My heart always aches when I think of the Haitian people. Their various governments have often been corrupt, and world-wide concern for these wonderful artistic people has been lacking. I've known people who have lived in Haiti and loved the people there. Their poverty is unimagineable to most of us, and their fear is oppressive.

I had several Haitian students when I taught college in Boston and the stories they told about relatives disappearing in the night made my hair stand on end. With the recent hurricanes now adding to their misery, I imagine the place a muddy hell straight out of Conrad's the Heart of Darkness.

This NYT article hints at how awful it is there right now.
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