It came to me that in writing a paper I should choose something of much relevance to me and to all people as well. Thus, I decided to focus on issues of my native island, Hispaniola as they now call it or better Ayti-Quisqueya, the Native American name. But, more specifically I will focus on the Republic of Haiti, as this country is the epitome of a man made environmental disaster.
Haiti is now only 2% forest land compared to 60% in 1923. This disaster is a direct consequence of human exploitation of the land. Most Haitians rely on wood for subsistence, and this in turn caused an almost complete deforestation of the land. Now, this case is rather different than most scenarios of environmental depletion where big corporations are responsible for the disasters. Instead, the poor people, which constitute over 90% of the population of Haiti are responsible for the problem.
Nevertheless, this is a mere superficial understanding of the situation. Through my research paper I will seek to prove that this is a consequence of racist foreign policies, especially American policies, that have driven the Haitian peasant to completely subsist on wood because of such drastic poverty levels. The American government claims to have intervened in Iraq because people were subject to many human rights violations, yet neighboring countries such as Haiti have remained virtually ignored despite obvious violations of human rights.
I know my topic is rather controversial and difficult to support; nevertheless, I think it is an important point to prove. Not only does this thesis convey what exploitation of the land can do to entire countries, continents and eventually the world, but also that ecological destruction is a political issue as well.
I intend to write this paper for American people who care about helping others and themselves as well. I contend that a lot of the problems of the world, especially those in countries in the Americas, have been caused to large degree by the United States and the American powerful corporations that exploit the resources and the people of other countries.
Sites I will use:
Hartford-Hwp: This site provides general environmental background of Haiti. Moreover, it has records of different economic policies throughout Haiti’s history.
Haiti Innovation: This site is very thorough. It contains the latest news about Haiti and its economy. Although, I believe this is a blog, it does have lots of information that will at least get me started in the process of writing my paper.
Zmag: This is not a website but an article I find to be veryrelevant to my topic. This article was written by Noam Chomsky and though I know I probably will not use this as a source per se, it is a great starting point.
Haiti is now only 2% forest land compared to 60% in 1923. This disaster is a direct consequence of human exploitation of the land. Most Haitians rely on wood for subsistence, and this in turn caused an almost complete deforestation of the land. Now, this case is rather different than most scenarios of environmental depletion where big corporations are responsible for the disasters. Instead, the poor people, which constitute over 90% of the population of Haiti are responsible for the problem.
Nevertheless, this is a mere superficial understanding of the situation. Through my research paper I will seek to prove that this is a consequence of racist foreign policies, especially American policies, that have driven the Haitian peasant to completely subsist on wood because of such drastic poverty levels. The American government claims to have intervened in Iraq because people were subject to many human rights violations, yet neighboring countries such as Haiti have remained virtually ignored despite obvious violations of human rights.
I know my topic is rather controversial and difficult to support; nevertheless, I think it is an important point to prove. Not only does this thesis convey what exploitation of the land can do to entire countries, continents and eventually the world, but also that ecological destruction is a political issue as well.
I intend to write this paper for American people who care about helping others and themselves as well. I contend that a lot of the problems of the world, especially those in countries in the Americas, have been caused to large degree by the United States and the American powerful corporations that exploit the resources and the people of other countries.
Sites I will use:
Hartford-Hwp: This site provides general environmental background of Haiti. Moreover, it has records of different economic policies throughout Haiti’s history.
Haiti Innovation: This site is very thorough. It contains the latest news about Haiti and its economy. Although, I believe this is a blog, it does have lots of information that will at least get me started in the process of writing my paper.
Zmag: This is not a website but an article I find to be veryrelevant to my topic. This article was written by Noam Chomsky and though I know I probably will not use this as a source per se, it is a great starting point.
5 comments:
Well to answer your questions, as I mentioned on the link,yes the language of the Guarani was recognized in Paraguay but not by the parliament of Mercosur. Thats what the whole prejudicial, "its not fair" argument from the organization of multilingualism was about.
Next, the Guarani people are constant subjects of environment racism on the grounds that they as a people are not recognized as citizens, and to some not even people, much the same way as African American slaves were once percieved in our country,therefore although they may have occupied an area of land for generations,ranchers and land developers simply plow through them, terrorizing them, forcing them to leave.Thats just one example. =)
umm, is that a bit more clear, or do u think i should go back and add that to my blog?
Jocelyn =) Thanx for the suggestions
I think your goal to write to inform by using this paper, is a great start--exploitation, disasters, and enviromental status. But since you are aware of the the contreversy that surrounds your topic, my only advice would be to leave the opionions, yours or any bias information out of the paper.
Sounds good. It'll be hard but it'll also be worth it and you will have something original.
Ok seeing that I am haitian yes wood is a big source of income. You can't really blame the U.S. for this. What are they going to do come in make people stop stripping wood then take away all of their income. If you want to look at this topic look at Aristide and neo-libralism and why Haitians can't make money in other ways. Also please don't call my people peasents. Just think of it from their side why would they make laws to stop deforestation when that is how they make their little 50cents a day. Also look at the other side of the island and how they have treated us and our side.
It seems that you are settled for your topic. Also, it seems that you know and have a lot of information about the problem in Haiti I agree with Jan you need to put at side your opinions. Perhaps you can turn your opinions with actual information. The majority of the time you might loss track of what you are writing. However, your ideas are great for the research.
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