The Michigan Daily- Thursday, January 16, 1992 - Page 3 Protesters call on president to help Haitian refugees N ~' '4%N ~ I ~t~1 Prof. says U.S. corps. to blame: for trade deficit by sari Barager Concerned that the plight of Haitian refugees has dropped out of' the news lately, about 15 "peace and justice" activists rallied yesterday at the Federal Building to refocus attention on the problem. "We just want to get the issue a little more in people's minds. We want to make sure this one doesn't get lost," said Richard Cleaver, a member of the American Friends Service Committee. "Just because the issue isn't on the front pages, that doesn't mean the refugees' situ- ation is getting any better." Speakers at the rally denounced the Bush administration for label- ing fleeing Haitians as economic migrants rather than political refugees. According to U.S. policy, immigrants fleeing poverty, unlike those seeking political asylum, are not entitled to U.S. protection. First-year Rackham graduate student and native Haitian Gina Ulysse said the migrants are not roaming in search of better eco- nomic conditions, but are running for their lives. "Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The mass of my people are used to poverty. It's part of their daily life. People don't eat three meals a day like we do. They eat when food is there," Ulysse said. "Conditions in Haiti are obviously worse than just poverty to be driving them out." Cleaver pointed out that the source of Haiti's deficient economy is rooted in politics. He said Haiti was rich in resources until it was exploited by the United States. "The causes of poverty are polit- ical," Cleaver said. "(Deposed Pres- ident Jean-Baptiste Aristide) was overthrown because he was trying to alleviate the poverty and redis- tribute the wealth." When Aristide tried to reduce the military's historic stranglehold on Haiti's civilian government, members of the armed forces felt their power threatened and orga- nized the successful coup, Cleaver said. Protesters also called for the Bush administration to help re-de- mocratize Haiti by ridding the country of renegade soldiers and re- instating Aristide. "The only solution is to get rid of the military. (They) maintain their power by instilling fear in people through random killing," Ulysse said. "A friend of mine said the military was shooting at his Ann Arbor resident Richard Cleaver addresses the crowd at yestirday's Haitian refugee protest. house. He and his family couldn't leave for days." Ulysse said 25,000 Haitians fled to The Dominican Republic despite the racism they were likely to en- counter. Haitians are routinely sold in the neighboring country for $100 a head to work in cane fields, she said. The issue of racism also came up when demonstrators drew a compar- ison between Cubans, who have been welcomed as political refugees by the United States, and Haitians who were turned away. Asked why Bush has refused Haitians entry, Ulysse said, "R-A- C-I-S-M." "These people with brown and black skin are not welcomed," shouted one of the activists. Rally organizers said they intend to form a Haitian-Caribbean student group. by Steve Small U.S. corporations should stop blaming Japanese protectionism and re-examine their own management practices if they are to reduce the $41 billion trade deficit with Japan, said Business School Professor Coimbatore Prahalad in an inter- view last week. But, Ken Brown, a Ford Motor Co. executive, disagreed and said that Japan shares most of the re- sponsibility for American auto maker's problems, and Kim Cameron, a colleague of Prahalad's, said both countries share some of the blame. Prahalad, a corporate strategy specialist, argued that Bush's trip to Japan in search of trade concessions was an attempt to misrepresent the true nature of the problem, which he said really lies in Detroit's auto companies. "While the market could be more open, it is the failure to ad- dress the needs of the Japanese mar- ket and the lack of a coherent busi- ness philosophy that are the funda- mental problems," said Prahalad, who questioned the efforts U.S. auto firms have made to penetrate the Japanese market. "Very little attempt has been made to develop products for the Japanese market or to improve the image of U.S. autos there - an opening up of the market would not ensure more sales." Prahalad admitted that obstacles such as different Japanese emission standards have been used to prevent penetration of the market, but pointed out that other countries have adapted to similar problems. "Emissions