No, I am not kidding.
I have two stories, first this story via the U.K. Telegraph:
Video:
The Story:
The French minister in charge of humanitarian relief called on the UN to “clarify” the American role amid claims the military build up was hampering aid efforts.
Alain Joyandet admitted he had been involved in a scuffle with a US commander in the airport’s control tower over the flight plan for a French evacuation flight.
“This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti,” Mr Joyandet said.
Geneva-based charity Medecins Sans Frontieres backed his calls saying hundreds of lives were being put at risk as planes carrying vital medical supplies were being turned away by American air traffic controllers.
But US commanders insisted their forces’ focus was on humanitarian work and last night agreed to prioritise aid arrivals to the airport over military flights, after the intervention of the UN.
The diplomatic row came amid heightened frustrations that hundreds of tons of aid was still not getting through. Charities reported violence was also worsening as desperate Haitians took matters into their own hands.
Let me get this straight —- The United States of America’s last two Presidents get together, put political differences aside and begin to raise all sorts of funds for people of Haiti and now we are the bad guys? Unreal. đ
And then, there’s this by Paul Goodman:
The humanitarian catastrophe in Haiti is turning out to be a classic illustration of anti-Americanism in seven easy steps.
- Calamitous events take place in a chaotic place (think Bosnia, think Somalia, think Iraq in 1991).
- The U.N and the U.S intervene.
- The civil government proves to be useless or malign, or both. The U.N isnât up to the job. The only effective force in sight is the U.S. According to todayâs Guardian, John OâShea, the head of Goal, a medical charity, has called on the U.S to take charge of the whole operation. So has a major U.S aid agency (âwhich declined to be named for political reasonsâ).
- There are only two possible outcomes.
- The U.S takes over. If this happens, it will be accused of âcreating a military occupation under the guise of humanitarian aidâ and âoccupyingâ the country outright. (Apologies, my memoryâs failing me. These criticisms have been aired already. The first quoteâs from President Chavez of Venezuela. The secondâs from Alain Joyandet, Franceâs âCo-operation Ministerâ.)
- The U.S doesnât take over. If this happens, it will be criticised for ânot doing enoughâ – and isolationism.
- So either way, the U.S loses.
Iâm not a fully signed-up member of the Stars-and-Stripes fan club. But there are times when I think: whoâd be an American?
Sorry, I am just going to say this, and I know that some identity politics type of jackass or some minority serial complainer will bitch about it; fine, screw ’em, I just don’t give a damn anymore. What needs to happen right about now, is this — The United States of America needs to get all those supplies off of those ships and planes and get back on their ships and planes and get the hell out of Haiti now. I mean, we have ponied up for these people and other such people long enough, let them idiots deal with their problems themselves, why the hell should WE have to be the ones to go in and play captain? Not like they are going to appreciate what we do any damn way. If the U.N. does not like our forces being there, LET THE U.N. TAKE OVER THE MISSION AND LEAVE!
Yeah, I know, some liberal asshat is going to call me a racist bigot for saying it. I got two words for you: Screw You. The United States of America has wasted more money on Countries that do not like us, for whatever reason and we are doing it again; and again we are being fingered as the bad guys. Enough is Enough! It is time for the United States to say home and take care of its own problems and stop trying to help everyone who has a Earthquake or other kind of natural disaster.
It just so happens that the United States of America is going through its own sort of disaster, A man-made one, its called our Economy — and instead of us watching what we spend and keeping what we have, which is not much, when you figure that China is buying our debt, we are sending it off to a bunch of idiots, who really do not like us anyhow! No, this is not sarcasm, I am quite serious. What do we get for all this sort of charity? The above nonsense that I just quoted.
Bottom Line: I believe it is high time that the United States of America reevaluated its role abroad and got out of the rescue and charity business for Countries that really do not like us anyhow.
Others: Mudville Gazette, Fausta’s Blog, Neptunus Lex, and The Jawa Report
Dude, the UN has been there for years, and what have they done? Nothing. MINUSTAH is nothing but a big money hole, and most of the funding going in there is US dollars.
Remember, no matter how much crap they talk about the US, we’re the first ones that they come running to when the SHTF. I didn’t see any other countries loading up planes full of people and equipment in the first 24 hours after the quake. I don’t see any other countries sending in men and equipment to help. HDRs aren’t coming from Fwance, Venezuela, or any of the other countries that are whining and complaining. I don’t see carriers or hospital ships from other countries in port. I could go on, but it would be a little monotonous.
