Haiti's Tragedy: More Than Political

Regarding the Opinion page article "Refugees: Punishing the Victims," Dec. 31: Haiti's tragedy is more than political; it is overpopulation and resource degradation so severe that a decent quality of life is not possible for most of Haiti's inhabitants. Even if it were possible to restore democracy to the island, who thinks that the refugee problem will go away?

In the long run, the United States is not helping countries such as Haiti or ourselves by continuing to act as a population safety valve. We can do better by aiding them in resource management, and above all, by helping them to bring down their birth rates - without which nothing much can be achieved. Nancy Duersten, Racine, Wis.

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