Haiti: Six Months After, By Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture

July 15, 2010 Whitney Farmer 12 Comments

On July 12, the eyes of the world again rested on our wounded sister country, Haiti, six months after the earthquake.

The death toll estimates still fluctuate, now reported between 250,000 and 300,000 by the head of the U.N.’s missions there. An additional 300,000 are estimated to have been wounded. 1.6 million are homeless, and half of these are children.

Some progress has been made. Massive immunization campaigns have prevented what was feared to be an inevitable outbreak of infectious diseases. And while nearly 70% of the hospitals and health clinics were destroyed, new ones are slated for rebuilding, most commonly with funds from nonprofit charitable  organizations. One of these organizations, Partners in Health and its Haitian counterpart Zanmi Lasante, is affiliated with Harvard University and was founded by Dr. Paul Farmer. The Haitian government asked the group to expand their plans and fast track the work.  As of now, a 320-bed facility that will be located 45 minutes from the heart of the devastation is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2011. The story of the founding of Partners in Health was chronicled in the book “Mountains Over Mountains” by Tracy Kidder. I paraphrased a portion of this work in my January 13^th column that described the effects of one failed public works project spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the U.S. Occupation in the early part of the 20^th Century.

Now – as it was then – governments have not provided the help that is needed in an effective and timely manner.

According to various news reports, only 2% of pledged funds have been received.  The majority of these funds have come from private donations to grassroots organizations.  Individuals throughout the world are doing their part. But most major countries are now being termed “Deadbeat Donors”.

The following is a transcript of a broadcast on July 13 from Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN:

“…Six months after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, most governments that promised money to help rebuild the country have not delivered any funds at all, a CNN investigation has found.

Donors promised $5.3 billion at an aid conference in March, about two months after the earthquake – but less than 2 percent of that money has been handed over so far.

Only four countries have paid anything at all: Brazil, Norway, Estonia and Australia.

The United States pledged $1.15 billion. It has paid nothing, the money tied up in the congressional appropriations process.

Venezuela promised even more – $1.32 billion. It has also paid nothing, although it has written off some of Haiti’s debt.

Altogether, about $506 million has been disbursed to Haiti since the January earthquake, said Jehane Sedky of the United Nations Development Program.

Most of it was sent before the donors’ conference and the establishment of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission. The IHRC has collected about $90 million since the conference, Sedky said.

CNN compiled the information for this story by reviewing IHRC figures and surveying the donors who had made pledges to determine the disposition of those pledges.

Spain, France and Canada are also among the countries that have not yet followed through on their pledges, CNN found.

No countries told CNN they do not plan to deliver the money eventually.

Some charities, meanwhile, are spending money as fast as they get it, while others are planning long-term projects.

Doctors Without Borders – primarily a disaster-relief organization – has received $66 million and spent $65 million, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The Red Cross has spent $148 million of the $468 million it has taken in, and is holding some money in reserve for more permanent projects like shelter and water.

Private money has also come in from the Clinton Foundation, from Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helu and Canadian mining investor Frank Guistra, but that’s not part of the $5.3 billion pledged by countries at the conference in March…”

There are some reports of mismanagement, or of “Chokehold Revenue Generation” as Former President Bill Clinton described exorbitant customs and storage fees that are being charged for arriving supplies.  But many of these appear to be the result of unseasoned organizations not operating strategically.  (In the case of customs fees, NGOs can make application the week prior to delivery to have fees waived.) Retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore’s quote regarding Hurricane Katrina again comes to mind: “Professionals study logistics.”

As of now, 1.6 million people are homeless and hurricane season is coming.  What I can do is continue my private donations to the charity I selected that has been there over 20 years and is top rated.  I can also call/write/email my congressional representative and tell them to RELEASE THE FUNDS THAT WERE PROMISED. Now. Because heavy lifting is needed.

To find / write your congressman:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Quote of the Blog from a July 10^th article in the New York Times titled “In Haiti, the Displaced are Left Clinging to the Edge”, from Ms. Guillaume, living on a median strip dividing a road in Port-au-Prince along with hundreds of other families: “Don’t they have a heart, or at least a suggestion?”

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Whitney runs a rock music venue on the beach in L.A.