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WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
WORLD & NATION
Stories by Simon Kelly
Graphic by The Guilfordian
WASHINGTON,
D.C.
Top Democrats in Congress
announced this Tuesday that
"there is no rush" to move
Obama's health care plan through
the House anymore. With Scott
Brown's Republican victory in the
Massachusetts senatorial election last
week. Democrats lost what could have been
the 60th vote needed to beat a Republican
filibuster, postponing further motions on the
bill, according to the Washington Post, until
late February. However, for many Democrats,
Brown's victory has signaled that perhaps a new
direction should be taken altogether, involving a
smaller budget and less extensive stipulations.
Obama, nonetheless, plans to stand by his bill,
even if a dramatic overhaul is required.
UNITED
STATES
Court proceedings on Roman Polanksi's 32-year-old sex
charge case were stalled yet again this week when a California
state judge denied Polanksi's attorney's request that he be sen
tenced while under arrest in Switzerland, The New York Times
reported. Polanksi has resisted U.S. appeals to extradite him since
his apprehension by Swiss authorities last September, and argues
that he has been, according to the New York Times, "deprived
of justice" ever since the case opened in 1978. However, despite
his victim Samantha Geimer's appeals for his release, presiding
Judge Espinoza is unwilling to grant Polanksi's sentence —
originally a 90-day prison stint — in absentia. Until Espinoza's
court revises or alters its decision, the case's outcome will remain
uncertain.
FRANCE
A parliamentary panel in Paris announced its
plans to publicly ban the use of the full Muslim
face veil, or burqa, on Tuesday. Viewed by the
French National Assembly as a symbol of the sub
jugation of women within fundamentalist Islamic
groups, "the full veil-represents in-an extraor
dinary way everything that France spontane
ously rejects," said National Assembly President
Bernard Accoyer, in a statement to Reuters. The
legislation, if passed, would not only impose
fines on those who wear burqas in public, but also
refuse residency and citizenship to veiled immi
grants. While the majority of France's Muslim
population has accepted the proposal, including
prominent Parisian imam Hassen Chalghoumi,
there is still a vocal minority who fear the ban
signals a new era of xenophobia in France.
SRI LANKA
After a particularly tense day at the polls, accom-
. panied. by. armed., guards nnd ihe., sound .of. near^
by grenades. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, it was
announced on Wednesday, won Sri Lanka's first peace
time election in 26 years. Beating his opponent and
former ally, retired General Sarath Fonseka, by a 17.6
percent margin. President Rajapaksa has promised to
develop the infrastructure and economy of his country.
It is Rajapaksa's second time in office, and accusa
tions of election fraud abound from Fonseka and his
supporters in the Tamil minority. "We are going to
the courts," said Fonseka in a report to Reuters. "Our
strength is people and their franchise has been disre
garded."
HAITI
Haiti receives international support in disaster
Continued from page i
"Haiti is the poorest country in
the Western Hemisphere," said
Assistant Professor of Sociology
and Anthropology Maria Amado.
"It has been burdened by high
external debt, burdened by the
presence of dictatorial regimes that
have been supported or ignored by
the United States."
The products of that poverty-
unsound architecture and extreme
congestion- have resulted in major
loss of life. As of Jan. 25, ABC
News reported an official death
count of 150,000, with as many as
two million displaced.
The presidential palace is also
in ruins. Because of the nation's
lack of resources, Haiti has been
dargely dependent on foreign aid
t the relief efforts following the
rthquake.
Groups such as the United
■Nation's Stabilization Mission in
Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the inter
national group. Doctors Without
Borders, have been vital in pro
viding medical assistance where
hospitals have been destroyed
and supplies exhausted. The situ
ation has necessitated cooperation
between foreign aid groups in the
efforts to rebuild Haiti.
President Obama responded to
the disaster with plans to donate
$100 million towards Haiti's recon
struction. The United States sent
2,600 troops on the ground and
10,300 in offshore ships, according
to the Washington Post. The U.S.
military has been active in distrib
uting supplies and searching for
survivors. After the first 10 days of
searching however, survivors were
deemed unlikely.
But hope is not lost.
As rescue efforts end, the coun
try is turning its focus to the mil
lions of homeless Haitians who
are erecting tent cities over the
rubble. According to the Toronto
Star, land is being cleared for the
‘ * »
construction of refugee camps slat
ed to develop into suburbs outside
Port-Au-Prince within the next few
years.
For some however, like Latin
American history professor Alvis
Dunn, there is a concern that the
demolition of Port-Au-Prince has
been received internationally as a
chance to re-do a failed country.
"There are people who are see
ing this earthquake as an oppor
tunity. That God came along and
bulldozed Haiti," said Dunn. "That
the earthquake has eased popula
tion pressures, demolished slums,
and cut down on unemployment. I
am wary of thinking that way. That
is too much for me to stomach."
For Amado, the proper response
to Haiti's earthquake is to
acknowledge the country's com
plex and troubled colonial history.
Criticizing the media coverage of
the disaster as one-dimensional,
Amado wished to call attention
to the steps Haitians themselves
* I i i . .
Rescue workers climb through rubble from collapsed buildings in search of
any remaining survivors.
are initiating for their country's
recovery.
"Now that Haiti has attained
this visibility, the media needs to
put Haiti on the historical map,"
she said. "We have to understand
who Haitians are, as well as how
they have been portrayed and vic
timized throughout history."
Although Haiti needs money
and manpower to rebuild, Amado
suggests that only a holistic
approach by both Haitians and
international aid workers will
effect positive change for the coun
try's future.