Malaria, Haiti, Slavery and “Aid State” [March 3+1]

In this 3+1 episode, we’re talking the good (malaria vaccines), the bad (slavery) and a whole lot of Haiti. We’ve got Mac Archer back on the show to share with Brandon Stiver and Phil Darke what she’s seeing on the ground in Haiti and what’s getting missed in larger media outlets. We talk through the utility of violence by those running the country and look at some potentially similar dynamics in other countries. We also discuss forced labor in Asia, the rise of malaria vaccines in Africa and get a book recommendation for a book that just released in the last couple of months.

Conversation Notes

• 3:00 – Podcast shoutouts for community members that are reviewing, sharing and sponsoring the show
• 8:40 – A good news story! Vaccines in sub-Saharan Africa are leading to a decline in infant/child mortalities caused by Malaria
• 21:00 – Looking at the situation in Haiti from someone in the country and with an article by a Haitian leader. Are these really “gangs”? In what ways is it similar to other conflict areas? Is there accountability for foreign interference?
• 37:55 – The exploitation of North Korean enslaved laborers in China and the nature and challenges of reporting on issues within totalitarian nations
• 48:58 – Understanding the context of Haiti and other majority world countries through the economic and anthropological lens of Jake Johnston

Resources and Links from the show

Al-Jazeera : Could new vaccines end Malaria in Africa?

NACLA : Haiti as Empire’s Laboratory

BBC : North Koreans working in China ‘exploited like slaves’

Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti by Jake Johnston

Theme music Kirk Osamayo. Free Music Archive, CC BY License