Aid State

Starred review from November 27, 2023
Johnston, a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, debuts with a powerful and disturbing examination of decades of chaos in Haiti caused by outside forces, including the U.S., the United Nations, and what he evocatively terms the “aid-industrial complex.” Johnston’s focus is primarily on the period between 2010 and 2021, an era bookended by two devastating earthquakes, when the country’s supposed reconstruction with the help of billions of dollars in aid was sidetracked by greed and corruption. For example, after the 2010 quake, agribusiness firm Monsanto donated more than 100 tons of hybrid or genetically modified seeds, which by design supplanted crops that naturally produced seeds, thus creating a new, for-profit market for the company. Johnston lends immediacy to his account through stories of individual dispossession, such as that of the residents of Caracol, who were displaced by construction of an industrial park and never compensated or adequately rehoused. Bill Clinton, named a United Nations special envoy to the country in 2009, and his wife, Hillary, who oversaw America’s Haiti policy as secretary of state, come off poorly as patronizing would-be saviors, but they have plenty of company. This cri de coeur from an expert with firsthand knowledge of what ails Haiti is a must-read.

June 1, 2024

A researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Johnston debuts with a searing examination of the classism, racism, and exploitation that have marked Haiti's tumultuous history. Johnston, who has researched, monitored, and reported on the intricacies of Haiti's political landscape since 2010, focuses here on what is known as the aid industrial complex. Rather than providing meaningful assistance to people whose countries have been ravaged by natural disasters, aid efforts too often enrich the companies and contractors who engage in humanitarian efforts. The principal villain in Johnston's story is the Clinton Foundation and its founders, which touted the mantra "Build Back Better" with diametrically opposite results. Haiti's people, who had not yet recovered from the effects of oppressive political regimes, were further devastated by shoddy construction and poor planning, particularly the choice to adopt greenfield housing construction instead of repairing existing structures. Narrator James Lurie delivers the text clearly and succinctly, opting for a measured rather than performative approach. VERDICT While heartbreaking and discouraging, Johnston's indictment of the aid industrial complex is essential listening, critically important when considering future responses to natural disasters.--Laura Trombley

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