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January 25, 2010

Little Hope for Haiti

Janet Street Porter rescues me from my growing concern I was the only one sickened by the spectacle of helping in Haiti. It is not that I blame celebrities for using their treasure to attract attention, it is the certainty none of it will have changed a thing the next time Haiti is rocked by an earthquake or some other natural disaster. The real disaster is man made and most of the help is not helping.

Personally, I'd rather write a cheque and not have to listen to Madonna, Chris Martin or Sting. What's really nauseating is that the homeless in Haiti don't have blankets, let alone a telly to watch all this stuff done in their name.

Exactly what I am talking about: How many people died for Hillary Clinton's photo-op? Remind me of this when she challenges Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. (Hillary flied... people died.)

Few, if any, countries in the region could have coped with a disaster of this magnitude. Like Haiti, most Caribbean islands have only one international airport with one runway. They too would have lacked the facilities to land and refuel dozens of large planes delivering aid every day — particularly after a disaster. That was the relief effort’s first big mistake.

But there have been plenty more. Co-ordinating the relief effort was the next problem. The United Nations should have been put in charge, whatever the damage to ego, national identity and the ambitions of aid agencies who like their 15 minutes of air time. Why the wasteful visits from foreign dignitaries, so ill timed and ill conceived? Hillary Clinton, predictably, brought traffic at the already gridlocked international airport to a standstill for several hours. This is not the time for public relations demonstrations.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at January 25, 2010 06:47 AM

Comments

Agree with the point about the ill timing of Hillary's visit, but... Put the UN in charge? Is Ms. de Caires kidding? The UN would still be debating which countries get to contribute combat controllers to open the airport at MTPP.

Hell, nothing is stopping the UN from throwing together a supplement to its MINUSTAH garrison and getting it there tout suite.

Posted by: Chris Taylor [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 25, 2010 02:04 PM

I thought I might pass over the UN suggestion in silence. But quite right, the notion is absurd.

Posted by: Ghost of a flea [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 25, 2010 04:15 PM

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