Dear Editor,

Keeble McFarlane’s article of January 30, “Haiti beyond the earthquake”, has profound intellectual and practical merits about recovery and construction strategies to buttress Haiti in the event of a similar disaster in the future. Haitians, against the odds of firepower, won freedom from their slave masters over 200 years ago. But despite winning the fight, Haiti was subjected to economic slavery in the form of a draconian tax to buy their freedom from direct French control.

Unfortunately, France was able to influence the political structure in Haiti, creating a most undesirable stratification of the society, with an inhuman system through which dictatorship emerged.

I would like to throw my sincere ideas in the think tank for Haiti. Keeble wisely warned against cookie-cutter pre-fabricated boxes in lieu of in-situ concrete structure. The first would attract dishonest hustlers, and because pre-fabricated concrete structures are not monolithic in every aspect, where dry joints occur the earthquake could exploit these weaker structural connections. California’s earthquake building code, I believe, forms the terms of reference accepted by our engineers for the Caribbean. Wooden structures are hazardous in hurricanes, therefore a proper building code should be enacted to set the appropriate structural standards for Haiti.

This is the only time that I favour some form of IMF model to manage the gifts of the world to Haiti, in order to minimise any form of embezzlement of funds. Town and Country planning should be crafted in an ongoing phased format to free up areas inundated with rubble simultaneously with new areas of construction.The fact that it is in the best interest of all of Haiti, the acquisition of land should not be a factor in the implementation of zoning ordinances. How long shall we stand aside and see this chain reaction of oppression in Haiti, like the husband who was dressed down by his boss, then took it out on his wife, who spanked her son, who in turn kicked the cat?

Fitz Anderson

fitzanderson@yahoo.com