I just got back from an 8-day Caribbean cruise, with my parents as a
celebration of their 50th wedding anni.  It was awesome, but I could go
into detail for days and lose all of you to sensory deprivation as I
droned.  I'm sure most of you have been there.  Anyway one of the things
that was interesting - as far as things that I find interesting - was
that our van driver from out hotel in Miami to the dock was Haitian.  He
was about 60, or so, and had been a dissident in the days of the
Duvalier regimes, both Daddy Doc and Baby Doc.  His mother had been
"disappeared" by the first regime.  He was hunted by the second regime
until he fled and came to the US.  He said life was good in the US, but
he lamented the fact that in many ways most Haitians hadn't been able to
better themselves since the inception of their country, when all
Haitians were basically slaves.

The last stop on our luxurious cruise was a place called Labadee, on one
tip of the island of Haiti.  It was purchased from the Haitian gov't by
the Royal Caribbean cruise line many years ago, it is completely
privately owned, basically a private paradise for Royal Caribbean
guests.  (I think either RC or Princess owns something like it off the
Bahamas called Cocoa Cay.)

The people that work at Labadee are all Haitians.  They cater to our
every needs.  They live in shacks around a corner of paradise that the
guests can't see.  And they are still slaves.  The look I saw in all of
their eyes as I took a solo walking tour just blasted me with scorn,
hatred and jealousy - unless they thought I was wanting to buy something.

Just an observation or two.