standards in California are the most rigorous in the world yet Japan' s auto makers have a 50 percent share of the mar- ket," Prahalad explained. But Brown, Ford Motor Company's international public af- fairs manager who accompanied the president to Japan, said he views the problem very differently. "The Japanese system of gou- ernment, business and bureaucracy has not only created a closed market, but also a mind set deeply unfavor- able to foreign products," Brown said. "The U.S. trade deficit with other countries is small, and gener- ally improving. This shows that we have a general trade problem with Japan, not a problem with manage- ment practices." Brown also cited the emissions example, but complained that Japan's insistence on testing eveiy car is unnecessary because no U.S. auto has ever failed. Similarly, the Japanese distribu- tion network is criticized for re- stricting access to U.S. autos. Brown was encouraged by what he peer- ceived as a new willingness to bend on some of these issues, but he is not confident that the trade imbalanee will improve without a "change -of attitude" in Japan. Cameron, who has studied the re- cent reorganizations of the auto firms, avoided blaming either side for all the problems. While he agreed with Prahalad that "inefficiency and complacency" have characterized U.S. auto firms' attitudes, he said he believed the in- dustry is improving. "GM has cut 75,000 jobs, but they are still too fat, and more im- portantly there have been no funda- mental changes in attitude," he said. In terms of quality and value, however, Cameron said U.S. autos are now genuinely comparable to their Japanese competitors. "There was a noticeable quality gap in the '80s, but since '88-'89 there has been no noticeable quality difference," he said. Cameron agreed with Chrysler President Lee Iacocca that since World War II, Japan has had the ad- vantage of a large U.S. market to ab- sorb capacity and avoid recession. I Jackson and Engler meet in Lansing: Watch out for that treeU Jeff Beuche, a junior at Gabriel Richard High School, catches some air off a jump in the Arb yesterday. Corrections William Krebaum will not run for City Council, as was reported. The University Grounds Department, not Moving and Trucking, is re- sponsible for campus snow removal. THE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today agree to d LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with Gov. John Engler yesterday after leading chants of "Down with Engler" during a march on the Capitol to protest welfare cuts. and homelessness. Engler said the 90-minute meeting was "unproductive, but very sincere. Basically, I think we agreed to disagree." "He left that out," Engler said of the chant. The governor added that Jackson was "very courteous. It was a very professional discussion." Jackson represented the traditional Democratic view of heavy spending on social programs, while Engler said he's trying to cut government size and spending and taxes to spur economic growth. "They have (Democrats) carried the day for a lot of years in Michigan policymaking. I think what we said was we have to look at change because it hasn't worked very well," the governor said. "We did not leave the meeting with the sense that he's confident that our approach is better than his approach and that preferred by members of his party." Jackson said he hoped the meeting would be the start of a process that would get Engler to go along with emergency spending for the poor, especially those hurt by the end of a state-funded welfare program last month. The end of General Assistance stopped state checks that were going to about 83,000 able-bodied adults without children. Engler said that $240 million would be better spent on aid and health care for poor families. "They are able-bodied in a disabled economy," Jackson said. Democrats in the Legislature have pushed to use money from the state's rainy day fund for a isagree' replacement program, and Jackson echoed that after meeting with the governor. They talked to reporters separately. "There's a flood, but there's a resistance to using the rainy day fund even though a lot of people are drowning," Jackson said, adding Engler's main goal should be to "mitigate the misery" of the poor, jobless, and homeless. Jackson said he hoped to set up a meeting soon with top executives from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Corp. and Chrysler Corp. to get them to look at new ways of investing in America to create jobs. Earlier yesterday, Jackson led a crowd