Haiti's 15 Minutes of Fame

It takes an awful lot of hard work in terms of ceasing to live for any forgotten nation to take over the world's headlines. In this case, it took a death toll which exceeds that of any natural disaster in the past century, relative to the population of the country in question.

Well, at least it kicked up some startling history that would have remained gathering dust on some shelf out of reach of the world's eye...and will be put back there once this airing is over. In short, France vindictively ensured that its breakaway colony would be financially crippled from the outset, and that its economy never really had a chance of developing.

Of course, France has now belatedly pumped up its aid commitment to Haiti, no doubt shown up by the immediate contributions of minnows such as Norway. This is coldly pragmatic: $28m is a pittance when dealing with one of the poorest countries in the world. And once Haiti's time in the spotlight is over, business as usual can resume. Do the Sudans and Haitis really need to exist in a continuous state of impending extinction to get the help they need? Or will the patient be booted back out onto the street just as soon as they're taken off life support?