Submitted by Crusoe (as a comment on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog
You list some good ideas for the structural retransformation of Haiti [Responding to Commenter Dictionary on the Haiti We Are Sorry blog]. Each in of themselves they do not depend on improved education but do depend on improved technical training (farming etc). However, for all, the long-term success of those initiatives individually and collectively leading to a successful Haiti will certainly also depend on improved education, if as we have been informed, the literacy level is so low.
This has two implications.
Firstly, immediately after initial search, rescue, medical, temporary (short and medium term) and security issues have been addressed as priority, the early reformation must include an immediate education programme, for adult and youth, such that the transformation of Haiti can begin with the active participation of her people, not as ‘serfs’ but as active individuals and communities with an understanding of the reasoning behind the methods and the aim of the methods.
I must add, that ‘transformation’ in this context is not meant to refer to bringing Haiti to the same philosophical outlook as anyone other specific group. In this context it is meant to refer to bringing Haiti to a level of self-capability and self-determination. Now, to expect say a three or four year ‘crash course’ in education and technical skills may seem either impossible or unrealistic, but unfortunately, if this is not done as one of the foundations of the rebuilding (in the context of not only structural, but as a nation of people), than all else may eventually prove futile.
This is obviously along the lines of the old phrase of teaching a man to fish instead of giving him the fish. Merely putting up structures, farms etc may certainly alleviate some misery, but while in the short term foreign contractors etc may gain much from the aid given for this purpose, the long-term goal should be to have Haitians and not only elite, but the everyday Haitian, benefit from money flows and thus create an independent people and a vibrant economy.
It is my view therefore Caricom leaders, should address the education of Haiti, as a priority, as much a priority as any other redevelopment effort.
To reinforce a point, the initial effort must not only be to set up an improved schooling system, but implement as an interim measure, an ’emergency education programme’, with the help of international authorities and the Haitian authorities. If one wants a long-term Haiti, this is essential.
We must give thanks yet again, that Errol Barrow saw the necessity of education as a developmental tool. And, we must forever resist ANY attempts to take free education from Barbadians. Indeed, those of us who wish for an improved world, must seek the furtherance of a sound even if basic education, for all peoples, as a necessity for development.
1,421 responses to “The Reconstruction And Transformation Of Haiti: A Global-Moral Imperative”
@ac
1. The Haitian Government, by calling off the S&R is really telling the teams that came to go home. It is not a question of payment.
2. The people have no say. Their President spoke for them and will continue to speak for them. With 20,000+ troops on the ground in Haiti, armed to the teeth, you think that Haitians will get a chance to organise themselves against such a mighty force?
ac ‘First of all The Haitian Government does
not have the money to pay the relief agencies from the other countries. The countries which sent them have to take on this burden, so Haiti is in no position’
What is aid? A service / good.
How is it paid for? Donations.
Who receives payment?
Countries supplying / delivering the aid.
That may be at the core of ROK’s cynicism, but I cannot speak for him.
Certainly it must be considered.
This is also why things such as education programmes etc should be carefully constructed, include international and Caricom teachers and technical training, towards basic and then technical skills, rather than have programmes that peddle useless junk to persons who really need the three R’s and then technical training.
Such programmes are more labour intensive than anything else, which is why and how the Caricom community can and must be involved.
The question of HOW charitable donations are spent is a useful one.
Remember, everything must have a fair and beneficial return.
Remember also, that there are those who will seek to forward their self-interest in selling goods and ‘useless junk’ to persons who have no use for it, but have use for other beneficial aid packages.
And just because a body has a ‘name’ and their employees have ‘letters’ does not mean that politics and self-interest is not involved. It always is heavily involved.
Where there is money to be had….
@ROK
YES Rok it is a question of paying the manpower that does the work in and outside Haiti . Afterall these people can’t work for free they too have families to take care of.
Buy the way what President? I know you are not talking about the Haitian President. His people are still sleeping in the streets while he is doing press conferences With Julio Igelesis.
@Crusoe
Aid comes with a cost and it takes outside manpower to deliver aid and additional cost are added which at times cannot be met by charities.These things don’t happen solely by the organisation . The public sector also play a part and that is where the additional costs are involved .
@ac
Take a good look at Crusoe’s response. I will only add that when you send home state sponsored teams, it will mean that any resources employed by the USA will get the donations as compensation.
Note that USA signed an MoU with the USA and that will more than likely allow them to collect compensation for services rendered.
GP ‘In a program on tv this week it was stated that recovery of the American economy will be slowed down by the fact they cant find folk abroad to buy enough of their exports abroad’
Recovery? Interesting word that is being bandied about in the business media.
Definition per the ‘free online dictionary’ ..”restoration to a former or better condition”
or per Meriam-Webster online ”the act, process, or an instance of recovering; especially : an economic upturn (as after a depression)”
or in economic parlance, a period following a recession i.e. upturn.
