Let them eat dirt

[AR]

Things have come to a terrible pass in Haiti.

According to stories I've read this week, echoed by a piece on NBC News this evening, the pervasive poverty in this, the poorest nation in the hemisphere has made the standard meal for the majority of the people there "dirt cookies." The recipe is simple: butter, water, salt and dirt. It staves off starvation, but causes massive gastrointestinal problems.

With 80% of the people trying to survive on less than $2 a day, these utterly subjugated people have fallen victim to massive increases in food prices with no hope of getting more money to pay for it. The government of Haiti, which for generations has run the gamut between dictatorship and utter corruption, has asked the people to stop rioting.

Meanwhile, cruise ships stop at Labadee, a little enclave carved into the shoreline of this pathetically impoverished nation, and vacationing revelers hit the beach to partake of water sports, all-you-can-eat barbeque and plentiful umbrella drinks. It is sinful.

No amount of buying trinkets from the few locals who are allowed past the barbed wire can justify setting foot on this ground for the purposes of fun, games, food and drink. What is happening there is a crime against humanity, and no cruise ship or cruise passenger should go near it, nor should any cruise line continue to pay tribute money to that hateful government for the privelige of disgorging merrymakers there.

Skip that cruise.

[Marc]

Although I agree that one should skip Haiti as there are plenty of alternative spots to relax on the beach in the Caribbean, I would be careful of extending your reasoning too far. Many said not to go to Myanmar during the uprisings last year; however, reports since have shown that the locals are welcoming the return of tourists as it does provide a good livelihood. The same is going to be true in Tibet once they reopen to tourists.

If I limited my travel to only those places with "good" governments and conditions for there people; I would limit my travel too much; e.g., I would have never seen the Eiffel Tower. I agree that there are suitable substitutes for Haiti, and would choose them when given the choice. Luckily the Haitian Prime Minister was removed today so lets hope for some improvement.

[AR]

Marc--

That's a good point, except that the Labadee situation is somewhat unique in this respect:

You don't actually visit Haiti in any traditional way. You're penned up in an enclosed compound, and except for the few locals I mentioned who are apparently allowed in to Labadee to sell their wares, you don't see any Haitians, and they don't see you. I'm sure that 90% of Haitians don't know what Labadee is or what goes on there. According to an article I read last year, cruise passengers are essentially forbidden from leaving the enclosed area. Anyone who does has to sign a really scary release, because the entire nation, except for Labadee, is incredibly dangerous.

So your point is well taken about Myanmar, and your France comment made me laugh. But I think a close examination reveals that the Labadee situation is quite different, especially because it's a cinch that the fees paid to the government for the use of Labadee don't "trickle down" to the common folk.

[venice]

so if you are the public relations folks at Royal Caribbean watching this on CNN, how are you putting your "spin" on the situation ?

AR..are you suggesting that Royal Caribbean use it's position to try to make this situation better? I do remember the cruise industry repostion it's ships away from Jamaica due to tourist being exposed to crime and gun problems back in the 80's and it put pressure on the island government to clean up that problem or face the economic loss

[thecruisequeen]

I'm looking forward to a day at Labadee in just over two months. One of my favorite ports. 8)

My son loves Labadee also.

[Mike M]

I agree that Haiti is probably the worst spot in the Northern Hemisphere but I also note that most cruisers have no idea that Labadee is Haiti.

Things have, once again, gotten worse there. Sadly, it isn't anything new. Since the regimes of Papa "Doc" and "Baby Doc", Haiti has been nothing more than an outpost of poverty. The islands deforestation due to lack of fuel is an example of this. The Haitian refugees of the '80's also show that these problems are nothing new. Now another story has come out out about the food shortages in Haiti. (BTW: It isn't just Haiti) It has always seemed to me that Haiti was a place that made the news once in awhile and people said "Oh look how bad it is." but then it was quickly forgotten by the media and people. I, sadly, believe this is what will happen now. There will be some press, perhaps a new "government" will come to power and Haiti will go back into obscurity for a few years until the next time some journalist does a story on the conditions. Then people will shake their heads, say "Oh look how bad it is." and then go on their way.

Perhaps, a boycott of a cruise line private island may be one way to make the Haitian situation more than a passing news story.

Take care,
Mike (Who has no answers)

[venice]

there is a great book by Randall Robinson "An Unbroken Agony" (Haiti, From Revolution To the Kidnapping of a President)..which gives a very interesting take on the United States role in that country...did you know that Haiti has one of the highest rate of AIDS in the western hemisphere ?

[AR]

Originally Posted by venice

so if you are the public relations folks at Royal Caribbean watching this on CNN, how are you putting your "spin" on the situation ?

There's evidence that RC has had this issue on its mind since they first opened their little "garden spot" there. According to published reports, initially they never mentioned the word "Haiti" in promoting this stop. They implied that it was a "private island," and were at some pains to prevent anybody from finding out the truth. This lead, as Mike very correctly points out, to a great many cruisers not even knowing they were in Haiti. I've seen it referred to as a "private island" numerous times on these boards.

But the corrupt government was not happy. Their reasoning was that since Labadee is a pleasant and inviting place, they wanted the word "Haiti" associated with it, so that cruisers would think Haiti as a whole was a swell place. RC relented to some degree and began to at least "admit" that Labadee is in Haiti.

I'm guessing that the "spin" now will be simply to once again avoid mention of the word "Haiti" whenever humanly possible in the advertising and aboard the ships.

