Thousands Of Haitians Will Die Unless U.S. Beefs-Up Relief Efforts
By MARK WEISBROT
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton apologized on March 10
for the role that his government played in destroying a
big part of Haitian agriculture: "It may have been good
for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not
worked. ... I have to live every day with the loss of
capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti, to feed those
people, because of what I did."
Beginning in the 1980s, subsidized U.S. rice wiped out
thousands of Haitian rice farmers and made the country
dependent on imported food.
Clinton's apology is important and presents an
opportunity to change U.S. policy toward Haiti that has
been a major cause of suffering in this desperately poor
country.
Most urgently, the current relief effort has to be
ramped up immediately to help the 1.3 million homeless
Haitians before thousands are killed by rains or the
hurricane season. A relatively brief rain on March 19
brought images of Haitians struggling through mud in
squalid camps to try to keep from being overwhelmed by
flooding.
The rainy season is just beginning and it will get much
worse, especially for 200,000 homeless in 29 camps that
could get washed away when the rains get heavy.
Danny Glover is an actor and chairman of the board of
the TransAfrica Forum. Both he and TransAfrica have
worked to help Haiti for many years.
"It doesn't make sense that they can't even get people
tents two and a half months after the earthquake," he
told me in Washington.
Indeed it does not: the needed tents cost about $100
apiece; even if we double the government's request for
200,000 tents, the cost is $40 million, not even 2
percent of the public and private donations coming from
the U.S. and other countries.
Congress needs to turn up the heat by immediately
announcing that it will fulfill its oversight role,
complete with hearings and a report on how U.S. dollars
- taxpayer and private donations - have been spent in
Haiti. This would give some incentive to the larger
organizations and U.S. government contractors to help
save thousands of Haitian before they are killed by
rains or the hurricane season, which begins in June.
Chemonics, which has received multiple contracts
totaling tens of millions of dollars from USAID, is a
subsidiary of ERLY Industries, which is also the parent
company of American Rice Corp., a major beneficiary of
the policies that Clinton apologized for.
The American Red Cross has received an estimated one-
third of the billion dollars that American relief
organizations have raised for Haiti. It has had some
scandals in recent years involving the receipt of some
hundreds of millions of dollars of funds that were not
spent on the particular relief efforts for which they
were raised.
The most urgent needs are clear: in addition to the
necessary shelter and relocations, there needs to be
more aid provided outside Port-au-Prince so that people
are more able to live elsewhere. More aid to agriculture
for the current planting season is also urgent.
The international community, which is currently
providing most of Haiti's food, should commit to buying
at least the current and next season's crop of locally
produced rice at a profitable, guaranteed price, before
distributing any imported rice. Currently, as has
happened in the past, imported rice is pushing down the
price of local rice and can make it difficult or
impossible for farmers to survive.
The Haitian government also needs budget support; it is
currently getting only a tiny fraction of U.S.
government dollars, not nearly enough to even have a
functioning government that is necessary for the
reconstruction effort.
It is both wrong and counter-productive to try to
exclude Haitians from having a voice in the future of
their own country.
_____________________________________
Showing posts with label earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label earthquake. Show all posts
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Haiti Journal #4
Our allies Leisa and Paul got in to deliver relief supplies. Here is a report.
Help us raise emergency funds for medical supplies to Haiti! Checks can be sent to CHILDREN's HOPE at the address below.
saving lives.
2010 Haiti Journal #4 January 17, 2010
Matthew 25 House
We got in!
What a relief! And the miracles keep happening. Neil Kopple, (yes, a relation) donated his time, his jet and his bagels to the cause. After "Clean The World"'s Shawn Seiple connected us with Neil, a humanitarian/benefactor who generously flew us into the U.S. Air Force controlled Port au Prince airport, then handed us bag after bag of fresh bagels and cream cheese.
The tower was down, the terminal in shambles and coated with a layer of water, and yet things ran with amazing success and a chaotic sort of precision. Though there was a moment just before landing that our co-pilot (Paul Burke) later reported to us that we lost audio connection with ground control. Our hats are off to Neil for volunteering to fly us in his amazing little jet with just a 20 minute window each way, for meeting the challenge of getting us there safely, and as the volunteers at Matthew 25 House would say was his shinning moment, got the bagels here intact.
Such a trivial thing seems almost frivolous, but for the team of 20 who have been working without sleep treating the earthquake victims, it made for just a moment of relief from the non-stop emotions that come with staving off death against all odds.