My question is, why the differences in definitions?
If we take the first definition, it is unlikely then that we will see such ‘restoration to a former condition’ for some time, years definitely.
If we take the second, which is an upturn, note that it does not mean that things will return to ‘what they were’.
The third mirrors the second and will be measured in economic terms, but clearly again, does not mean that things will return to ‘what they were’.
Reality is that the Western economies are still in deep crisis. While the stimulus package caught the freefall, as it was intended to do, there are still many years of restructuring involved.
Unfortunately, you will see the populace, instigated by the news media, now turning on the Democrats and President Obama.
Interesting but expected bit of politics there.
Two factors here.
Obviously, ‘the powerful’ are really going after Obama. They want their own man in.
That is one issue.
The second issue is that the populace were just silly to think that after the bubble burst, there would be some realignment and things would go back to hunky-dory after a year or two.
Reality is hitting home, but instead of accepting the reality, they are falling into the media trap and choosing to attack the Democrats instead.
But I digress.
Fact is, the Western economies are in crisis and while any little bit helps, goods sold to Haiti will not do much to reverse this.
The magnitude of the problem really has not been accepted as yet.
Part of it lies with basic economic theory.
Where have goods been produced in the last twenty years?
China / Japan.
Who was the buyer?
USA / UK etc.
So, how in heck did they expect to remain viable?
Sure, that much of the companies were Western or part Western owned, but ultimately jobs etc were sourced elsewhere.
Now the chicken has come home to roost.
Certainly the only way out is a massive restructuring to enable the West to have jobs again.
That has its own issues, including re-training and structuring of manufacturing to the level of excellence achieved in the Far East, a reduction in the false lifestyle achieved i.e. above true economic means and also international politics and measures.
To compound this you have the selfish too powerful, who wish to maintain their foothold on everything. I refer to those ‘behind the scenes’ families.
Further, you have a weight of two wars economically, although payment does go to arms manufacturers, so some would argue with me on that point.
In short, this crisis is here to stay for a while.
What is the reality, is that as people and as a nation, we should refrain from buying things, just for so, we should buy for need.
That will impact our foreign exchange and lifestyle in a beneficial way.
@ROK
You seeing things as theory . but in reality these things do not always work out as plan. Cost overruns always reared it”s ughly head. Nothing on papers really works out as planned.Sorry!
@ac
What charities? You see that the EU alone donated 560 Million Euros? Which charity they are going to give that to? That is to offset expenses and since USA will be the only state sponsored operation with exclusive rights, who you think will get the most of that money?
I would be glad to hear your response to my above.
@ac
On paper? The USA in Haiti are on paper? Sure that 562M Euros is paper, I agree, but what you seeing is not on paper, it is the reality.
This is only a drop in the bucket but the bucket can only get full starting with a drop… you know they have some people who would walk around and collect all the drops and don’t let anybody else get any? LOL
For the USA, Haiti represents an additional 20,000+ jobs to say the least.
The ACP Civil Society Forum has established a presence in Haiti. Let me share an e-mail from one of the Vice Chairpersons in Haiti, Flavia Cherry:
“I have been here in Haiti for a few days now and what I find most striking, is not only the resilience of the people, but the extent of volunteerism which is evident in every single camp and in every recovery effort at building and rescue.
“There are thousands of young Haitian men who speak English and they show up at the make-shift hospitals every single morning from 6am till late at night as volunteer translators between the people and the international medical personnel and relief workers. I have never seen anything like this! One Canadian volunteer introduced me to three young men who came across the boarder from the DR as soon as they heard of the earthquake. They are born of a mother from the DR and Haitian fathers, so they came over to look for their fathers. They were drawn together by grief when they each learned that their fathers had passed away and those three young men decided to stay in Haiti to assist in the camps. When the Canadian volunteer introduced me to those three young men, I had to hold back the tears. Like everyone else, they are living in tents and can barely find something to eat, but they stayed to help their Haitian people.
“What you really do not see, is Haitians helping Haitians and the extent to which the people have organized themselves. Civil Society has set up huge signs in areas which read in English “Please, Help us Here. Those signs point to the areas where the need is greatest. But what you do not see on TV, is the extent to which aid efforts are being mishandled by those international people who think they know everything. What you do not see on TV is the thousands of miliarty officers heavily armed, standing, milling around doing nothing when there is absolutely no need for this kind of military presence. Just think of what it must take to house, feed, pay and care for each of those heavily armed military officers. Compare this to the women and children living under tents made of bedsheets, who are yet to see any aid efforts reaching them.
Regards,
Flavia”
.33cents of every dollar from the US gov’t is going to the US military.
