[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 4, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1144-E1145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HAITI, BACK TO THE CRISIS STAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, the time has come to call attention to the 
food crisis which threatens to have a worldwide impact; I want to enter 
into the Record an editorial from the New York CaribNews for the week 
ending April 22, 2008, ``Haiti, Back to the Crisis Stage, Food Crisis 
and Riots Underscore Dire Economic and Social Conditions that Require 
Urgent Attention.''
  Rising food prices are fueling the global hunger crisis. Haiti is the 
poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and oldest black sovereign 
state. It is sad to think of Haitians demonstrating and taking to the 
streets in order to call the world's attention to the fact ordinary 
people cannot afford to buy food. The World Bank estimates that food 
prices have gone up by 83 percent globally over the last 3 years. The 
country is struggling to stabilize itself and now rising food prices 
threaten the progress that has been made.
  Haiti's need for assistance is a result of joblessness, high infant 
mortality, and dependence on imported food, inadequate health care 
services and poor educational opportunities. It is time for the 
international donor community to live up to the promises made to Haiti. 
The World Bank has outlined a strategy for the Government of Haiti, 
which includes helping the country to deliver rapid results, through 
jobs and basic services to foster development over the long term.
  This article points out the critical need for not only long term 
solutions but short and interim term solutions to rush assistance to 
those in greatest need. The right type of assistance is paramount in 
maintaining stability in Haiti, allowing the country to continue to 
make progress towards self sufficiency, which will help bring an end to 
the suffering.
  Haiti serves a wake up call to the potential looming global food 
crisis. It is taking an immense toll on the world's poorest people, who 
typically spend up to 80 percent of their income on food. After many 
years of working to end hunger and poverty, the United States and other 
developed nations must put forth bolder efforts to ensure progress is 
not lost in resolving global hunger.

Haiti, Back to the Crisis Stage: Food Crisis and Riots Underscore Dire 
      Economic and Social Condition That Requires Urgent Attention

       Just when people in different parts of the world, 
     especially the Caribbean and the Haitian Diaspora, dared to 
     dream that Haiti was on the mend and making progress, food 
     riots broke out in the capital of Port au Prince a few day 
     ago and they cost the Prime Minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis, 
     his job.
       And if some members of the Senate get their way, the next 
     on the list would be President Rene Preval, the duly elected 
     chief of state, who has brought a measure of stability to the 
     French-speaking Caribbean nations, the oldest Black sovereign 
     state in the Western Hemisphere.
       Any attack on the President would be a tragedy.
       Few people, if any at all, could get angry with the 
     demonstrators for taking to the streets to let the world know 
     that they are

[[Page E1145]]

     hungry and need food at affordable prices. After all, as 
     Michael Hess, a senior administrator of the United States 
     Agency for International development, explained it, ``people 
     are making two dollars a day and we're seeing food prices go 
     up around the world.''
       In other words, what do you expect when people are pushed 
     up against the wall and don't have anywhere else to turn.
       The dire food situation in Haiti and the social upheaval it 
     caused have not only dramatized the crisis confronting 
     developing countries as imported food and fertilizers go 
     through the roof in the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, the 
     Middle East and other regions of the world but it points to 
     the unstable economic and social conditions in Haiti.
       Here's a country that is among the poorest of the poor and 
     it is feeling the full force of escalating global food 
     prices, It is clear that the current situation if not 
     remedied soon can lead to mass starvation and undermine its 
     government. In a country which has had more than its fair 
     share of economic and social problems for more than two 
     hundred years, the specter of widespread hunger should be 
     enough to convince donor nations and development 
     institutions that Haiti's problems can't be ignored any 
     longer.
       According to estimates by reputable international 
     organizations, Haiti has enough food to satisfy its people's 
     needs but the problem is that millions of nationals can't 
     afford to buy it. That reflects both the chronic long-term 
     poverty picture and the current nightmare of rising food 
     costs. It is as if Haitians are caught between two crushing 
     pinchers.
       Obviously time is not on the side of Haitians, a nightmare 
     that's evident in the prediction of aid organizations that 
     the nutritional crisis can lead to further impoverishment. 
     That would be a crying shame for several reasons.
       First, the international donor community has promised much 
     to Haiti but has often failed to live up to its word. Last 
     weekends riots underscore the people's plight and the obvious 
     need for prompt international action, a point made by Robert 
     Zoelick, President of the World Bank.
       We couldn't agree more.
       Secondly, the pace of improvement has been too slow. There 
     is a need to accelerate the rate of overall national 
     development and not simply treat the food crisis as if it 
     were an isolated phenomenon.
       Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and 
     its unstable political and economic picture is the result of 
     indifference of some of its former leaders and exploitation 
     by foreign governments and interests, especially the U.S. 
     whose role in the country often ignored what's best for the 
     people.
       The country cries out for assistance. It has chronic 
     problems of joblessness, high infant mortality, dependence on 
     imported food, inadequate education and health care services 
     and the like.
       The riots which left at least seven people, including a 
     Nigerian soldier attached to the United Nations military 
     force, dead and millions of dollars in damage can erupt again 
     if people become convinced that their appeals for a long-term 
     solution are falling on deaf ears.
       So, it's important that a short, medium and long-term 
     solution be implemented with the involvement of Haitians. Far 
     too often tens of millions of dollars were set aside for the 
     country's development but in the end the country remains 
     poor. That's because the average Haitian was never the 
     intended beneficiary. That has perpetuated a cycle of poverty 
     that must be ended so that people there can enjoy the kind of 
     economic success that we know is possible.
       But Haitians too have a responsibility to push the process 
     forward. The Haitian Diaspora has played its part, sending 
     back more than $4 billion to relatives since 2002 and many of 
     the improvements in housing, for instance can be traced 
     directly to the remittances. But the flow of that money is 
     being threatened by the economic slowdown in the United 
     States. It would be a pity because a reduction would heighten 
     suffering. Coupled with the 50 percent rise in food prices 
     since the middle of last year a cut in assistance and 
     remittances would be a triple whammy, widening hunger, social 
     upheaval and desperation.

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