Haiti. Cholera epidemic hits capital.

Nearly 600 people have been killed by Cholera in Haiti in the past few weeks. This is a disease spread by unclean drinking water and poverty. It is entirely preventable. We have printed some history of Haiti recently on our blog. Haiti is a nation where the overwhelming majority of the people live in extreme poverty. The reason is that over the centuries the major capitalist powers have robbed the country blind and have prevented it from developing.

US capitalism , or as it would be more accurately described, US Imperialism, sees Haiti mainly from the point of view of making sure it does not become a security threat, that is does not develop as a radical left alternative which could attract other nations in the area. The last government which tried in the most mild way to move in this direction, the Aristide government, was overthrown by the US. The Haitian people are left to the most miserable of conditions because this is what suits capitalism.

Doctors Without Borders record over 9,000 people with cholera and expect this number to rise significantly in the next five to seven days when the full impact of last Friday's hurricane is felt. At particular risk are the 1.3 million people still homeless and living in tents since January's earthquake. But Doctors Without Borders say that as well as these high risk people they are seeing increasing numbers of patients coming from the two large slums of the country's capital Port-au-prince. One heart breaking scene is described in the Wall Street Journal where a woman is brought to a treatment center in a wheelbarrow and another woman is beside her screaming: "I'm going to die. I'm dying."

Think of all the resources of the US economy. Think of the machinery and human resources of the US state. These have the capacity to solve the crisis in Haiti in a few months, put in clean water supplies, heath care for all, fresh food and so on. But US capitalism has no interest in this and it will never do it. They are only into making profits and fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to protect their wealth and power and profits. Think what all the resources being used to fight these wars and how an equivalent amount of resources could be used to solve the catastrophe in Haiti.

But this will never happen. Capitalism will never solve the crisis of the poor and the ill. It is addicted to increasing its own wealth and power. Only an international workers' movement which ends capitalism and remakes the world on a democratic socialist basis where the world's resources are brought together on a planned basis for the good of all can solve these problems. The US and international workers movement should rush resources to Haiti, to link with the Doctors Without Borders and help with the crisis there. At the same time it should take on the big capitalist corporations in the US and internationally and build a movement to end their rule and replace it with a democratic socialist world.

Sean.