Let the revelry continue. What's happening just beyond the gates is out of sight, so for most it will continue to be out of mind, and we'll see more lovely photos of happy children on the beach. RC, for its part, will continue to rely on its customers' ignorance and/or apathy. It's worked fine so far.

[venice]

AR...I have several friends from Haiti and they would support what you indicated

I think there is a general "don't care attitude" about this situation in the United States probably because we are enamored with our own "challenges" (the war, economy, recession ) etc...but I think if the stockholders of RCI made this an issue, something could be done about it...I'm sure RCI must have several employees either from Haiti or have families there...or it may be that RCI is trying to do something about the situation out of the public eye and perhaps because of their economic clout, they could make a difference..we can only hope..I've got a few shares of stock, I think I'll write a letter

Of course, they have yet to put a ship back in New Orleans either

[katlady]

I have not cruised out of Miami so I don't know a lot about these ports. I did not know Labadee was in Haiti. So I will ask a question many know the answer to but I don't. Is RCL the only cruise line to go to Labadbee? What about other parts of Haiti? Do other cruise lines visit Haiti?

I agree it is hard to fix other countries problems when the USA has many of it's own that need fixing. The first time I heard of Bayview's Hunter Point (near San Francisco). I was a telemarketer and I called someone from Hunter's Point. They told me they would love to have the newspaper delivered but no one would come to Hunter's point with the newspaper. Because so much violence happens here a story like this is so common it's only a paragraph long. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&sn=003&sc=148 and only received 31 comments. That makes me sad. There are many areas in the USA like this one. I also have no answer on how to fix it. I wish I knew.

[mehawk]

I saw that report about the "dirt cookies" about two months ago and my heart goes out to them. That is a travesty.

[AR]

Originally Posted by venice

Of course, they have yet to put a ship back in New Orleans either

This is truly ironic.

Kat--

Others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying that Labadee was built by RCI and is used exclusively by the RCI family of brands. There are no other cruise ports in the country.

I think it would be wonderul if every stockholder would buy a stamp and send a letter to RCI objecting to this insidious exploitation. I'm going to check to see if I own it these days, and if I do I'll write one too.

There may not be much we can do as Americans, but we can certainly object to American companies supporting such a government. Terry and I were talking over dinner last night, and we're going to do some research into whether any relief agencies are making a difference there, and if so, channeling some help through them. If everyone who cares would think about donating the cost of their next RCI cruise, maybe something could be done.

[katlady]

I get nervous putting in a link to Relief Services. I worry that some companies are not honest and the money doesn't go were it's intended I'm putting the link for Catholic Relief Services because I beleive it to be an honest company. AR here is a link to the Finanical information about the CRS http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/F...?EIN=000005022

[venice]

if there is a Haitian community where you live or if you know of any natives, you might ask them how you can help

[ready2board]

No doubt their country is in deplorable, sickening shape.

However, who among us doesn't purchase and use clothes, shoes, toys and a million other products manufactured in countries with terrible conditions, working and otherwise? The United States has trade agreements with dozens of countries who's goverments aren't exactly the nicest folks in the world. All of us use and purchase items made in sweat shops everyday of our lives and that's just a fact. I'm not sure that a cruise ship stopping in a country like this is any worse than our purchasing goods from these other countries...Yes, only a few of Haitians may benefit from the cruise ships stopping there, but a few dollars to these few is better than nothing.

If we took all of this to the extreme, shouldn't we all stop cruising completely? We all know that other than our tips, the vast majority of the foreigners employed on the ships are getting paid next to nothing by the cruise lines (though it may be considered a great wage to the foreigner by their standards). The cruise industry keeps it quiet, but it is pretty well known they are no angels when it comes to how they treat & relate to their employees...So why do we put up with it and not insist that they do more for them?....Because we all want to cruise inexpensively and as long as the crew is all smiles and we get great service from them then the "out of sight, out of mind" rule pretty much applies to most of us. Just like we would rather pay 6 bucks for a shirt made in a Bangladesh sweat shop rather than pay 30 for it to be made by a well paid worker here in the states.

[rescuedad]

I have a friend from Haiti. He makes twice a year trips back there, sends money monthly to family and we have sat and talked about the situation in Haiti. It is his opinion that there is nearly no hope for the country. 50% to 60%of the population is illiterate and AIDs is running amok. All he ever hopes for is a better gov't some day. The community I work in has a very large Haitian population, mostly off the raft. Many times we run calls to the beach at sunrise because a makeshift raft, usually a few wood planks tied together with empty milk containers and styrofoam used to stay afloat, has floated ashore and we are sent to look for the dead(none so far that I have seen). To look at these crude crafts and know someone is so desperate to leave their country is unbelievable. I may be wrong but I have heard it said that immigrants in the early 1900's, who came to America, were hard working people that helped build the US into what it is today. Well if you visit the "little Haiti's" of S. Florida you would not say that of them. Most have done nothing to assimilate into our culture. I know people who have been in Florida as long as I have and still speak no english. The town, I believe, has the highest incidence of AIDS per capita in the country and most have no jobs. It is not uncommon to find five or six families living in a studio or one BR flat sleeping on floors or mattresses on floors. It is sad to see children sleeping all over the place, nearly on top of each other with roaches crawling on them in a 90+ degree room. This is just a taste of what I have seen. Having said all this, things do not appear much different here for them than in Haiti how can it be expected that things will improve for these people.