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Réflexions critiques
Rich nations spend billions on self-stimulus. A poor island just gets smeared.
Posté le 26 juin 2009 par PAPDA
By Rob Annandale
Originally published on TheTyee.ca, June 25, 2009
As I walked down a street in the centre of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, a young man peeled away from his group of friends and approached me.
The usual dance ensued : Where are you from ? Canada. How do you like Haiti ? It’s very nice. Is this your first time here ? No. Etc., etc. Then we got around to what I do.
"You have to write that Haiti’s not as bad as people think," he said before turning off to meet up with his friends again. "You must tell people."
Haitians are well aware of their country’s bad reputation. In a
world where countries have become brands, Haiti is a dud on par with the Edsel, New Coke or Zune.
With the global downturn hitting remittances, foreign investment and, potentially, development assistance to poor countries such as Haiti, the competition for scarce resources is likely to heat up.
And although Bill Clinton has taken up the mantle of Haiti’s cheerleader-in-chief, his first pronouncements in that role suggest he backs a global system that critics say punishes low-income nations lacking bargaining power.
So how important is a country’s image ?
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