Cholera in Haiti and Africa: The Peacekeepers’ Footprint

By Dady Chery Haiti Chery Like the plantain weed, Plantago major, which so reliably matched the movements of European settlers through North America that it became known as “the white man’s footprint,” the cholera epidemics of the last 15 years … Continue reading →

Deadly Denim

By Staff, International Labor Rights Forum. Two separate fires in Pakistan killed more than 300 trapped workers: 289 workers in a Karachi apparel factory (sweatshop) and 25 workers in a Lahore shoe factory on Tuesday September 11, 2012. National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan (NTUF) leader Nasir Mansoor called this the “darkest and saddest day in the history of Pakistan’s labor movement.” The fires are considered to be the logical result of the low prices buyers offer the factories and the quick deliveries they demand.

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International Land Grabbers to Carve Up Haiti’s Rural Areas | Les accapareurs internationales de terre divisent les zones rurales d’Haïti

Report, Interamerican Development Bank via Relief Web | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti chery. Land tenure informality has been an obstacle to grabbing Haitian lands for use by big agricultural, mining, and power companies. Cambodia has undergone a process of mapping of land ownership similar to one proposed for Haiti. The land grabs and killings have begun in Cambodia. (English | French)

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Khmer Rouge Jailer Given Life After Appealing 30-Year Sentence

By Mujib Mashal and Staff, Al Jazeera. Khmer Rouge chief jailer and torturer Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, escaped justice for over 30 years by hiding out as a Christian aid worker. On Feb 3, 2012, the 69-year old Duch was sentenced to life imprisonment after he appealed a 30-year sentence because he had only “respectfully and strictly followed the orders.” He is the first person to be brought to justice for the killing-field atrocities.

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Why is Haiti ‘Attractive’?Pourquoi Haïti est si ‘attrayante’?

By Staff, Haiti Grassroots Watch. Part 3 of 7. Haiti is the only country that guarantees the U.S. market duty-free and quota-free access. With every free-trade zone that gets built on prime agricultural land, more farmers are put out of work. Thus Haitians import more food as real wages drop to rock bottom in the sweatshops, where there are now plans to legalize 3 x 8 hours work shifts. In Haiti, we sometimes talk figuratively about being eaten up. This comes pretty close to the real thing. DC (English | French)

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Cable: UN Peacekeepers Traded Food for Sex

Editorial Comment The title of this article should be: United Nations Soldiers Trade Food for Sex.  These are invading troops, not peacekeepers. Furthermore, the trade of food for sex is not in the past; it is happening right now, everywhere … Continue reading →