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Haitian food riots unnerving but not surprising

Food riots in Haiti: a crisis with deep roots



Authors: M. Schuller
Publisher: Center for International Policy, 2008

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Beginning in early April, Haiti was gripped by a nationwide mobilisation to protest against high food prices, reaching a crescendo on Thursday the 10th, as thousands of people took to the streets. Some protesters burned tires, blocking national highways and city streets in Port-au-Prince, and a few looted local stores. Clashes with police and United Nations troops resulted in an official count of five dead. The media covered these events during the days of the crisis but offered little information to explain the protests.

This article argues that the loss of life, property damage and the resulting climate of fear, are only the most visible manifestations of a crisis with much deeper roots. Both the Haitian government and the international community, it is asserted, have played important roles in creating the current crisis.

Amongst points argued are:

  • the events in Haiti need to be viewed in context and not simply as “Haitian exceptionalism” based on the stereotypic narrative of Haitians being violent, unruly, ungodly, and dangerous
  • Haiti needs to be seen as an early warning, the country's geopolitical position - especially its close proximity to the United States and level of dependence on foreign aid - highlights the contradictions and flaws in the system of international aid and growing global food crisis
  • long-term solutions will have to address both the world's dependence on oil and the inequalities in distribution within the global system

 The author argues that the Jubilee Act - a complete, immediate cancellation of the debts of 67 southern countries, of which Haiti is one, without conditionalities – offers one solution to relieve the pressure of neoliberalism and aid Haiti's recovery. To unravel the inequalities of this contemporary neoliberal world system, the author concludes, it is best to start with the thread that is already loose.

 

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