Haiti’s poor rely on mud pies to survive.

Haiti’s poorest residents are so impoverished that they’ve resorted to eating mud cookies to survive. “When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day,” 16-year-old Charlene Dumas told The Associated Press. The teen, whose baby, is even thinner than he was at birth, is one of those in Haiti who can’t even afford a daily plate of rice, according to AP. She, like thousands of others in the tiny, Caribbean island nation, rely on the cookies, which are made from dirt, salt and vegetable shortening, as a daily staple. The yellow dirt is hauled from the country’s central plateau area, AP reports. Prices for food in Haiti, which is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, have escalated because of higher oil prices, needed for fertilizer, irrigation and transportation, according to the news agency. Such commodities as corn and wheat have also skyrocketed as the demand for biofuels have shot up. Floods and crop damage from hurricanes last year, along with a hike in global food prices, have combined to send the impoverished land into quagmire of economic and environmental depression. Last month, Caribbean leaders held an emergency summit to explore the benefits of slashing food taxes and creating large regional farms to reduce dependence on imports, AP reports.


====================================================================================================================
This is front-line journalism: “A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered”.

The Associated Press article reports that these dirt cookies are “a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country’s central plateau. The mud has long been prized by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal”.
http://un-truth.com/journalism-and-journalists/hungry-and-poor-haitians-eat-dirt-cookies




http://blogs.bet.com/news/newsyoushouldknow/?p=1843

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/31/stories/2008013156182200.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326606,00.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3161598

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/30/whaiti130.xml

http://un-truth.com/journalism-and-journalists/hungry-and-poor-haitians-eat-dirt-cookies

http://www.drudge.com/news/103587/poor-haitians-resort-eating-dirt

I'm just dumbfounded, . . . . . speechless. But, isn't there an agancy, body or something in the UN that's supposed to help out very poor countries like Haiti in times like these?

The last days are upon us. Let him that hath the spirit of understanding know the time of His coming is indeed very short.

damn look at the alase preparing that pie like it's akara.

Last month, Caribbean leaders held an emergency summit to explore the benefits of slashing food taxes and creating large regional farms to reduce dependence on imports, AP reports

.
At least something is being done. I hope it doesn't end up like many incentives like operation feed the nation from you know where.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm! im speechless!

@ stillwater

take it easy on the negativity, things are being done in naija as well, agricultural output has risen at 7% each year for a number of years now.

Back to topic, this is very heart breaking. . .one of the unfortunate by-products of the Bush driven ethanol craze. Food crops should not be used for fuel as yet till the worst of hunger is tackled. The worsening food inflation worldwide may make more incidences like these common if a way isn't found to remedy the situation.

Things like these just go to show where nation's priorities lie - you'll spend billions of dollars daily to wage war in Iraq, but a poor country in the same time-zone faces crushing poverty with little or no help. Go figure.

@ stillwater

take it easy on the negativity, things are being done in naija as well, agricultural output has risen at 7% each year for a number of years now.

That's nice to hear.

Escalating food prices are mainly a result of economic development in China and India.You can add the negative effects of climate change and the bio-ethanol industry.

The situation will get even more dire in the coming years.I started a thread earlier about ithttps://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=125330.msg2126319#msg2126319.I wonder what plans Nigeria has to deal with this issue.

debosky:

@ stillwater

take it easy on the negativity, things are being done in naija as well, agricultural output has risen at 7% each year for a number of years now.

Sometimes i just find statistics so exasperating.

''I am hungry'' says the hungry man

''You shouldn't be. . . . . . .agricultural output rose 5% this quarter, inflation was slashed to a decade low 10% and our reserves are growing
by ten billion annually'' replies the statistician

debosky:

Bush driven ethanol craze.

I thought it was a Brazil driven 'revolution'

Nigerian statistics are not to be trusted.However,export figures have been strong,showing growing output.Of course,it will take more than 7% annual growth in output to solve our domestic needs.

I beg to disagree somewhat 4Play

escalating food prices are as a result of a number of failed harvests worldwide - some in the Bay of Bengal - significant wheat failures and the hurricane damage elsewhere. These shortages are coupled with the fact that economic growth is taking up some agricultural land as you implied, but the harvest failures and climate change are the main agents in my view, with corn price increases primarily driven by the ethanol issues.