estimated at 3,000 by Michigan State Police on the protest march. "We're fed up. Won't take no more," many chanted during the snowy three-block walk to the Capitol in bitter 17-degree cold. "We the people will turn to each other, not on each other," Jackson said at the start of his speech. He reminded the crowd that they marched on Martin Luther King Jr.'s 63rd birthday and urged them to follow his example an "organize, organize, organize." "Marching is one step, bu organizing is the ultimate step," he said. "Today is the beginning of the process of taking government back to the people and the start of the process of reinvesting in America. "We are not fighting for welfare. We're fighting for job share and health care," Jackson said "We must not look down on the homeless. We must lift them up and stand with them." s S f 1 y e r A V by Crystal Gilmore Retired University Professor Hans Kurath, a noted linguist and editor of the Middle English Dic- tionary (MED) for 16 years, died Jan. 2. He was 100. Helen Kao, an associate research editor for the MED, said Kurath was disciplined and strict, but also kind and gentle in his actions. "We all feared him a little bit, because of his knowledge," she said. Kao, a student of Kurath's, said she remembers his teaching style as well organized. Kurath is best known for his work as editor in chief of the MED from 1946 to 1962. During that time, the first 28 sections of the dic- tionary, which documents the En- glish vocabulary from 1100 to 1500 A.D., were published. The dictionary was begun in 1930 and is now near- ing completion. He also authored several books including The Linguistic Atlas of New England and A Word Geogra- phy of the Eastern United States. Kurath was born in Austria in 1891 and immigrated to the United States in 1907. He attended both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas as an under- graduate and earned his doctoral de- gree at the University of Chicago. In 1961, Kurath received the U- M Distinguished Faculty Achieve- ment Award. When he retired in 1962, the University Board of Regents com- mented, "The final tribute to Pro- fessor Kurath will be the enduring use by the scholarly community of those works which his distinguished gifts of mind and powers of organi- zation have made possible. Mddle English Dictionary editor Kurath dies at 100 Meetings ACT-UP Ann Arbor, meeting, Michigan Union, Crofoot Rm, 7:30 p.m. Amnesty International U of M, weekly mtg, East Quad, Green Lounge, 7 p.m. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), luncheon mtg, 1311 EECS, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, large group mtg. Dana Rm 1040, 7 p.m. Islamic Circle, weekly mtg, Michigan League, 3rd floor, 6:15. Speakers "Supercoiled DNA Energetics and Dynamics - New Algorithmic Approaches", Dr. Tamar Schlick. 1640 Chem, 4 p.m. "Environmental Resources and Individual Variation in Reproductive Decisions", Elizabeth Hill. Rackham E. Lecture Rm, 4 p.m. "The Japanese Real Estate Market and Finance", Masahiko Takai. Lane Hall Commons Rm, noon. Furthermore Safewalk, night-time safety walking service. Temporary service. Sun-Thur, 8 p.m.-11:30 a.m. Stop by 102 UGLi or Sunday, Jan. 26. Northwalk, North Campus safety walking service. Temporary service Sun-Thur 8 p.m.-l1:30 a.m. Stop by 2333 Bursley or call 763-WALK. Full service begins Sunday, Jan. 26. Housing Division Resident Staff Positions, Required Resident Staff Selection Information Meetings, All new RD/RA/RF/MPA/MPAA applicants must attend either this mtg or one Jan. 19. Applications for positions will only be available at these mtgs. MLB Aud 3, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Study Abroad for International Students, International Center, Rm 9, 4-6 p.m. U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Auditions for Pirates of Penzance, Michigan League Basement, Jan. 16, 17 7-10 p.m. Film Series, Maids and Madams, free, 1500 EECS, 5 p.m. Russkij Chaj, Russian conversation practice at all levels, MLB 3rd floor conference rm, 4-5 p.m. U of M Snowboard, snowboarding, The Cube, 5 p.m. Palestine Solidarity Committee, candlelight vigil, Diag, 8 p.m. Career Planning and Placement., On Campus Recruitment Program Information Session, Angell Hall, Aud B, 6:10-7 p.m.; CP&P is now open WHERE IS YOUR WORLD GOING? _ F - 4 _ V 60 a Paris $515* M.%OJ AJ lgLq* Will there be a nuclear war? An economic collapse? Will Pollution destroy our earth? There are Answers. Why be uncertain any longer? Plan now to find the answers you've been looking for. Don't miss the opening i