.09 cents for food
@Pat…..be careful that this trinity don’t call down fire and brimstone on your head!
Black Haitians been made to fight like animals to procure food from relief workers?
A sight all too familiar.
If soldiers are out on one campaign or the other, they are not at home complaining.
If young men are made busy, they cannot complain.
One of the ‘un’attractive reasons for those with/in power to instigate wars in tough economic times.
It diverts attention, it keeps youngsters busy and even reduces the working population.
Not nice huh?
But, be careful and keep a watchful eye.
It is a tempting measure for those with power to exercise, to maintain control.
We masses need to be kept in line, you see.
CNN is reporting the US military has stopped flying out critically injured Haitians because hospitals have refused to accept them.
The governor of Florida says he asking the Federal Government for monetary assistance for continuing medical care of haitians. Who will pay the doctors and medical staff?
http://www.miamiherald.com/582/story/1454479.html
Here is the “moral imperative”
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60T23I20100130
“The five men and five women were in custody in the capital, Port-au-Prince after their arrests on Friday night. There are fears that traffickers could try to exploit the chaos and turmoil following Haiti’s January 12 earthquake quake to engage in illegal adoptions.”
@Rok
How far do you think that money would go in the overall expenses taken on by the USA .The allocation of that money fails small in comparison to the bigger picture which is the rebuilding of the Haiti infasturcture. Lke you said that money is just a drop in the bucket and all the countries involved is going to demand their share of it.USA cannot
afford any more enemies at this time .
Fla is already squealing.
By the way The EU has previously been criticised for being inefficent in handling
humanitarian crisis and not being able to reach their objectives in this area.
And aren’t those men and women arrested in Haiti’s suspected child theft & exploitation ‘missionaries?’ And won’t that make them CHRISTIANS? Doing ‘GOD’S’ work in JESUS’ name?
Weren’t it usually these same missionaries who would be the first ones to move into countries on the ‘exploitation hitlist’, to scout the resources, and sedate the natives with their bibles and Jesus Christ, only to be followed by the military?
@Hopi
You should be careful not to toss the baby with the bath water. The process to adopt babies in Haiti has always been tortuous and post-earthquake with the destruction of documents and government buildings it has become moreso. Some groups, especially the Christians who see the suffering maybe tempted to cross the line in the interest of the children. In no way condoning the breaking of the law but Haiti seems to be a specialcase.
@David…..I get you, we need to keep the baby and toss out the bath water.
BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GIFTS!
mobs turn angry in Haiti .
Watch video on http://www.CNN.com.
Check out New Orleans, why would anyone have faith in a US relief effort.
The almighty dollar rules, even over life, death and the world’s good intentions.
@ac
What an over-exaggerated title. Sorry, but I did not see any mobs turn angry. I saw people struggling to survive. I did not see anybody attack Preval and he was certainly not afraid or behaved like a man whose life was in danger; nothing more than petty squabbling.
Under the circumstances, I saw a fairly well behaved people; a bit agitated but civil. We are still engaging in the stigmatisation and slander of the Haitian people. That video is not worth the exposure you are giving it.
A feeble attempt at a story that never existed. Shame on CNN.
@ROk
There is nothing wrong with people getting angry when circumstances warrants. when people go without food and shelter they should get angry with their government for ignoring their plights. and showing up after 3wksto say
hello.
@ac
“There is nothing wrong with people getting angry when circumstances warrants. when people go without food and shelter they should get angry with their government for ignoring their plights. and showing up after 3wksto say…”
My point exactly. So what was that story? The title itself is pure sensationalism.
I should say that there is nothing wrong with the story. Everything is wrong with the title.
@ROK
As a matter of fact i sent CNN. an email
with objection to the title. Your point is welltaken
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_5495.shtml
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202207-U-S-Military-No-Where-to-be-Found-in-Port-au-Prince
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202150-Let-them-eat-mudcake-Cruise-ship-docks-at-its-trademarked-private-fantasy-island-of-Labadee-in-Haiti
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202170-The-Fateful-Geological-Prize-Called-Haiti
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202188-New-Haiti-Same-Corporate-Interests
Sigh:
Coming on three weeks since the quake, and we still cannot get the anti-Christian skeptical wing of commenters at BU — a fair term, on the sort of commentary above [and recall in an earlier thread Hopi called for Christian churches to be burned down with nary a corrective from her side of the fence . . . ] — to focus on what needs to be done by Caricom to HELP Haiti.
Which just happens to be the largest population member state of Caricom.
Sadly revealing. And, as uncle James sums up:
While a corrective is important, we must not forget the main issue: the need to get back to a positive focus on what is to be done for Haiti by Caricom, Caribbean peoples and the largest single cluster of voluntary membership NGO’s CBO’s and CSO’s in the Caribbean — our churches.