What Nigeria is doing? On information I have, the last government re-initiated the strategic grain reserves to help absorb excess production that resulted from multiple years of increased output, I don't know what those reserve levels are and if they would be sufficient to meet increased demand. Given that Nigerian farmers tend to respond to price increases by cultivating more the next season, we may not suffer too much in terms of food that are grown locally, but rice and other such imports like wheat will go up, which may inadvertently boost our cassava production due to the blending of cassava+wheat to make bread.

@ Doyin

Brazil's craze is driven by sugar-cane ethanol, food crops are not affected. US corn based ethanol production that is growing at a break-neck speed is a major contributor to corn price escalation.

Hungry man? Of course people are hungry, but growing food production is not like those other 'macro-economic' indicators - it is felt right there on the ground in lowered prices. 7% may not solve the problem completely, I mentioned it to show that progress is occurring in the right direction.

Escalating prices has been the trend for close to a decade.The key growth factors has been rising demand in India and China.

Granted prices may have been rising for a decade, but the increased escalation of the past 2-3 years are driven mostly by the factors I listed.

Unfortunately prime agricultural land like in the US is not where the greatest demand for food is.

what puzzles me a lot is that there is such a SHARP contrast between Haiti and Dominican republic on the same Island. . .one side is so poor and deprived, the other half is relatively well off and growing.

If output was growing at a significant pace,wouldn't that slow down food price inflation in Nigeria? Instead,the feedback has been that inflation in Nigeria,like other parts of Africa,has been galloping at a high pace.

It also depends on which particular agricultural products underlie these Govt figures.If its simply export oriented products like cocoa,cashew,cotton,e.t.c,then the average Nigerian won't feel the effects when they go shopping for their food.

Its either output growth hasn't been that significant or much of the growth is export oriented.It could also be a combination of the two.

To prevent it from feeding back as you said, the Government re-initiated the strategic grain reserves to buy over excess production in order to avoid the boom-bust cycles and moderate prices a bit.

Items experiencing the most inflation in Nigeria are things like Rice and Wheat which are primarily imported, other things like Garri and co experience mostly seasonal variations and general price rises due to higher production costs rather than demand-supply pressures in my view.

Cocoa and so on are not the products I am talking about, since you wouldn't require grain reserves for those.

i just hope the g8,european union and the rest of them will have a look at the agricultural rebate and allow everybody a fair advantage,at least then at least farmers mostly in africa will be able to compete in the world market and the haitians and others will get enough food cheaper and faster

india just put a cap on the exportation of rice, thailand would probably follow suit. watch out DANGOTE.

i just hope the g8,european union and the rest of them will have a look at the agricultural rebate and allow everybody a fair advantage,at least then at least farmers mostly in africa will be able to compete in the world market and the haitians and others will get enough food cheaper and faster

i doubt they would cut out farm subsidies. u think the farmer in iowa or nebraska is concerned about high food prices. they are happy about this.

am wondering what all this has to do with Haitian food riots and mud pies?

It seems to me that these people need food aid, and they need it fast.

The island was also devastated by a couple of hurricanes which wiped out a part of the already insufficient farm harvests.

The people need food aid?? ok,  so who is going to provide them this food aid?? Whose money is to be used?? and why ??

bawomolo:

i doubt they would cut out farm subsidies. u think the farmer in iowa or nebraska is concerned about high food prices. they are happy about this.

well i guess that answers the questions as to who ll provide the food aid,the signatories to the rebate agreement
i think this is where we should come in,i dont see anything wrong if nigeria sends them staples like garri,beans yam which are relatively cheap and easy to cook and will last for them and cheaper as well,while we r exporting our kind of food to them also

Oh my goodness!
This is all because of the Haitian revolution. America has decided to leave this people and the rest of the world won't help them. I feel so sorry for them. Screw these western countries.

j-girl:

Oh my goodness!
This is all because of the Haitian revolution. America has decided to leave this people and the rest of the world won't help them. I feel so sorry for them. Screw these western countries.

Don't be an idiot. Where does it say that other countries HAVE to help all the time? People are starving all over the world. In Darfur, iin Somalia, in North Korea, in Asia. You should ask yourself what you've done to help your fellow man.

How many orphanages do YOU visit? How many nairalanders give to charities? You'll be surprised at the answer.

