Posted on 03/04/2004 11:12:02 AM PST by pabianice
In land he knows well, Kidder says U.S. is to blame
Williamsburg author Tracy Kidder, who spent extended periods in Haiti over the last decade while researching his most recent book, has watched with dismay over the past month as a country he came to know well has devolved into violence and political unrest.
Kidder said he is particularly worried about the state of the public health system chronicled in his 2003 book ''Mountains Beyond Mountains,'' given the volatile political situation.
Kidder, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ''Home Town'' and other books, first visited Haiti in 1994 to write about the U.S. military action that restored President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power after a military coup.
Aristide resigned Sunday after weeks of violence by rebel groups and is now in exile in the Central African Republic.
While in Haiti, Kidder met Paul Farmer, an American doctor working to establish a clinic in the impoverished nation, who became the subject of ''Mountains Beyond Mountains.''
Kidder also visited Haiti as recently as a year ago to research an article for The Nation, and remains keenly interested in Haiti's political situation.
Three days before the resignation of Aristide, whom Kidder had interviewed during one of his visits, he published a guest column in the New York Times titled ''Why Aristide Should Stay.'' Kidder said he believes much of the news coverage over the past few weeks has misrepresented the situation and that the majority of Haiti's impoverished population supported Aristide's presidency.
In a telephone interview this week from his home in Williamsburg, Kidder said he worries that the crisis could impede efforts to get food, medicine and fuel to people who need them.
A 2002 World Bank survey ranked Haiti as the fourth most malnourished country in the world, though Farmer and the organization he established were credited with making progress in combating disease.
And although as far as he knows, none of the people who appear in the book have been harmed, he said ''one of the things that will be immediately affected will be public health.''
Kidder said he is certain, based on interviews with Aristide and his wife, Mildred Trouillot, that both supported the efforts to improve health in the country. What any subsequent government will do in that area is unclear.
''One thing I certainly hope the peacekeepers will do is to maintain the public health system that has been established and allow it to go on,'' he said.
Kidder contends the political situation in Haiti is intimately connected with U.S. foreign policy, which he said was aimed at weakening Aristide because his politics put him at odds with the Bush administration...
Just kidding.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.