So, I note that apart from the already put up proposals here and here, I have now run across “hollow bahareque,” an interesting sustainable Bamboo based housing and low rise commercial/ institutional building technology that has been further developed by engineers in Costa Rica; cf. pp. 24 – 26 here. [A cluster of houses built using a timber frame variant on the system — the plantation-grown bamboo Guadua angustifolia (Kunth), known as “vegetable steel,” had not matured enough to be used yet for the full framework — withstood a Mag 7.5, without significant damage, at the epicentre.]
(NB: I have already communicated to relevant ministries and to aid agencies and, DV [Uncle James again . . . ], will be following up.)
This one looks like another key component in a transition to a sustainable construction industry, joining Moladi-type cast foamed concrete, Hebel autoclaved aerated concrete modular components, and compressed stabilised earth blocks and bricks. Not least because bamboos are the fastest growing woody plants in the world, so we are looking at a sustainable forestry/plantation product here. And also, bahareque is a very low cost system: put up your framework including Bambo ring beams and roof trusses, put up your bamboo matting or latticing for frameworking the siding, plaster (in the old days mud and horse dung [2nd use straw . . . from an otherwise problematic “resource”] probably with slaked lime to make it all into a cement-like mortar; nowadays a cement based mortar, 2″ thick. [Pp. 24 – 26 as linked give a description with quite instructive pictures.]
G’day
D
PS: Oh, yes, on the current/recent/ traditional Haitian (including Vodunistic) view/understanding on that infamous Bois Caiman claimed pact. Adjust for the subtle sneering tone in this academic report [which “of course” turned blatant when Evangelicals were mentioned . . . ], pardon.)
The poliyical state of affairs in Haiti makes me wonder if this country would
be able to make self determination in the weeks to come a major priority.
check http://www.msnbc.com breaking news.
Haitian wants U.S. to take over
@Dictionary
“Coming on three weeks since the quake, and we still cannot get the anti-Christian skeptical wing of commenters at BU…”
Anti-christian skeptics? Are these the people who are skeptical of anti christians? Are you speaking about yourself?
Interesting story or is it PR? Now would be a good time to examine US success in building societies they have occupied, Afghanistan comes to mind.
@Dick
“hat is to be done for Haiti by Caricom, Caribbean peoples and the largest single cluster of voluntary membership NGO’s CBO’s and CSO’s in the Caribbean — our churches…”
Where are the churches in Haiti? Not a single church from the Caribbean went in. Meanwhile, the Caribbean NGOs and CBOs have formed an alliance with their counterparts in Haiti on the ground; now counting over 100 NGOs; not a single church.
Sorry, I forgot, Haiti is the home of the devil, right? All you doing is yapping and trying to impress “onlookers” (whoever they are) that you are an academic. Until the day that you practice christianity, you are just a puff of hot air.
The article:
______________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013102725.html
>> As food distribution improves, Haitians want U.S to ‘take over’
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 1, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — International relief organizations backed by American soldiers delivered hundreds of tons of rice to homeless residents of the Haitian capital Sunday, laboring to ease a food shortage that has left countless thousands struggling to find enough to eat.
But even as food-aid workers enjoyed their most successful day since the Jan. 12 earthquake, the increasingly prominent role of U.S. troops and civilians in the capital is creating high expectations that the Obama administration is struggling to contain.
The needs are extraordinary, and the common refrain is that the Americans will provide.
“I want the Americans to take over the country. The Haitian government can’t do anything for us,” said Jean-Louis Geffrard, a laborer who lives under a tarp in the crowded square. “When we tell the government we’re hungry, the government says, ‘We’re hungry, too.’ ”
Added Canga Matthieu, a medical student whose school was destroyed: “The American government should take care of us.”
“They’re well organized. The United States is the richest country in the world, and they can help.”
But help has its limits, U.S. officials emphasize in their public statements and in their interactions with Haitians. “You will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward,” President Obama said the day after the earthquake. But U.S. officials here make it clear that the American government is not responsible for rebuilding the ravaged country.
“The military forces . . . are not here to do any reconstruction. That is not our mission,” said Col. Rick Kaiser, a U.S. Army engineer overseeing emergency repairs to the Port-au-Prince docks, the electrical and water systems, and other battered infrastructure in the hemisphere’s poorest country.
Administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, describe virtually every activity here as “Haiti-led,” although the government is barely functioning and its record was checkered even before the earthquake killed more than 110,000 people and leveled an array of government ministries.
Louis Lucke, the senior U.S. Agency for International Development official in Haiti, stood in an American-run medical complex Saturday with President René Préval and told reporters that “the Haitians are leading the process in all the areas that are necessary” — including food distribution, despite strong evidence to the contrary.