What da heck? This is not about what i can do for them. For your info, i probably do more for charities than you can ever imagine. The rest of the Western countries have forsaken them because of the revolution. Go and read about the history of these people then maybe you'll get a lil sense of that i'm saying. Give to them and what happens is that they don't get the help that they deserve. Have you ever wondered why haiti is so poor?

haiti may have been isolated after the revolution but it's issues were worsened due to corruption and the mullatto-negra rivalry in the country. u would be surprised what papa doc, baby doc and aristide did to that country. domestic policies are a major factor.

it seems the world bank is coming to their aid.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/finance_meetings

Kobojunkie:

The people need food aid?? ok,  so who is going to provide them this food aid?? Whose money is to be used?? and why ??

useful link here from bawolomo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/finance_meetings


Must we always wait for whites to do what needs to be done while we sit and debate the morality of poverty and starvation.

Must we always wait for whites to do what needs to be done while we sit and debate the morality of poverty and starvation.

well most black activists are all talk and no action. africans countries individually are unable to help each other since they have issues on their own.

i don't see anything wrong if nigeria sends them staples like garri,beans yam which are relatively cheap and easy to cook and will last for them and cheaper as well,while we r exporting our kind of food to them also

i'm not sure if haitians eat cassava(well in the form of garri). what makes u think has enough reserves in staple foods to start dashing away. countries are stocking up rather than giving away. the blame falls on haiti for decades of deforestation and degrading the quality of agriculture in haiti. aid isn't the solution, they have to learn how to fend 4 themselves.

bawomolo:

well most black activists are all talk and no action. africans countries individually are unable to help each other since they have issues on their own.

i'm not sure if haitians eat cassava(well in the form of garri). what makes u think has enough reserves in staple foods to start dashing away. countries are stocking up rather than giving away. the blame falls on haiti for decades of deforestation and degrading the quality of agriculture in haiti. aid isn't the solution, they have to learn how to fend 4 themselves.

well,making eba is easy as making custard and i dont think they can be much of choosers with the situation they are in at the moment,i dont see how a few shipments of staple food will affect us if its only an emergency thing and it will foster a bit of togetherness as well,sort of exporting our food culture while doing our bit for them and very cheap too,a plate of beans and garri will fill anybody up from morning to night and i can imagine how long a shipload will last as opposed to some western food,emergency aid has to be ferried to them though at least to ferry them till they start making amends

Wasn't there a Nigerian peace keeper who was killed in Haiti?

