to be a government official or a kleptocrat when you do it. I'm pissed because I'm reading about Baby Doc Duvalier eating at fancy restaurants in Haiti. Not that long ago I was reading about how all this aid money that is supposed to go to NGO's to help rebuild isn't going to the grass roots, on the ground, local groups. Fuckers.
The other day I was thinking about the places in the world I would like to visit. Always at the top of my list are places I am not allowed or advised to go. An ex, when discussing this list once upon a time, screamed at me "why do you love everything that other people hate?" Haiti has been on that list for a long time, and the sad truth is that it is probably safer for me to visit Haiti* now as an English speaking white woman than it has been in 20 years, even though the danger for a poor Haitian woman has skyrocketed since the earthquake.
*So I checked the State Department's web site and they are advising travel "only if travel is fully supported by organizations with solid infrastructure, evacuation options, and medical support systems in place". The only groups I can think of with the resources for that, besides the big name aid agencies, are disaster capitalist profiteers with security firms under contract.
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