The statement about an occupation was made by a French aid minister, not a Haitian. He was upset about what he perceived as a failure to get aid supplies in quickly enough. People working down there are under incredible stress and there is a great deal of confusion about what to do first–secure the streets, get food in, bury bodies, get medicine in? It’s a logistical nightmare.
I have friends with the state department who are stationed in Port au Prince. The first thing I want to mention is that the Haitian people are very grateful to Americans, both for the military and humanitarian aid we’ve provided. I am so proud that my country will not let 2 million more human beings in our backyard die in this tragedy. Haiti is not one of those places where the people are ungrateful for American help. They like us and they appreciate our help, unlike some places (like Palestine) where massive American aid is unappreciated by the population.
I should point out, though, that the US does not give most (+50%) of the aid Haiti receives. The US provides about 1/3 of the international aid in direct payment and service and aid through charities. What people don’t know is that most of the money that private charities use comes from the government. The charities administer the aid.
The rest of the world provides the other 2/3 of the aid received by Haiti, the largest amounts coming from Canada and Europe.
In 2008, America gave 86 cents per American to Haiti. The Canadians gave $4.44 (US$) per Canadian–more than 8 times per person than the amount given by Americans. Even though Canada has a population just 11% the size of the American population, the Canadians gave a staggering amount of money–more than all of Europe, which accounts for the next largest chunk of aid.
Per person, the US ranked number 11 on giving, behind (in order) Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.
We gave approximately $25 per Haitian man, woman and child. Total international aid was about $75 per person–a great help, but not the kind of numbers that immediately transform a society mired in poverty.
In no way am I disparaging our contribution to the Haitian people. We have been very generous. I’m just offering some facts and a little perspective. The Haitians are grateful. Everyone who works there knows that.
And to be fair the Haitian people, you need to look at their recent history. The country never recovered from the rule of “Papa” Doc Duvalier and the Ton Ton Macoute militias/criminal gangs of the 1960s. Papa Doc started out looking good, but quickly turned to persecution of his political enemies. The government was rife with corruption and it was impossible for people to build lives with criminal militias persecuting them along with corrupt government.
The educated Haitians–the doctors,the lawyers, engineers, competent teachers and business people, fled the island in a brain drain that the country has never recovered from. Upon the death of Duvalier, rule passed to his 19-year-old son (Baby Doc), though his mother and sister really ran the show for several years. The corruption continued until the son was exiled by arrangement with the US government in 1986.
When the US arranged for the exile agreement that ousted Baby Doc, a military governing council took over, to be followed by an election. Once again, the Ton Ton Macoute thugs went on a rampage, killing Haitians in the streets and successfully preventing a vote. The Haitians are poor unarmed people. They were no match for thousands of armed criminals.
The Haitians finally got a chance to vote in 1990, but a coupe removed the president just one year later. They had subsequent election, but the Haitians endured 13 years of instability, with corrupt governments one after another.
Aid was actually cut off in the early 2000s, crushing the limping economy that existed. The aid embargo was intended to force the corrupt Aristide government to reform. In 04, there was another coup and and the president was exiled by arrangement of the US government.
Since 06, the Haitians have had, for the first time, a President who is basically honest. Relative safety and security in the streets was restored after US forces captured and jailed the criminal gangs. The Haitians have, in fact, been making progress since then. But let’s not forget that they’ve had just 5+ years since the crushing (well-intended) aid embargo was lifted and relative safety was restored to the streets. And don’t forget, $75 per person in aid is $1.50 per week per person. It takes a little time to see progress.
I’m by no means suggesting that all corruption was rooted out, but given security in the streets and a government attempting to provide some institutional stability, the Haitians were beginning to build an economy. Shops were opened, schools were finally teaching children and foreign investment was coming in to the island because it was finally safe to do business in Haiti.
Sorry to go on so much, but I’m very familiar with what has been happening in Haiti.
If there is one takeaway from my ramble, I hope you understand that the Haitians are grateful and the stories about aid not helping are untrue. These people want our help and it has been doing good. It is such a tragedy that this happened to these poor people who were just beginning to have some hope for a better life.
Thank you Henry, at least you go it in the right spot this time! đ đ
-Pat
Why do the Americans think it necessary to be shown disembarking from aircraft carrying firearms, are they there to help, and get their hands dirty, or just to Police the place, carrying guns will not help.