Stuart Leiderman leiderman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: leiderman fwd: resending op-ed "a haitian goat addresses u.n.
general assembly"
I just noticed that a copy of our op-ed to Le Nouvelliste, published on
the 10th, didn't accompany my post the other night. 'Sorry. Here it is
again, below in English and attached in French and English.
The op-ed, of course, is only the appetizer. The entree' would be the
details of the actual government contract for goats. Has anyone seen
them?
leiderman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
= = =
https://lenouvelliste.com/article/207982/un-cabri-haitien-parle-a-lassemblee-generale-des-nations-unies-a-new-york
A HAITIAN GOAT SPEAKS TO THE
UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
NEW YORK CITY, SEPTEMBER 2019
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 10, 2019 | LE NOUVELLISTE, HAITI
HONORABLE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND HEADS OF STATE AT THIS SEVENTY-FOURTH
SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK IN THE ABSENCE OF OUR PRESIDENT
WHO IS, AS WE SAY, “AWAY ON BUSINESS.” IN FACT, HE HESITATED TO
COME HERE. EVEN NOW, HAITIANS ARE SEARCHING FOR HIM TO ASK ABOUT THE
FUTURE.
HOWEVER, AND AS I AM ONE OF HAITI’S CREATURES, I AM HERE TO REPRESENT
OUR COUNTRY. I CONVEY GREETINGS AND RESPECTS FROM MORE THAN ELEVEN
MILLION PEOPLE AND THOUSANDS OF SPECIES OF WILD AND DOMESTICATED HIGHER
PLANTS AND ANIMALS, MANY OF THEM UNIQUE TO OUR WORLD.
UNFORTUNATELY, AS IS WELL-KNOWN, THE PEOPLE, PLANTS AND ANIMALS WHO
SHARE APPROXIMATELY 27.500 SQUARE KILOMETERS ENCOMPASSED BY THE
CARIBBEAN SEA ARE ENDANGERED BY LOSS OF HOMES, LIVELIHOOD, AND HABITAT.
EVERY DAY SEEMS LIKE A LOSING STRUGGLE TO STAY ALIVE, MAINTAIN OUR
RIGHTS AND PRESERVE THE BALANCE OF NATURE. AND TRY AS WE MIGHT TO LEAVE
THESE STRUGGLES BEHIND, MOST OF US LACKING THE MONEY, MEANS, AND STAMINA
TO FLEE. BELIEVE ME, I HAVE TRIED MANY TIMES AND FAILED. WE ARE “IN
CAPTIVITY.”
FIRST, I WILL SPEAK ABOUT THE STATE OF HUMAN LIFE. FOR A VERY FEW, LIFE
IS WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL NORMAL, WITH PLENTY OF FOOD, WATER, AND WORK.
BUT FOR MOST HAITIANS, EVERY DAY IS PREDICTABLY AS POOR AS THE PREVIOUS
DAY, AND WITH NEW BURDENS UNPREDICTABLY PILED ONTO THEIR SHOULDERS.
SCARCITY, DISEASE, AND CORRUPTION CONSTANTLY SURROUND THEM, AND NATURAL
HAZARDS THREATEN THEIR SAFETY. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THIEVES RUN
RAMPANT, ALMOST UNCHECKED, DRAINING THE PEOPLE’S MONEY, PATIENCE, AND
TRUST. THIS YEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, THREE SERIOUS CRISES ARE OCCURRING AT
THE SAME TIME - ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND HUMANITARIAN. AS THE END OF THE
YEAR APPROACHES, NONE HAVE ABATED. ALL YEAR, BANDITS HAVE INTERRUPTED
TRANSPORTATION AND FOOD SUPPLIES, THE GOVERNMENT HAS INTERRUPTED FUEL
SUPPLIES, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN BANKS HAVE INTERRUPTED THE FLOW OF MONEY,
AND THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND OF CORRUPTION HAS LED SOCIETY INTO A DEEP,
DESOLATE CANYON.
HAITI’S PLANTS AND ANIMALS HAVE FARED NO BETTER. THE PLANTS, OF
COURSE, ARE IMMOBILE AND THEREFORE SUBJECT TO DROUGHT, STORMS, FLOODS,
LANDSLIDES, EROSION, WATER-LOGGING, DEFORESTATION, REAL ESTATE DEALS,
LAND USE IGNORANCE, SEWAGE, INVASIVE SPECIES, AND EXCESSIVE CULTIVATION.
MUCH DAMAGE AND EXTINCTION OF VALUABLE FLORA COME FROM TRYING TO FEED
THE INCREASING POPULATION, WITH APPROXIMATELY A QUARTER OF A MILLION
BABIES BORN EVERY YEAR.
AS THE ANIMALS MOSTLY DEPEND ON THE PLANTS, THEIR FATES ARE SEALED, TOO.
YOU MIGHT SAY THE HOOF-WRITING IN ON THE WALL FOR HAITI’S ANIMALS,
BOTH WILD AND DOMESTIC. THERE IS LITTLE TO EAT, THERE ARE FEW HIDING
PLACES, THERE IS TOO MUCH DEMAND FOR TOO LITTLE FLESH.
ODDLY, HOWEVER, THERE MAY BE ONE EXCEPTION TO THE DOWNWARD TREND IN OUR
SMALL PART OF THE WORLD. YESTERDAY MORNING IN HAITI, AS I PREPARED TO
COME TO NEW YORK, THE MARKET VALUE OF A COMMON, MATURE HAITIAN GOAT WAS
BARELY SIXTY DOLLARS, OFTEN MUCH LESS. BUT THIS MORNING, AS I RODE THE
TAXI FROM MY HOTEL TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, I HEARD ON THE RADIO THAT
THE GOVERNMENT RECENTLY PURCHASED HAITIAN GOATS FOR MORE THAN THREE
HUNDRED DOLLARS! SUDDENLY, THE BRIGHT HAITIAN SUN HAS SHOWN DOWN ONTO
THE LOWLY, FAITHFUL AND TASTY GOAT. OUR VALUE HAS QUINTUPLED, AT LEAST.
BY THESE NUMBERS, THE GOAT ECONOMISTS CAN ESTABLISH THAT THE CURRENT
MARKET VALUE OF “CAPRA _MELIUS HAITIANUS”_ [IMPROVED HAITIAN GOAT]
HAS APPROACHED THE AVERAGE ANNUAL EARNING OF A HAITIAN LABORER. MAYBE
NOW THEY WILL HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO DIALOGUE WITH US.
MEANWHILE, AS I AM ALREADY HERE IN THE US, I WILL BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO
MY COUSIN GOATS IN TEXAS.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
= = =
ALDY CASTOR, M.D., ALDYC@xxxxxxx
PRESIDENT, HAITIAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION (HRDF)
DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR HAITI MEDICAL RELIEF MISSION,
ASSOCIATION OF HAITIAN PHYSICIANS ABROAD.
STUART LEIDERMAN, ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, USA, LEIDERMAN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
WESTON, FLORIDA, US
OCTOBER 2019
Attachment:
840c' haitian goat addresses the u.n. general assembly - castor leiderman lenouvelliste 10oct'10 fr engl ver.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