I worked the afternoon away in the drug room, organizing and dispensing meds. Everyone had their niche. But at the end of the day, our reward was to be welcomed at a circle gathering service performed by the local priest. Beautiful voices filled the air as sunset brought a cooling breeze, and we were transformed for a moment out of the soccer field full of the wounded and their families. We saw the stars again for a moment, and were reminded of one of the beautiful things about Haiti, their endless spirit and courage. Around the long table as we shared soup and bagels, I heard such a story. The woman to my left held out a small bill and said she had a story to tell...we grew quiet as her moist eyes signaled we should. She said she was given this money by a woman who had suffered a bad foot injury, and without treatment was now expected to die of gangrene. She had lost her home and her husband, but not her spirit. She told my new friend that this was the last of her money, and asked her to take it, and writing her name on a small bit of paper, along with those of her children, asked my friend to find her children. She was kind and gentle...living up to her last name: Tenderness. Not a bit of self-pity, though she earned it, not expressing any anger though she could have justified that...she actually tried to cheer up those around her. My friend was scheduled to return home soon, but after she shared this story, she turned to her husband, and said, this (showing the paper wrapped small bill) is why we can't go home.
Peace, always and all ways, leisa
Help us raise emergency funds for medical supplies to Haiti! Checks can be sent to CHILDREN's HOPE at the address below.
saving lives.
2010 Haiti Journal #4 January 17, 2010
Matthew 25 House
We got in!
What a relief! And the miracles keep happening. Neil Kopple, (yes, a relation) donated his time, his jet and his bagels to the cause. After "Clean The World"'s Shawn Seiple connected us with Neil, a humanitarian/benefactor who generously flew us into the U.S. Air Force controlled Port au Prince airport, then handed us bag after bag of fresh bagels and cream cheese.
The tower was down, the terminal in shambles and coated with a layer of water, and yet things ran with amazing success and a chaotic sort of precision. Though there was a moment just before landing that our co-pilot (Paul Burke) later reported to us that we lost audio connection with ground control. Our hats are off to Neil for volunteering to fly us in his amazing little jet with just a 20 minute window each way, for meeting the challenge of getting us there safely, and as the volunteers at Matthew 25 House would say was his shinning moment, got the bagels here intact.
Such a trivial thing seems almost frivolous, but for the team of 20 who have been working without sleep treating the earthquake victims, it made for just a moment of relief from the non-stop emotions that come with staving off death against all odds.
I worked the afternoon away in the drug room, organizing and dispensing meds. Everyone had their niche. But at the end of the day, our reward was to be welcomed at a circle gathering service performed by the local priest. Beautiful voices filled the air as sunset brought a cooling breeze, and we were transformed for a moment out of the soccer field full of the wounded and their families. We saw the stars again for a moment, and were reminded of one of the beautiful things about Haiti, their endless spirit and courage. Around the long table as we shared soup and bagels, I heard such a story. The woman to my left held out a small bill and said she had a story to tell...we grew quiet as her moist eyes signaled we should. She said she was given this money by a woman who had suffered a bad foot injury, and without treatment was now expected to die of gangrene. She had lost her home and her husband, but not her spirit. She told my new friend that this was the last of her money, and asked her to take it, and writing her name on a small bit of paper, along with those of her children, asked my friend to find her children. She was kind and gentle...living up to her last name: Tenderness. Not a bit of self-pity, though she earned it, not expressing any anger though she could have justified that...she actually tried to cheer up those around her. My friend was scheduled to return home soon, but after she shared this story, she turned to her husband, and said, this (showing the paper wrapped small bill) is why we can't go home.
Peace, always and all ways, leisa
Leisa Faulkner,Founder
Children's Hope
Children's Hope
3025 A Cambridge Road,
Cameron Park, CA 95682
Cameron Park, CA 95682
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Earthquake in Haiti: Relief needed
Dear Friends,
As you all know, Haiti's capital city of Port au Prince has been devastated by a catastrophic earthquake. Children's Hope, our humanitarian organization, has been serving the poorest of the poor in Port au Prince for several years. As I type this, Leisa and I are making arrangements to travel to Port au Prince to deliver medical supplies to a clinic we support in Cite Soleil, Haiti's largest and poorest slum. We hope to leave this Friday morning and arrive in Port au Prince Saturday.
