Just when we may think we know what's wrong and what can be done, someone puts out an article that opens our eyes.

I learned today that it was the United States' perceived charity and help to Haiti and other countries decades ago that is still continuing to impact the impoverished country.

From the colonial era all the way to the late 1980's, the country of Haiti had food crops to speak of. Then the US subsidized rice to the Haitians that was so cheap, that all rice farming on the Haitian side of the shared island of Hispanola all but ceased.

Today, thanks in part to Global Warming and the Ethanol movement, food prices worldwide are skyrocketing. Any food that ethanol is also made from (corn, rice, soy, etc) continues to see prices soar.

Haiti is left to stand on imports. As you may or may not know, Haitians depend on more than 90% of their goods to be imported. They can't grow foodstuffs because of the escalating price of fertilizer and the $2/day income that the average Haitian is living off.

In short, please read the attached article, it will open your eyes to the effects of the current food crisis and other matters core to Haitian oppression.

Original Article: http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2008/05/15/roots_...