all soft breezes and swaying palms, turquoise water and white sand.
A vacation at said island would be all about floating in clear warm water, lounging on the beach with a novel or two, drinking sweet rum drinks, and wearing brightly colored resort outfits and jewelry.
Turquoise and Zircon Earrings from Beladora2.com $495
What it is not supposed to be about is massive devastation in the country that already is the shame of the western hemisphere.
Haiti has been plagued for decades, if not centuries, with poverty and squalor, a result of gross corruption, graft, mismanagement, despotism and crime. The worst third world African nation has a better economy that this pathetic place....and neither the UN nor the NGO's have improved the country...at all.
Now it has been hit by a huge earthquake.
I suspect that every Californian breathes a secret sigh of relief when they read about a 7.0 magnitude quake hitting another area because we know that we live on the edge of the abyss and at anytime 'the big one' could hit here.
We used to talk about how any major disaster led to an improved economy in that region because of the massive influx of disaster relief dollars and technical know how.
Unfortunately I'm pessimistic in this case. I think that the majority of the disaster relief money, that will undoubtedly get sent to Haiti, will end up in the Swiss bank accounts of the corrupt ruling class. I don't think that Haiti will turn into an island paradise any time soon.
Although I do hope that I am wrong.