bazin, during the 1991-1994 embargo when, as Prime Minister, received approval to import inexpensive rice, tax free, to feed starving children. Bazin made $2,500,000 on the deal and the children starved.

    I can remember when Marc Bazin, and his brother, had a strip joint with sex shows. On one occasion they forced a 17 year old girl to have sex with a do. As a result she committed suicide.

    He was really a bum.

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