U.S. officials are doing what they can to bolster the stature of Préval and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and to promote international assistance efforts for the more-daunting work that lies ahead. In the meantime, they are deploying personnel to support projects from food delivery to the erection of a temporary hospital near Port-au-Prince.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason Jacot, an Army engineer, drove to a critical power station in the Delmas neighborhood Sunday morning to assess repairs made by Haitian and Dominican workers.
Markestre Theolien, a supervisor with Haiti Electricity, the national utility, lamented the condition of the 27-year-old transformers and asked for new ones. Asked where the help should come from, he smiled and said, “U.S.A.”
“So they’re expecting us to take over?” Jacot asked a translator. “No, no, no. How can we assist without completely rebuilding? We’re not here to rebuild.”
The discussion went back and forth cordially. Jacot said he would be talking with the utility’s director to learn what was needed. Theolien defined his bottom line: “What we really want is the United States to rebuild it, to modernize.”
U.S. soldiers, whose numbers within Haiti have risen to 6,500, played a central role in Sunday’s food distributions, working alongside U.N. peacekeepers to prevent the pushing, shoving and occasional melees that have severely hampered deliveries. Where U.S. troops have been present in recent days, relief workers say, deliveries have gone smoothly.
By day’s end, the U.N. World Food Program calculated that roughly 400 metric tons of rice had been delivered to nine sites. Five more locations will be running early in the week, a spokesman said, but increased gang violence in the Cité Soleil slums made deliveries too risky.
The generally smooth deliveries on Sunday, based on a new system of ration cards, were met with pleasure at the Place du Canape Vert, an impromptu settlement where several hundred families received large sacks marked “Product of USA” or “USA Best Rice.” Yet some asked when there would be something more than rice, while others wanted to know why they were left out.
Deliveries will resume Monday as the World Food Program, bolstered by an $80 million U.S. contribution, seeks to reach 2 million people in the next two weeks. The agency hopes the system will lead to distribution of other badly needed food and relief supplies.
At the ramshackle encampment, some residents were boiling water for rice within an hour of the delivery. Some had beans or root vegetables to add, and a few had meat. Those who could afford neither complained that rice alone would not be enough.
“It’s there, but we can do nothing with it. We only got rice. No oil, nothing. And it’s not easy to find water,” said Flore Laurent, who is eight months pregnant. But she had nothing but praise for the role of the American soldiers. “I vote for the help of the U.S., 100 percent.”
A throng of people in the square discussed their lack of faith in Haitian authorities. One after another, they said their only hope is the United States.
“The Haitian government has been here for a while, and they give us nothing. The United States should take over the country,” said Andrelita Laguerre, shepherding four children and a grandchild at the camp. “Most of my friends expect the United States to take over. I wish!” >>
________________
Rather sad [given the UN mission there for several years now], but understandable.
D
@ac
Where you choosing these stories to circulate? They are not based on facts. Please note that it is so easy to go in a corner and find the right people to say what you want said. How many people out of 8 million saying so?
I also saw a gang of people telling the USA to leave but there was no rush to circulate that story.
The second thing is that much of what is said is based on false premises because USA is certainly not the richest country in the world and as a matter of fact is so broke and indebted that if the world had to call in its receivables from USA, that country would have to go into receivership because it can’t pay.
So ask yourself why a broke country waging war? You don’t think that the money saved would help the USA recover? So then there has to be a reason for waging war; the spoils?
In the said article, you see USA clearly shunning the responsibility for rebuilding; Why?
From all reports, my conclusion is that the Haitian people want change but not for USA to run their country. Maybe the higher-ups and better offs want that, but I hear ordinary people in the streets calling for Aristide not USA.
That story is nothing more than another fourth estate promotion of USA propaganda. I don’t think Haitians sleeping. Their leaders may not have given them voice but they know that the USA is responsible for their leadership problems right now, as they felt that they were on the way to democracy through Aristide.
Any call for Aristide is a call for the USA to leave and at least three reports broadcast, Haitians were calling for Aristide’s return. Even in the report where Preval ventured on the lawn of the Presidential Palace, there were shouts of Aristide by that multitude of people.
@Dick
You would jump at that. See this one:
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/202207-U-S-Military-No-Where-to-be-Found-in-Port-au-Prince
U.S. Military No Where to be Found in Port-au-Prince
Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:49 EST
© Dolores M. Bernal
Reporting from Haiti
You have to be in Haiti to see for yourself that no where in Port-au-Prince are troops present or actively helping survivors.
No Aid In Port-au-Prince
I have been driving all week around Port-au-Prince taking photos of the destroyed homes and buildings and as I’ve gone from one end of this city to the other, the US is military is only found at the airport – nice and secured behind those gates.
Meanwhile, the UN and its white Jeeps are driving all around this city, but I haven’t seen them stop at any particular location to give food or water. Where is all the aid going, if any?