If you would like to offer your solidarity as we support our Haitian sisters and brothers, please respond to this message with a monetary pledge for CHILDREN'S HOPE -- then drop a check in the mail to us at CHILDREN's HOPE, 3025A Cambridge Rd., Cameron Park, CA 95682. Any amount you can afford to contribute is very much appreciated. If you would prefer to donate online you can support our good friends at The Lamp for Haiti at their website: http://www.lampforhaiti.org/. We have worked closely with them for some time and know that every dollar you donate will go to those most in need.
From the botom of our hearts we thank you for your solidarity and generosity at this difficult time. As they say in Haiti, many hands make the burden lighter.
In Peace & Solidarity,
Paul & Leisa
If you would like to offer your solidarity as we support our Haitian sisters and brothers, please respond to this message with a monetary pledge for CHILDREN'S HOPE -- then drop a check in the mail to us at CHILDREN's HOPE, 3025A Cambridge Rd., Cameron Park, CA 95682. Any amount you can afford to contribute is very much appreciated. If you would prefer to donate online you can support our good friends at The Lamp for Haiti at their website: http://www.lampforhaiti.org/. We have worked closely with them for some time and know that every dollar you donate will go to those most in need.
From the botom of our hearts we thank you for your solidarity and generosity at this difficult time. As they say in Haiti, many hands make the burden lighter.
In Peace & Solidarity,
Paul & Leisa
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Earthquake in Haiti: Relief needed
Dear Friends,
Help us raise emergency funds for medical supplies to Haiti! Checks can be sent to CHILDREN's HOPE at the address below.
saving lives.
As you probably have seen today, a huge earthquake (7.3) has hit Haiti just 10 miles southwest of the center of Port-au-Prince (PAP). Children's Hope needs your help. Three of the major centers of our humanitarian work in Haiti are centered in PAP, are still not responsive and we are very concerned for the children and families: the boys home (St. Josephs) is located on Delmas, PAP, Sopudep School (for street children) is in PAP, and "The Lamp" free clinic is in low lying Cite Soleil, PAP. Early reports have many structures down on Delmas, the presidential palace in collapse, and the large local hospital is down. Fear of rising water may further threaten the low laying Cite Soleil, where our clinic "The Lamp" is located. I have not been successful in getting through by phone. We here are sick with worry at early reports like the one below. If you have a few dollars to spare, lives will be saved. We are sending emergency funds starting tomorrow, and then as soon as pledges come in, since the need is urgent. We also really need to raise shipping money for the supplies already donated by a local hospital here (Marshall Hospital of Placerville) to send these supplies to Haiti.
If you pledge, please remember to then send the check to Children's Hope. But please pledge now, so we can get new medicines ordered now, and help on the way.
peace, always and all ways, Leisa Faulkner
U.S. Embassy employees reported seeing a number of bodies in the street, but the extent of casualties is unknown, State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in a briefing today.
Help us raise emergency funds for medical supplies to Haiti! Checks can be sent to CHILDREN's HOPE at the address below.
saving lives.
As you probably have seen today, a huge earthquake (7.3) has hit Haiti just 10 miles southwest of the center of Port-au-Prince (PAP). Children's Hope needs your help. Three of the major centers of our humanitarian work in Haiti are centered in PAP, are still not responsive and we are very concerned for the children and families: the boys home (St. Josephs) is located on Delmas, PAP, Sopudep School (for street children) is in PAP, and "The Lamp" free clinic is in low lying Cite Soleil, PAP. Early reports have many structures down on Delmas, the presidential palace in collapse, and the large local hospital is down. Fear of rising water may further threaten the low laying Cite Soleil, where our clinic "The Lamp" is located. I have not been successful in getting through by phone. We here are sick with worry at early reports like the one below. If you have a few dollars to spare, lives will be saved. We are sending emergency funds starting tomorrow, and then as soon as pledges come in, since the need is urgent. We also really need to raise shipping money for the supplies already donated by a local hospital here (Marshall Hospital of Placerville) to send these supplies to Haiti.
If you pledge, please remember to then send the check to Children's Hope. But please pledge now, so we can get new medicines ordered now, and help on the way.
peace, always and all ways, Leisa Faulkner
U.S. Embassy employees reported seeing a number of bodies in the street, but the extent of casualties is unknown, State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in a briefing today.
“There’s going to be serious loss of life,” Crowley said. (Bloomberg News)
Zelenka, a Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince, told U.S. colleagues before phone service failed that "there must be thousands of people dead," according to a spokeswoman for the aid group, Sara Fajardo. (Mercury News.com)
Leisa Faulkner, Founder
Children's Hope
3025 A Cambridge Road
Cameron Park, CA 95682
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