In Hungry Haiti, Dirt Is Food

Associated Press ^ | January 29, 2008 | JONATHAN M. KATZ

[tbw2]

Is that from Weird al yankovich?

[familyop]

Let them eat dirt. We need the biofuels to keep our import economy going.

[mountainbunny]

A sad mess.
I have friends who used to go down there on missionary work 25 years ago and things were dire then, too.
I can’t recall a time in my lifetime when Haiti wasn’t a crumbling disaster in the making.

[dragonblustar]

Gives a new meaning to chitting bricks.

[decimon]

We need the biofuels to keep our import economy going.

I think that is the least of any food shortage problem they have.

[cripplecreek]

Seems that I read somewhere that they have an astronomical crack addiction rate there as well.

[kiriath_jearim]

“The only cure to Haiti will be to invade, completely take over the country, and run it as a territory of the US for at least 2 generations.”

The US Marines did that early in the 20th century and stayed there until at least the 1930s. It didn’t seem to help, though.

[daku]

This is going to sound cold-hearted, but I have to say ...

I think one is very lazy to BUY DIRT to make cookies,

[Chode]

where 16 year old Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings and two unemployed parents...

and the cycle continues...

[MrEdd]

Of course.

[I Hired Craig Livingstone]

It’s terrible and it’s sad, but the problem isn’t those of those who “have”. “Have not” is the natural order of things for the bulk of humankind and human history. With a capitalist system, the rule of law, and relatively low corruption, societies can pull themselves out of this state... unfortunately, with the encouragement of the world’s intellectual elite, more emphasis is placed on maintaining “culture” and “fairness”.

[SlapHappyPappy]

To be fair it seems to be some special kind of dirt that is trucked in. Not sure why it’s special beyond being yellow though.

[PugetSoundSoldier]

I would hope that if we went in, it would be more along the lines of rebuilding Germany, Japan, and Iraq. The early escapades were more a means to keep others out, rather than strengthening Haiti itself.

[Moonman62]

There are a lot of Haitians in the Boston area, and --- I have to add this --- they're beautiful.

Maybe you'll be lucky enough to have them take over your neighborhood.

[Centurion2000]

Fine ... eradicate the native population and colonize the place.

Would that make AP happier?

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Raising Arizona was one weird movie. Bill Rosz was even in it!

[Neidermeyer]

Put the U.N. in charge .... move their HQ there.

empty the local markets of every person that seems to understand running a business and issue them some land and all the supplies they need to start a farm... immediately plant every piece of gov’t owned dirt with citrus , mango’s , papayas and every other kind of fruit tree...

[Toskrin]

Like most stuff that comes out of the media, this is a bit misleading. There's no doubt that Haiti is a hellhole and that people can't afford food, but plenty of country Black people in the South used to eat clay when they were able to afford food.

I suspect eating dirt in Haiti is more tradition than starvation.

[P8triot1]

Taking over Haiti isn’t the answer. We don’t need to mix that level of poverty into our society. (see tagline)

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

I recently saw cruise boats are returning to Haiti and I thought to myself WHY? I am thinking of booking one to show my kids how good they have it.