Michel David Stephan is a 22-year-old Haitian university student who has not been able to continue his studies because the campus has been badly damaged. I asked him what he thought of the UN.
“We call them ‘tourists’ because they don’t do nothing,” Stephan told me.
I also asked Stephan what he thought of the US military.
“They are tourists too, they only come to take pictures,” he said.
The only people present and actively helping on the ground are members of relief organizations, but there aren’t enough of them.
As a journalist my job is to try to provide answers, but I find myself scratching my head too. The troops are not seen at the tent cities or shanty towns – are they tanning at the beach? That’s a big maybe.
In many parts of Port-au-Prince you see people selling and providing services. They are trying to go back to a normal life, but right next to a bank, there is a tent city and when you drive around at night, you see people camping out where ever there is space. Do they have a full belly? Most likely not. Would they appreciate the help? No doubt.
There is a big propaganda machine spitting out lies that the Haitians are happy to see Americans everywhere, but those Haitians must be the ones living in the United States. Here what you see are signs with phrases like: “We need food and water,” “We need medicine.”
I drove by the Presidential Palace this afternoon, the scenes were even more chaotic there. Downtown Port-au-Prince was hit stronger than other places I had been – the government buildings were flattened like pancakes, floors were stacked up on top of each other. The place smells of dead, the survivors are forced to live like rats packed up on a landfill.
No Follow-Up Care
I’ve spoken with doctors and nurses who are concerned with what will happen to the survivors once the relief organizations have to pull them out.
“Who is going to take care of the amputees?” asked Dr. Eric Salado, an Orthopedic Surgeon from Miami. “Who is going to give follow up care to the people who got stitches and will need them removed a month from now?”
I have more questions: Can it be that the aid to Haiti will only lasts as long as the news cycle? Would Haiti be abandoned again once all CNN and other TV reporters go back to Miami, New York, and Los Angeles?
If the US and the UN fail to come through for Haiti, the country will have an entire population of people who are missing limbs and can’t fend for themselves since many of them have lost relatives.
“I had a little girl who lost two fingers during the earthquake,” said Luis Ramos, a Physician Assistant from Pittsburgh. “A relative brought her in because the girl was complaining of pain in her hand. When I took off the bandage and saw what she had, I put the bandage back on and told her to go to a hospital right away,” Ramos said. “The little girl had gangrene all the way to her wrist. They will have to amputate her arm.”
Ramos told me that the little girl was only 18 months old and because of lack of follow up care after the initial treatment, this girl will grow up having only one arm.
EXTRA: An Interview With A Haitian-American Nurse
While I was getting something to eat in Delmas, I ran into a group of Haitian American nurses and doctors from the United States. I wanted to get their reaction to the earthquake and relief efforts.
“I thought I was going to be seeing military everywhere.”
Listen to the interview: http://c0394641.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/DS400326.mp3 (4 mins 9 secs)
Again:
ROK plainly does not know that Food for the Poor is a Jamaican initiated organization [the Mahfood family], and that the churches from the Caribbean did not need to “go in” as they were already there; long since, and long before Haiti was headline news.
Indeed, yesterday we had a special offering in my local congregation [of the Wesleyan Holiness Church] for Haiti, which will go through to the Haitian District.
And he should also know that one of the key leaders of the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean, and a former President of the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology was Dr Dieumeme Noelliste, a Haitian national.
So Christian aid to Haiti from the region is already in progress, and is in partnership with the Haitians themselves. (Not to mention the longstanding international Christian efforts dating to C19 and of which Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Blessing are only two that we can easily list that have been in the news. TEAR Fund is not usually headlined but was able to leverage its presence next door in DR to get around bottlenecks. One of the key longstanding foci of the Christian aid groups has been provision of safe drinking water, a strategic target that attacks a major cause of easily preventable early childhood death.)
This basic gap in perspective backed up by a subtext of hostile contempt is ever so sad for the head of BANGO.
And of course, the churches are plainly Non-Government, Community- Based, Civil Society voluntary membership organisations.
D
@Dick, ac
The ACP Civil Society Forum has established a presence in Haiti, working with a network of NGOs and CSOs there. Here is a report from the Vice Chair for the Caribbean, Flavia Cherry, on the ground in Haiti:
2010-01-31
FROM THE FRONT LINES (Flavia Cherry)
It is good to see that some efforts are being made to reach women in desperate need, but those of us on the ground are yet to see this happen in many of the areas where there is desperate need for food and relief. AID agencies MUST find a more humane way to reach out to the women and children who are most vulnerable and desperate. I know that the need is great, there is no excuse for what is the reality on the ground here in Haiti as Caribbean citizens offered help and mmany have even been denied entry. It is obvious that the aid agencies, (well intentioned as they may be) are unable to handle the scale of the problem here in Haiti. So why are they not being inclusive and involving more Haitian and Caribbean institutions in the relief and recovery efforts? Something is very wrong about the picture here in Haiti because while international agencies are dropping the ball in an attempt to monopolize aid efforts, Haitians are dying. Apart from lines for women, there is an urgent need for volunteers to go into the camps to reach women, children, disabled and elderly people who are unable to move.
