Unbelievable but true... Reporters from the Miami spanish newspaper "El Nuevo Herald" spent 4 days interviewing and photographing Haitian people that are working under inhumane conditions on the sugar cane fields of one of Dominican Republic's most influential industry giants.

This special report was done in secrecy, in order to show the real conditions these workers are exposed to.

The report is in Spanish and unfortunately there is no English translation available, since it is exclusive to the Nuevo Herald Journalists.

I will translate the essence of the report, but the pictures speak for themselves...




Translation:
The common complaint is hunger, mistreatment received from the foremen in the Vicini land, from insults to beatings and clandestine incarcerations, the deficient and in many cases inexistent medical services and inhumane exploitation of their work in exchange of an stipend that is barely enough to eat once a day.

The mathematics of avarice go to such extreme in these places that in the "Central Romana", property of the Fanjul family, influential cubanamerican Sugar cane magnates of South Florida, some workers complained that the company charges them for the machete they cut the sugar cane with.

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Link to Special Report in Spanish: http://www.miami.com/mld/elnuevo/10600456.htm

To the left there are several links. The first link is a gallery of pictures. These are the most heartbreaking and horrible pictures. There is a picture of a dead babygirl who died of malnutrition and her parents didn't even have money to buy a regular casket, so her father made one of fruit boxes....

Another picture shows a man dying of hunger.

The men in army clothing are military soldiers paid by the company to hunt Haitians that try to escape the plantation.

The worst part is that the government is aware of this, as one of the pictures shows a government bus bringing people to the plantation.

La pobreza de Haití causa estos problemas. Norteamérica haría resolviendo mejor los problemas en este hemisferio primero.

Tell that to the Bush people. They believe the war on terror has nothing to do with fighting poverty.

Poverty is the major cause of social friction and trying to better the conditions of the world population can only work to the advantage of the US and other superpowers.

Is this why Aristide (sp?) was forced out? Was he trying to help his people? Who buys the sugar from the Fanjul family? It couldn't be the huge sugar corporation in FL that contributed handsomely to Bush and got environment laws changed so they can continue destroying the Everglades, could it?

Buy C&H Sugar from Hawaii, It is a Blue Company, that way you are supporting a company that is good to its workers and the cause.

It is not just the poverty. If there is a chance to save up money on the side and build a future (living wage, which the GOP doesn't want you to have), then people have something to live for. Some insane political power hierarchies (GOP) also believe in punishing people forever, and never let them have a chance to build any kind of future. When people realize they have nothing to lose because those who control the vertical and the horizontal are making sure they will never have a life, then all hell breaks lose. Such insane and vicious policies can only be designed by greedy stupid people with low IQ (Bush). What is the purpose of unnecessarily creating enemies left and right? Do they really think they control the world and life itself?

I had respond to such an incoherent, unthoughout posting. First, we have been into Haiti on several occassions, even Clinton went in there, it didn't fix the problem. Could the US fix this problem, yes. But then you guys would have a public outcry that we are nation building yada yada yada. You bitch at the problem because it exist, but if we were to attempt to fix it you would bitch too because it was a Republican administration attempting to fix it.

Now to your comments about the GOP not wanting you to have a living wage. Thats actually quite incorrect. Republicans want people to be successful, its one of the easiest ways to grow its base. As Democrats like to stereotype that Republicans are the party of the rich, if that is the case, then logic dictates to grow this base you need to create more wealthy individuals, which portends that the Democrats must do the opposite. Unthoughout ramblings do nothing more than show your fanatical grasping to your ideology and closed-mindedness because you offer no proof to back up what you say.

Kamala Sarup: A Nation At War & Human Trafficking
Thursday, 28 April 2005, 11:43 am
Opinion: Kamala Sarup

A Nation At War And Human Trafficking

By Kamala SarupA nation at war generally fails to protect young women from traffickers. This is evident from the fact that a few thousand women in the western and eastern parts of Nepal have already been forced out of their homes due to the nine-year-old conflict. There have been no comprehensive study linking displacement and women trafficking. It's not certain how many women have been displaced and trafficked over the past decade because there is no mechanism to properly identify victims of trafficking in Nepal.

Poverty is definitely linked to trafficking but it is not the only reason. It exacerbates an already desperate situation caused by war. The trafficking of girls in Nepal is the direct consequence of years of economic and political crisis, and the low status afforded to women.

Women from minority groups such as refugee women, women living in rural or remote communities, and women in situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to trafficking. Since they have a limited access to occupations and resources, they are the ones hardest hit during economic crisis and during the war. Young women and poor children without social protection are the first to be constrained into sexual transactions due to lack of alternatives.

Displacement is the most common consequence of armed conflict. Many displaced women and their families in Nepal are still without adequate shelter and are among the most vulnerable to trafficking. In addition, it is important to note that most women suffer the impacts of war in multiple ways. One of the most tragic consequences of the long-drawn civil war has been abduction of women and children. However, the government as well as non-governmental organisations have failed to systematically identify and meet distinct needs of a large and particularly at-risk group of women and have no program for them.

