The following video is a hideously ugly scene of death and destruction and desperation. Don’t watch if you are too sensitive. As we talk of the previous troubles of Haiti and the corrupt government, the thuggery, the poverty, we also need to remind ourselves of the human struggle and the humanitarian aid that is needed.
The Port-au-Prince area does indeed look like a war zone. Perhaps in the wake of this disaster, a ‘Marshall Plan’ can happen. There is no government left. There is just human misery. Maybe there is silver lining somewhere, if we dig deep enough.
Right now is not the time to talk politics. In a few weeks however, serious discussions have to take place. But right now, all efforts need to be towards rescue. Rebuild comes later and that is the time for toughness and accountability.
After the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the government stopped
looting by erecting gallows at high points throughout the city – and
used them.
But what Lisbon 1755, Charleston(SC) 1886, San Francisco 1906, etc.
had in common is an able government in place to respond. There
were ways and means to bury the dead and help the living.
Haiti, without massive outside help, doesn’t have that.
“Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice”
Will Durant
“We’re here together- all of us clinging to the skin of this perilously
active planet”
Deborah Blum
PR continues to impress me, the news on Haiti to depress me.
No one to hang the gallows it sounds like.
Thank you Posting as Pinko, but if I was impressive, I’ve learned how to
link articles to postings by now (may have to bribe a 10 year old to
show me).
Anyway, an interesting article in today’s WaPo about Dr. Rajiv Shah,
President Obama’s point person on Haiti. Those who have worked
with him say he is “the rare breed that combines vision with executional
ability … and he understands half the battle here is not just
emergency responding and humanitarian relief, but creating the basis
for long–term recovery”. It seems we have a highly qualified
and able person to manage response to a major crisis and not another
“Good job, Brownie” fiasco. Thank goodness.
“You should thank God that you are not in Port-au-Prince tonight.”
Anderson Cooper, CNN
It seems to be a mixed bag. I just saw singers and dancers on CNN, singing and chanting and marching down the street, past people lying on the street injured. They seem to be celebrating that they lived through this ordeal.
Amazing.
Rush is right! We already spend to much on Haiti!
“How Generous Are We To Haiti? 92 Cents Per American Per Year”
Headline of Nicholas Kristof piece in todays NYT op/ed.
My own problems are seeming awfully trivial this week….
I think I can spare it. .92 cents seems like a ‘drop in the bucket,’ to quote Corey.
Yes Emma, I had the same thought.
Funny we have heard nothing about voodoo.
92 cents per American. And that’s bought what? They certainly didn’t use it to build infrastructure. It wouldn’t appear they used it for Disaster Preparedness. I wonder where that money went? Of course the far left is ALWAYS generous with everyone else’s money…they’re soooo kind. Or maybe we’re forgetting the difference between charity and just dishing out cash to countries willy-nilly, with zero control over where it goes. Charity is what the American People are showing right now (and we’ll be told by the rest of the world how little it is). And thank God for Charitable Americans. But the government giving money away? Nope.
I just saw THE funniest headline: “UN Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, rushes to disaster site…..Boston”
I don’t think the flaws of Haiti have a thing to do with liberal or conservative. If we look at the past 20 years or so, it seems to me that theft and corruption exists on their end. It wasn’t much better before then if memory serves me.
3 billion dollars over 20 years is not a lot when looking at other foreign aid to other countries. Obviously a different plan is in order. However, it is a matter of national security not to have suchunrest so close to the United States.
It seems that Haiti has been what it is regardless of who is president or which party is in power in the United States.
Haiti has always been in terrible shape. We couldn’t even change that for long by sending in the U.S. Marines many years ago. Now the place is literally and figuratively on its knees.
I cannot see how any of the normal aid and development techniques we employ through either the UN or the industrialized nations can easily solve this problem. Perhaps, if the Haitian people bought into it, we could establish one of the old League of Nations protectorates or UN trusteeships in that place with the responsibility in the hands of a number of developed nations under the administration of the UN. It looks to me like we were in a sort of de facto “trusteeship” mode already, given the large UN staff and the presence of UN peacekeeping troops before the quake happened. Surely there would be issues of sovereignty and national pride; but how many generations of Haitians must suffer through poverty, injustice, crime, and an early death before we all find a way to break this vicious cycle which exists almost on the doorstep of the United States?
It certainly seems hopeless. On the other hand, take another of the poorest nations, Afghanistan. No comment.
I just heard some newscaster on foxnews refer to ‘desperate looters.’ (not over a particular situation) I would venture to say looters are rarely desperate. They are criminals. TVs, liquor, and the like that are being looted are never life and death items.
3 billion over 20 years relative to their GDP. If they average $2 a day wages, then that’s a ton of money!