28 March 2012 | Interviews | 3rd Special Conference for Food Sovereignty | Land grabbing | Food Sovereignty
Worse than the Earthquake
Interview with Fran Saint Jean of the Haitian Platform for Alternative Development
Download: MP3 (992.1 kb)
Haiti, the Caribbean country that was hit by an earthquake in 2010 destroying most of the infrastructure and decimating the population and economy, is now the poorest country in the world. And in addition it faces not only the challenge of reconstruction, but also the challenge of the military, transnational and NGO occupation which has taken control by substituting the government and civil society organizations.
Several representatives of Latin American and Caribbean organizations and movements met at the 3rd Special Conference of the Social Movements for Food Sovereignty which took place in Buenos Aires, from March 22-25. One of the delegations was from Haiti.
Fran Saint Jean of the Haitian Platform for Alternative Development explained to Real World Radio the historical consequences of what he calls an occupation that started in 1915 with the US invasion and that two years after the earthquake continues to deepen.
Saint Jean said that we are experiencing a capitalist control led by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the UN armed forces and multinational companies, such as Monsanto, that is trying to introduce its GM seeds through “donations”.
The activist said that Monsanto’s presence has grown after the arrival of food aid for the island, since the transnational company is flooding the countryside with GM rice, cotton and maize seeds. In addition, there are expansion plans in tax-free zones for the cultivation of jatropha for agrofuels.
Meanwhile, some non governmental organizations are receiving millions of dollars from the international community. This aid does not reach the people, said Saint Jean. At the same time, half a million people are living currently on the streets in the country located in Hispaniola island, next to Dominican Republic.
