Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of Population in Haiti
by M. Catherine Maternowska foreword by Paul Farmer
Rutgers University Press, 2006 Paper: 978-0-8135-3854-9 | Cloth: 978-0-8135-3853-2 | eISBN: 978-0-8135-4143-3 Library of Congress Classification HC153.Z9P65 2006 Dewey Decimal Classification 362.5097294
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In Reproducing Inequities, M. Catherine Maternowska argues that we too easily overlook the political dynamics that shape choices about family planning. Through a detailed study of the attempt to provide modern contraception in the community of Cité Soleil, Maternowska demonstrates the complex interplay between local and global politics that so often thwarts well-intended policy initiatives.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
M. Catherine Maternowska is an assistant professor in the departments of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences as well as anthropology, history, and social medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
C
kenbe-as they say in Creole. You may remain unnamed, but your voices are now recorded as history: a form of power and a right that no one can ever take away from you.
There are also many other Haitians who deserve thanks but must go unnamed because they live and work within the deadly matrix of Haitian politics and position. Making the connections between people and their politics is a major preoccupation of just about everyone in Haiti-from the very poor to the very rich. If one is spotted, even by chance, sitting with, standing near, or simply in the proximity of a well-known journalist, foreigner, political activist, or politician, then one is enplike: implicated. To be enplike in the world of international aid and politics, the topic of this book, can be dangerous business in Haiti. Among these people are many Haitian government officials, clinicians, priests, social scientists, agronomists, and activists; I thank all of you for your encouragement, your explanations, and your patience. And to the Lambi Fund of Haiti staff and board members, I thank you for taking me into your world; you are lodged deep in my heart.
When I didn't (or couldn't) stay or sleep in Cit¿ Soleil, I camped in many different homes with American, Belgian, French, and Haitian friends-Nicola, Cris, Sally, John, Alexis, Ira, Daniel, Jacques, Josette, Loune, Olga, Alain, Frantz, Paul and many more. These are the people who worried about me when I was out, who fed me when I could not think of food, who comforted me in times of terror and who soothed me when I had seen too much. These are friends I will never forget.
Through the years, many people offered to read and comment on numerous renditions of this work including: Beverly Bell, Kirsten Moore, Ophelia Dahl, Jane Regan, Julie Meyer, Tally Hustace, Tim Schwartz, Jennnie Smith and Judith Wingerd. Pierre Minn and Mark Schuller, two graduate students of anthropology in Haiti, were exceptionally helpful and supportive to me in the process, giving critique and raising questions central to the study and practice of development. Talia Inlender deserves special thanks for supporting me in the final stages of writing-and lending her intensely political and justice-minded head to the task. Anthony Carter enthusiastically provided a magnificent dose of critique and encouragement. Simon Fass, thank you for your good mind that fueled mine when I needed it most. Photographer and dear friend Maggie Steber, forever faithful to the Haitian people, thank you for seeing the beauty of Haiti and sharing it with us. Finally, thanks to Deborah Weiss, Patricia Thaxter, and Kim Gilhuly who worked diligently on detailed copy-editing. All of these advocates of reproductive health have provided knowledge, insight, motivation, and thoughts at different stages of this project and for that I am grateful.
I have had several mentors who deserve special recognition. My professors at the London School of Economics opened my mind with early critiques of development and set me on a true course. George and Ruth Simmons taught me how demography, reproductive health, and the economy of poverty take shape. Libbett Crandon-Malamud, missed by all who know her, shared the alchemy of critical analysis and compassion. Donald Warwick left a legacy of questioning the politics of population and encouraged me, even through the final months of his life, to keep pushing. Paul Farmer kept faith in the process of my (comparatively) slow inquiry of poverty in Haiti. Finally, I have been deeply inspired by the literary voices of two men I do not know: Eduardo Galeano for his understanding of history and Gabriel Garcia Marquez for his understanding of love.
I am indebted to my steadfast editor Alan Harwood. Alan worked on this book with an enormous amount of care, determination, and foresight. I thank the anonymous academic critics he chose for reviews, all of whom helped this work grow to see the light of day. Alan has been a constant ally; his compassion runs deep. Finally, Alan also carried this book safely to its home at Rutgers University Press and my editor, Adi Hovav.
In the United States, the Inter-American Foundation and subsequently the Rockefeller Foundation supported the bulk of the fieldwork that led to my dissertation and ultimately this book. Both foundations generously allowed me to ask the questions that many social scientists have overlooked. The findings and conclusions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of those agencies.
I am the fortunate child of a large, smart, and politically progressive family. My parents, Elaine and Chet Maternowski, took the responsibility of world citizenship seriously. It was through them-and the teachings of Dorothy Day and the Berrigan brothers who read poetry in our living room-that I learned the meaning of service and human rights. As parents, they supported my work in Haiti (in spite of their anxiety) and paid for my trips when no one else would. Their view of the world and social justice shines for me still and for this I will be forever thankful.
Last, I am grateful to Alexander, Malcolm, and Caleb-the Cameron boys to whom I am wife or mother and to whom I also dedicate this book. When asked, Malcolm says that his Mama works with "people having babies in Haiti." The truth is that I am able to do this important work because their support and love makes everything possible.
Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of Population in Haiti
by M. Catherine Maternowska foreword by Paul Farmer
Rutgers University Press, 2006 Paper: 978-0-8135-3854-9 Cloth: 978-0-8135-3853-2 eISBN: 978-0-8135-4143-3
In Reproducing Inequities, M. Catherine Maternowska argues that we too easily overlook the political dynamics that shape choices about family planning. Through a detailed study of the attempt to provide modern contraception in the community of Cité Soleil, Maternowska demonstrates the complex interplay between local and global politics that so often thwarts well-intended policy initiatives.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
M. Catherine Maternowska is an assistant professor in the departments of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences as well as anthropology, history, and social medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
C
kenbe-as they say in Creole. You may remain unnamed, but your voices are now recorded as history: a form of power and a right that no one can ever take away from you.
There are also many other Haitians who deserve thanks but must go unnamed because they live and work within the deadly matrix of Haitian politics and position. Making the connections between people and their politics is a major preoccupation of just about everyone in Haiti-from the very poor to the very rich. If one is spotted, even by chance, sitting with, standing near, or simply in the proximity of a well-known journalist, foreigner, political activist, or politician, then one is enplike: implicated. To be enplike in the world of international aid and politics, the topic of this book, can be dangerous business in Haiti. Among these people are many Haitian government officials, clinicians, priests, social scientists, agronomists, and activists; I thank all of you for your encouragement, your explanations, and your patience. And to the Lambi Fund of Haiti staff and board members, I thank you for taking me into your world; you are lodged deep in my heart.
When I didn't (or couldn't) stay or sleep in Cit¿ Soleil, I camped in many different homes with American, Belgian, French, and Haitian friends-Nicola, Cris, Sally, John, Alexis, Ira, Daniel, Jacques, Josette, Loune, Olga, Alain, Frantz, Paul and many more. These are the people who worried about me when I was out, who fed me when I could not think of food, who comforted me in times of terror and who soothed me when I had seen too much. These are friends I will never forget.
Through the years, many people offered to read and comment on numerous renditions of this work including: Beverly Bell, Kirsten Moore, Ophelia Dahl, Jane Regan, Julie Meyer, Tally Hustace, Tim Schwartz, Jennnie Smith and Judith Wingerd. Pierre Minn and Mark Schuller, two graduate students of anthropology in Haiti, were exceptionally helpful and supportive to me in the process, giving critique and raising questions central to the study and practice of development. Talia Inlender deserves special thanks for supporting me in the final stages of writing-and lending her intensely political and justice-minded head to the task. Anthony Carter enthusiastically provided a magnificent dose of critique and encouragement. Simon Fass, thank you for your good mind that fueled mine when I needed it most. Photographer and dear friend Maggie Steber, forever faithful to the Haitian people, thank you for seeing the beauty of Haiti and sharing it with us. Finally, thanks to Deborah Weiss, Patricia Thaxter, and Kim Gilhuly who worked diligently on detailed copy-editing. All of these advocates of reproductive health have provided knowledge, insight, motivation, and thoughts at different stages of this project and for that I am grateful.
I have had several mentors who deserve special recognition. My professors at the London School of Economics opened my mind with early critiques of development and set me on a true course. George and Ruth Simmons taught me how demography, reproductive health, and the economy of poverty take shape. Libbett Crandon-Malamud, missed by all who know her, shared the alchemy of critical analysis and compassion. Donald Warwick left a legacy of questioning the politics of population and encouraged me, even through the final months of his life, to keep pushing. Paul Farmer kept faith in the process of my (comparatively) slow inquiry of poverty in Haiti. Finally, I have been deeply inspired by the literary voices of two men I do not know: Eduardo Galeano for his understanding of history and Gabriel Garcia Marquez for his understanding of love.
I am indebted to my steadfast editor Alan Harwood. Alan worked on this book with an enormous amount of care, determination, and foresight. I thank the anonymous academic critics he chose for reviews, all of whom helped this work grow to see the light of day. Alan has been a constant ally; his compassion runs deep. Finally, Alan also carried this book safely to its home at Rutgers University Press and my editor, Adi Hovav.
In the United States, the Inter-American Foundation and subsequently the Rockefeller Foundation supported the bulk of the fieldwork that led to my dissertation and ultimately this book. Both foundations generously allowed me to ask the questions that many social scientists have overlooked. The findings and conclusions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of those agencies.
I am the fortunate child of a large, smart, and politically progressive family. My parents, Elaine and Chet Maternowski, took the responsibility of world citizenship seriously. It was through them-and the teachings of Dorothy Day and the Berrigan brothers who read poetry in our living room-that I learned the meaning of service and human rights. As parents, they supported my work in Haiti (in spite of their anxiety) and paid for my trips when no one else would. Their view of the world and social justice shines for me still and for this I will be forever thankful.
Last, I am grateful to Alexander, Malcolm, and Caleb-the Cameron boys to whom I am wife or mother and to whom I also dedicate this book. When asked, Malcolm says that his Mama works with "people having babies in Haiti." The truth is that I am able to do this important work because their support and love makes everything possible.