A Nigerian United Nations (UN) peacekeeper has been killed by rioters in Haiti protesting high food price in the Caribbean country.
The yet-to-be-identified soldier was shot dead on Saturday in Port-au-Prince where the protest forced the country's parliament to sack its Prime Minister, Mr Jacques-Edouard Alexis.
Witnesses say the Nigerian peacekeeper was dragged from his marked car and shot as he was taking food to colleagues at a police station in the capital.
In the clothing market where the police officer was killed, other peacekeepers took up positions as several stalls on both sides of the street smoldered after being set on fire, The Associated Press reported.
Witnesses said other Nigerian police officers later fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse the crowd before recovering the slain man's body. Soon after, the market stalls could be seen burning.
A Nigerian commander of UN troops at the scene, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the victim was a 36-year-old Nigerian soldier.
There are about 9,000 Brazilian-led UN peacekeepers and civilian police in Haiti. The force was sent in after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in an armed rebellion in 2004
In a similar situation last year, seven Nigerian soldiers were killed when rebel forces stormed a small African Union (AU) base in northern Darfur killing some from the African Union mission.
Nigeria, a peacekeeper in the world, has sent troops to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo and elsewhere. It has suffered losses before, particularly when Nigerian troops helped battle rebels trying to seize the capitals of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In Darfur, a Nigerian, Gen. Martin Agwai, commands the AU force of 7,000. Nigeria has one battalion, or about 800 troops, in Darfur now and has said it will likely send another battalion to join a joint AU-UN force that was to replace the current AU force.
Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has been shaken by riots over increased food prices, and protesters have repeatedly clashed with UN peacekeepers and local police in recent days.
The peacekepers have continued to struggle for control over armed gangs.
In January 2006, two Jordanian peacekeepers were killed in Cité Soleil.
In October 2006 a heavily armed group of the Haitian National Police were able to enter Cité Soleil for the first time in three years and were able to remain one hour as armored UN troops patrolled the area.
Since this is where the armed gangs take their kidnap victims, the police's ability to penetrate the area even for such a short time was seen as a sign of progress.
The situation of continuing violence is similar in Port-au-Prince. Ex-soldiers, supporters of the ex-president, occupied the home of ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide against the wishes of the Haitian government.
Before Christmas 2006 the UN force announced that it would take a tougher stance against gang members in Port-au-Prince, but since then the atmosphere there has not improved and the armed roadblocks and barbed wire barricades have not been moved. After four people were killed and another six injured in a UN operation exchange of fire with criminals in Cité Soleil in late January 2007, the United States announced that it would contribute $20 million to create jobs in Cité Soleil.
Earlier Saturday in Haiti, Parliament voted to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, despite a last-minute announcement by President René Preval of an emergency 15 per cent cut in the price of rice.
Mr. Preval said the cost difference would be paid for by both the private sector and international donors.
Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in the past week to protest high prices. Protesters clashed with U.N. peacekeepers as they tried to storm the National Palace in the capital of Port-Au-Prince.
At least five people were killed in demonstrations throughout the island nation.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been hard hit by global increases in food costs.
On Saturday the commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti told reporters that calm was returning to the country. But within hours, a UN policeman from Nigeria was pulled from his marked car and killed in Port-au-Prince.
Mr. Préval, a former agronomist who is in his second term as president, met earlier in the day with food importers at the presidential palace and emerged to announce new measures that he said would knock the price of a 50-pound bag of rice from $51 to $43, a nearly 16 per cent reduction. In the poorest country in the hemisphere, that discount could mean the difference between eating and going hungry for many destitute families.
Rice is a Haitian staple, often mixed in the slums with chicken feet to create a flavorful stew. To reduce prices, Mr. Préval said he would use international aid money combined with commitments from the private sector to reduce profit margins.
The vote against Prime Minister Alexis means Mr. Préval must reconstitute his government, which he said he would do promptly. Mr. Alexis had managed to withstand a previous no-confidence vote but this time 16 of the 17 senators voted against him, wire services reported.
The tumult is nothing new in Haiti, a fragile country with a history of political turnover that is being held together largely through the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission. The Bush administration considers Mr. Préval's 2006 election and Haiti's relative stability in recent years to be one of its success stories, although State Department officials caution that the country remains volatile.
With the recent demonstrations, the Coast Guard has said it is on the lookout for mass emigration.
It is unclear how the president's move will affect tensions. Even after the UN police officer was killed, much of Port-au-Prince seemed largely tranquil.
Rising food prices are a global concern, with some estimates putting the increase as high as 40 per cent since mid-2007.
In Haiti, though, where the bulk of the population lives on less than $2 a day, the effects have been especially acute. In one slum of Port-au-Prince, a woman sat before a large pot of chicken feet and water recently, selling stew without rice. She said the rice was too costly.
Preval announced Sunday that the country's new prime minister would be nominated by the parliament to replace ousted Jacques Edouard Alexis, said reports reaching here from Port-au-Prince.
Alexis was dismissed by a Senate non-confidence vote Saturday for his failure to curb rising food prices and eliminating poverty.
The appointment went to the House and the Senate since no single party holds a majority in the parliament.

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=108599

AND THE WORLD KEEPS LAUGHING AT THE BLACK RACE. Toussaint and the likes must be rolling in their graves

tpia:

useful link here from bawolomo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/finance_meetings
Must we always wait for whites to do what needs to be done while we sit and debate the morality of poverty and starvation.

Well, The reason why I posted that question was to get those already blaming this one on America and the west to tell us who would come to help as it seems the West is always to blame for the problems and then at the end of the day, the same West is supposed to be the solution to the problems. For those who have not considered the main issues in Haiti, I believe this has more to do with failed policies within Haiti itself than it has to do with the rest of the world. How can a country not forsee this sort of problem and start working long to avoid it or sort of put a check in place. We are not talking of a refugee camp or something, we are speaking of a NATION here and to be honest, if I had my way, I would rather we let the country solve it's own problem. Infact, I would rather the WEST step away and allow Black nations start to suffer under the wait of their problems and learn to solve their problems and improve on their government now and not when all hell breaks loose considering the current situation in the world today is not really going to go away anytime soon.

Just out of interest though, what has the ministry of agriculture done or accomplished in the last 9 to ten years? I still don't understand why we can't feed the Nation and why we need to import things like rice? Even egypt that is mostly desert has one of the most advanced agricultural sectors in the world, so what is Nigeria doing? what is the minister doing? I think we might need to apply a more hands on approach to people in power before we start getting a repeat of what happened in the health ministry where 300million naira was spent as unspent money and yet how many good world class hospitals can we boast off? Money is allocated to agriculture after all right?