A latest study published by the UNICEF calls for greater efforts to empower those who have been trafficked or who are at risk by tackling root causes in countries of origin and destination, further strengthening social protection systems to prevent child trafficking, and greater understanding of trafficking within the broader context of development, gender equality and poverty reduction, with responses shaped accordingly. The report also highlights the changing nature of trafficking, with girls and women increasingly trafficked within countries and men increasingly trafficked for labour.


Because of the war, many women are separated from their families. Rape is also reported, though it remains difficult to document. More frequently the fear of retaliation and the knowledge that nothing will be done, silences them.

Existing discriminatory laws, lack of support system for survivors of trafficking, and lack of specific laws on sexual assaults have further aided the rise in trafficking of women. Only limited attempts have been made to combat the problem over the past decade. Lack of commitment and policy implementation pose as obstacles in solving the crisis. The government has not been able to come out with concrete and effective programs to curb this problem. If governments don't prosecute and punish then, there is a tendency for it to continue. A coordinated approach to the problem is central to effective and sustainable solution.

On the other hand, across the country the women trafficking has produced a health epidemic. However, HIV and conflict create a double jeopardy for women because the internal war had not allowed the country to set up the necessary conditions required to combat HIV/AIDS. Women's health can be effective only in as much as the security of victims or armed conflict is guaranteed.

On the other hand, special attention must be given to the encouragement of economic growth in the rural areas. For this reason, alternative income generation strategies are needed. It is necessary to carry out work for prevention of trafficking, protection of victims and arrest of criminals. The work on first two directions in Nepal is not satisfactory.

It is crucial to mobilize mass media on matters related to women trafficking and HIV/AIDS, condom promotion in order to reach a considerable number of people and helping to fight the problem and disease. Broad alliances involving governments, voluntary organizations, local communities, workplaces, and schools and the military must be part of this joint effort. For trafficking to be addressed in situations of conflict may well require a psychological and political revolution. The invisible will need to become a political priority.

Education and awareness are the two powerful instruments, which can check the spread of the problem. Women trafficking should be addressed during a conflict rather than waiting until it has ended.


*************
(This article was published in Nepalnews.com. Kamala Sarup is editor of http://peacejournalism.com/ )

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0504/S00279.htm

Nepal rebels attack military post, 30 killed Reuters AlertNet

No arms to Nepal now: US Xinhua

Nepal's rebels offer to support political parties against King Hindu

The way to fix this and all such problems are to not do "business" with repressive governments. But Republicans don't care about such "minor" issues such as as ethics, and human rights when there's MONEY to be made. Thats' why we Liberals don't trust the GOP to do ANYTHING. Oh, that's inaccurate; We trust you to LIE!

Proof? You just lied in responding to the above post. You said Republicans WANT more wealthy people (to expand your base). Let's see, how does outsourcing Americans jobs create more wealthy Americans? This only makes already wealthy CEO's richer, by increasing the value of their Stock Options.

How does the Bankrupcy Bill make more wealthy Americans? People who have lost their job, or had a medical emergency, etc and want to start over are now restrained from moving on towards rebuilding their lives. At the same time the Republicans pass "Tort Reform", and make sure Corporations can not only file for Banckrupcy but are protected from any responsibilty to not harm the public. How does this create more wealthy Americans?

Republicans Passed the Medicare Prescription Drug Law through fraud and bribery. And made DAMN SURE that Americans will have to pay the Jacked Up prices for their needed medications. How does this create more wealthy Americans? Republicans passed "new rules" on overtime pay that reduces the income of up to 8 million Americans. How does this create more wealthy Americans?

Republicans made sure that United Airlines could declare bankrupcy and not pay it's Pensioners.They also voted to underfund the Pension Insurance Agency, and support big corporations moves to eliminate Pension programs, and go to a cash out program. How does this create more wealthy Americans?

Republicans don't support increasing the Minimum Wage, and are actively trying to destroy Social Security. They are borrowing and spending our country into ruin, and are completely in the pocket of Big Business! How does this create more wealthy Americans, eh?

Or does it just make already wealthy people wealthier, at the expense of the rest of America!

Nepal police break up pro-democracy rally Reuters

In reply to the original post about Haitians:

The plight of the Haitian people is a shame on this hemisphere. These people have been exploited for several hundred years and are now being ignored by the world, for all practical purposes. The devastation from last year's hurricanes, for instance, was largely ignored
by the world. This is a country that needs re-forestation desperately and a massive influx of
food stuffs. Because there is no employment, the Haitian people are forced to cross the mountains into the Dominican Republic to find work.

It's a long sad, saga and a human tragedy happens so close to our shores. Shame on us.

BBC World Service is doing a series on this scourge:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/...ery/default.stm