"Haiti--Open for Business" and Interview With Batay Ouvriye's Yannick Etienne

Haiti--Open for Business
Haiti Grassroots Watch/Ayiti Kale Je
November 29, 2011

From Haiti Grassroots Watch

“Haiti is open for business.”

That’s what President Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly said on November 28 at a ceremony inaugurating a giant industrial zone being built in the north of Haiti.

Across Haiti and abroad, Martelly, his government, and “advisors” like former President Bill Clinton have been pushing Haiti as a foreign investor’s dream come true.

“We are ready for new ideas and new businesses, and are creating the conditions necessary for Haiti to become a natural and attractive destination for foreign investment,” the new president said last fall in New York City. [...]

See the full report:
http://haitigrassrootswatch.squarespace.com/haiti-grassroots-watch-engli/2011/11/29/haiti-open-for-business.html

Controversy over Haiti’s development
The Stream, Al Jazeera
November 30, 2011

A new industrial park in Haiti will create jobs, but is it leading the country in a “race to the bottom”? [...]

[Includes discussion with Yannick Etienne, a spokesperson for Batay Ouvriye, which is involved in organizing the SOTA union for assembly plant workers.]

See the full report:
http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/controversy-over-haiti%E2%80%99s-development-0021890

See also:
Investigation Finds Evidence of Violations of Union Rights in Garment Industry
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/relief-and-reconstruction-watch/investigation-finds-evidence-of-violations-of-union-rights-in-garment-industry

"Rebuilding Haiti" -- the Sweatshop Hoax
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/wilson040310.html