It is a disgrace for so much money to be circling around to all kinds of aid groups and every single day I see so many people hungry, desperate. This situation is simply not acceptable. There are women in camps who have not had anything to eat for days. There are many available Hatians who are willing to assist as volunteers to get the aid to those who need it and CARICOM was willing to send help, but something seems to be really wrong. Why are Caribbean Goernments not allowed to play a more pivotal role, especially as there are many CARICOM citizens and regional security officers who speak creole and would be able to communicate better with the people of Haiti.
What I see on the ground is lots of big fancy air conditioned vehicles moving up and down with foreigners, creating more dust and pollution on the roads. Thousands of millitary officers everywhere, heavily armed like they are in some kind of battle zone. The girl guides and boy scouts of Haiti are also out in their uniforms, but unlike the army of troops, they are up and about, assisting in many ways. I saw of group of the boy scouts and girl guides directing traffic today, Sunday!
From the very beginning, I have been asking why aid agencies did not arrange separate lines for women, children and disabled people. It is obvious that if you leave people hungry for 5 to 8 days without food, they will be desperate and when food finally arrives, it will be survival of the fittest. The international agencies allowed confusion to reign supreme for more than two weeks while sensational and racist media people were merrily portraying images of hungry people fighting for food. At least now that they have suddenly realized the need for separate lines, I hope that this happens at every single distribution point, because as I am writing this email, that certainly is NOT the case.
I would like to share two separate events which I witnessed yesterday.
The first one is what I call a miracle birth. A young lay who had both legs amputated delivered a healthy baby on the ground, under a bed sheet. Not only were both legs amputated, but she had bandages all over her hips. Because of her condition, this expectant mother should never have been left out there on the streets at that advanced stage of her pregnancy because the chances of having a normal delivery in her physical condition were very slim. At the time of the delivery, people were everywhere, men, women, children, all huddled together under those sheets, for shelter from the sun. If there were complications, both mother and baby could very easily have passed, as no one in the camp had any transport or means of getting the mother to a medical facility. Other mothers were there with their newborns. This poor mother had nothing, no milk, no clothing for the baby, nothing! A doctor eventually came, but the mother was left there, with her baby, so we brought milk and supplies, including a sleeping bag. I know these are not normal times, but it is exactly for this reason, international aid agencies should be more inclusive and engage all those who are willing and capable of providing support.
The second incident happened in the heart of Port Au Prince yesterday where the largest number of people are living under the most inhumane conditions. I was taking pictures, when suddenly everyone started to run towards the Palace gates. I stood on top of a vehicle and realized that it was President Preval who had ventured onto the lawn and people starting shouting out to him, saying that they were hungry. President Preval came to the fence and hundreds of people kept running towards the fence. Many of them were shouting ¨Lavalas, Aristide, Lavalas, Aristide¨. Several others were asking President Preval why he had not addressed his people and told them what was happening. One woman put it this way: (I have not had anything to eat for four days and no one is hearing anything from the President, we have no idea what our Government is doing). I am using brackets because I cannot find quotation marks on this french keyboard.
President Preval spoke to those who were closest to the fence, but the large number of people who were pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of him, obviously heard nothing. At least I got a picture of the whole scene, including President Preval behind the fence with hundreds of people right next to him on the other side. Something about that scene convinced me even more, that there is really no need for such a heavy millitary presence in Haiti. What Haiti needs is an army of medical, civilian and specialist voluneers who will work with the people of Haiti to rebuild their nation – not a heavily armed military of more than 50,000 standing guard over them.
Regards,
Flavia
PS: I must express appreciation for the many volunteers from various countries who are giving very genuine assistance to the people of Haiti, but my comments remain relevant because of the reality on the ground.
PS: Onlookers, ROK obviously knows the vulgar double-meaning that attaches to the abbreviation of my handle he has chosen to use; despite plainly knowing that I have objected. That willful, snide resort to coarsening of discussion is sadly telling. And it is part of why I am not participating in a discussion or a debate in this thread, simply notifying of announcements.
PPS: On a point of basic correction: US, Canadian and other security forces were on the ground in Haiti for the very obvious reason that such is a normal part of major disasters: control of looting and formation of gangs and mobs leading to chaos and preying on the vulnerable. That this has to be underscored explicitly is all too telling on the attitude problem that is so plainly dominant among the anti-Christian, and anti-western commenters in this blog.
