After the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12 and destroyed Port-au-Prince, Haitians are anxiously waiting to get on with their lives and for their country to be rebuilt.
Coincidentally, when the earthquake hit Haiti, I was reading Naomi Klein’s book “The Shock Doctrine”. It looks at how governments use natural, or man-made, disasters to move in and make it more “friendly” for business interests.
The more I read, the more I realized that, of course, you cannot stop natural disasters from occurring, but there must be a reason why Haiti was left in this state for so long. It is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and has been for a very long time.
After years of dictatorial rule, Haitians democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide. But he was soon ousted by foreign powers, mainly the U.S., France and Canada. So it seems western countries have kept Haiti unstable for some unknown purpose.
Now the world must keep an eye on Haiti and ensure that the country is able to be rebuilt according to their needs, not those of corporate interests.
Adam Bemma is a journalist, humanitarian, and media consultant based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Adam Bemma 
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