@Dick
Not only the churches donated, all Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean too. It is so easy to donate, but we (NGOs) have taken the step further, we have gone to the assistance of our neighbours. The point I am making is that none of the likes of you have made a step beyond donating.
You think that my words to you are an attack on the church? Man you just not that big. For your information, all the Churches in the zones that were hit are on the ball. My point is that none of you outside Haiti went in.
Without the help and determination of our NGOs and CBOs, more people would have died in Haiti. We did not listen to the rumours that there is bedlam in Haiti and therefore it is impossible to help Haitians. We did not listen to the USA and stopped sending relief. We bypassed them and got to the Haitian people.
If it were not for people like us, the propaganda about Haiti would have spread like wildfire and all now you would still be shunning Haiti like the plague and calling them devils.
These are ordinary men and women like Bajans or any African stock. These are people with hearts; loving people and it is sad that a christian like you would seek to condemn them and spread lies about them.
One thing about being an NGO, it can call a spade anytime. Church or no church, the truth will out. All you have done here is demonise Haiti and every chance you get to show them up as negative, you grasp it. Like that story you put up, ignoring all the rest, you gone in a corner to pull out a flimsy story that stands by itself, full of American propaganda.
You can’t tell me about morals and principles. You seeking to pull down your own brother. I know churches enough that don’t think like you or any of the rest of you on here of so little faith that you have to set out to prove what cannot be proven.
You telling me about the mote in my eyes, take a look in the mirror at the beam in yours. You from a church? I don’t believe that. If so, it is a sad day for the church and a shame on those of you who profess to be good. SHAME.
@Dick
“control of looting and formation of gangs and mobs leading to chaos and preying on the vulnerable.”
Is that all you can think of. These looters that you speak of are hungry people in a land where there is no food. Our people wrote back and told us that it was no sense having money. There is nothing to buy.
Then mobs and gangs? Total nonsense. Again, that is all you can think of? That is the excuse being used to have so many troops on the ground? You appealing to what sense of justice when you talk about these gangs and mobs?
Check the article above which observes that USA troops are nowhere to be found in certain places. Where was the US military when Preval was on the lawn of the Palace?
Why are the military being instructed by their commanders not to help Haitians? Obviously, they say in the article that it is not their mandate so they must be telling their soldiers not to help and possibly threatening them too if they do. What is the USA’s purpose then? To stop aid from reaching the people? You prioritise landing 50,000 troops over aid in a devastated land and you as a christian don’t see the evil in that? You would prefer to see the evil in Haitians?
I really don’t know where you come from and furthermore “Onlookers”, you will note that with all his/her learning, there is no ability to think; absolutely no common sense in this man that object to being abbreviated as Dick. He should hold himself in honour as the one cartoon I used to read and had to read everyday if my day was to be complete was “Dick Tracy”.
I therefore have to retract, because Dick had immeasurable common sense, acute cognitive skills and an analytical mind. You just don’t measure up.
@Dictionary
“PS: Onlookers, ROK obviously knows the vulgar double-meaning that attaches to the abbreviation of my handle he has chosen to use; despite plainly knowing that I have objected.”
I am very sorry sir, I never saw your objection. Actually, I thought you did not mind and I was admiring you for that; as a man who can stand up. As most men named Richard accept the brevity of Dick.
Your objection obviously missed me and here I was thinking of you as a man of stature. If it was in any of those long doses of B.E. you delivered, you certainly would not expect me to be digging in excrement; or even bovine “regurgitations”?
PPPS: Food For the Poor web. Note the logo, reflective of its foundation as a [Catholic] Christian Charity. Note its Haiti headlines. I highlight this case because it is probably the biggest single Christian based, Caribbean rooted charity. FFP has of course become a global initiative. (Fr Richard Ho Lumg of Jamaica actually founded an entire new Order of Catholic Priests to help the poor.)
Onlookers:
ROK PLAINLY knows that “Dictionary” is not normally abbreviated as he and others hostile to Christians have chosen to.
He knows that the word he has chosen to use in this hostile context is plainly willfully loaded with a particular vulgar reference, and reflects an agenda to coarsen public discussion, too often resorted to by commenters of his ilk.
Common broughtupcy would tell him to do better than that.
G’day
Dictionary
@Zoe
“Regarding any civil authority, (Government) who is ill-treating its citizens, and they are such civil authorities, the Christian must not condone such behaviour…”
So then, what is to be done about it? What do you propose to do as a christian? How do you not condone it? By shouting? How do you help the Haitian people as a christian?
There are several issues here. Would the SDA in Haiti be part of that plan to help? What about those who signed a pact with the devil; how would you treat these? Do you think that Aristide should be returned as the elected leader?