HAITI -- SOME RESPONSES
AND BACKGROUND TO THE CRISIS

On January 12, 2009 the island nation of Haiti, was hit with a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, its
most severe in decades. The epicenter of the quake was approximately 10 miles south of
Port-au-Prince, the country's capital and home to almost 2 million people. The city, including
communications and transport infrastructure, suffered massive damage. The capital is largely
destroyed, with widespread loss of life.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 80 percent of Haiti's
population lives in poverty and over half struggle to survive on less than $1 a day. Half the
people in Haiti are kids under 15 years of age and they were hungry before the quake. There
are no reserves, no soup kitchens, no pantries, nothing for most. Extreme hunger and extreme
thirst started immediately. We can see Haitians pitching in. We can see them trying. They are
courageous and generous and innovative, but volunteers cannot replace government.

President Obama promised $100 million in aid to Haiti on January 14, 2009. A Kentucky
couple won $128 million in a Powerball lottery on December 24, 2009. The richest nation in
the history of the world is giving Powerball money to a neighbor with tens of thousands of deaths
already?

We offer you some immediate actions and some background, not found in the mainstream, to
understand why this disaster is having such a severe impact.

ACTIONS
1. Contact President Obama and tell him $100 million is not enough. The US has a debt to pay
in Haiti from the years of exploitation of that country.

White House comment line: 202-456-1111, Mon. - Fri., 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST
and/or write a comment.

2. Sending Donations
Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) have
long-established development projects on the ground in Haiti. We recommend three highly effective
organizations that are already providing emergency services:

a. Partners in Health has been operating in the country since 1987.
Donate online or send your contribution to
Partners In Health
P.O. Box 845578
Boston, MA 02284-5578

b. Doctors Without Borders has been working on medical projects in Haiti.
Donate online.
or toll-free at 1-888-392-0392. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
or send your contribution to
Doctors Without Borders (USA Headquarters)
333 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY10001-5004

c. Catholic Relief Services is a nonprofit that has been in Haiti since the early 1950s.
Donate online or through you cell phone.
or send your contribution to
Catholic Relief Services
228 W. Lexington St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-3413
888-277-7575

BACKGROUND
In the hours following Haiti's devastating earthquake, CNN, the New York Times and other
major news sources adopted a common interpretation for the severe destruction: the 7.0
arthquake was so devastating because it struck an urban area that was extremely over-populated
and extremely poor. Houses "built on top of each other" and constructed by the poor people
themselves made for a fragile city. And the country's many years of underdevelopment and political
turmoil made the Haitian government ill-prepared to respond to such a disaster.

True enough. But that's not the whole story. What's missing is any explanation of why there are
so many Haitians living in and around Port-au-Prince and why so many of them are forced to survive
on so little. Indeed, even when an explanation is ventured, it is often outrageously false such as a former
U.S. diplomat's testimony on CNN that Port-au-Prince's overpopulation was due to the fact that Haitians,
like most Third World people, know nothing of birth control.

It may startle news-hungry Americans to learn that these conditions the American media correctly
attributes to magnifying the impact of this tremendous disaster were largely the product of American
policies and an American-led development model.

To read the whole article, visit "What You're Not Hearing about Haiti (But Should Be)"

SOME OTHER SOURCES

1. Too Little Too Late for Haiti? Six Sobering Points
Bill Quigley, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights

Point One: $100 Million - Are You Kidding Me?

President Obama promised $100 million in aid to Haiti on January 14, 2009. A Kentucky couple won
$128 million in a Powerball lottery on December 24, 2009. The richest nation in the history of the world
is giving Powerball money to a neighbor with tens of thousands of deaths already?

Point Two: Have You Ever Been Without Water?

Hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti have had no access to clean water since the quake hit. Have
you ever been in a place that has no water? Have you ever felt the raw fear in the gut when you are not
sure where your next drink of water is going to come from? People can live without food for a long time.
Without water? A very short time. In hot conditions people can become
dehydrated in an hour. Lack of water puts you into shock and starts breaking down the body right away.
People can die within hours if they are exposed to heat without water.

Point Three: Half the People in Haiti are Kids and They Were Hungry Before the Quake.

Over half the population of Haiti is 15 years old or younger. And they were hungry before the quake.
A great friend, Pere Jean-Juste, explained to me that most of the people of Haiti wake every day not knowing
how they will eat dinner that day. So there are no reserves, no soup kitchens, no pantries, nothing for most.
Hunger started immediately.

Point Four: A Toxic Stew of Death is Brewing

Take hundreds of thousands of people. Shock them with a major earthquake and dozens of aftershocks.
Take away their homes and put them out in the open. Take away all water and food and medical care.
Sit them out in the open for days with scorching temperatures. Surround them with tens of thousands of
decaying bodies. People have to drink. So they are drinking bad water.
They are getting sick. There is no place to go. What happens next?

Point Five: Aid is Sitting at the Airport

While millions suffer, humanitarian aid is sitting at the Port au Prince airport. Why? People are afraid to
give it out for fear of provoking riots. Which is worse?

Point Six: Haiti is Facing A Crisis Beyond Our Worst Nightmares

"I think it is going to be worse than anyone still understands." Richard Dubin, vice president of Haiti
shipping lines told the New York Times. He is so right. Unless there is a major urgent change in the global
response, the world may look back and envy those tens of thousands who died in the quake.

Wake up world!

2. What the Mainstream Media Will Not Tell You About Haiti: Part of the Suffering of Haiti is
"Made in the USA"
By Bill Quigley, Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights

Part of the suffering of Haiti is indeed "Made in the USA." While the earthquake would harm any
country, actions by the United States have absolutely magnified the harm from the earthquake in Haiti.

How? In the last decade alone, the U.S. slashed humanitarian assistance to Haiti, blocked international
loans, forced the government of Haiti to downsize, ruined tens of thousands of small farmers, and
replaced the government with private non-governmental organizations.

The result? Small farmers are starved out of the countryside and migrate by the tens of thousands to
the cities where they built cheap shelters on hills. International funds for roads and education and
healthcare are halted by the U.S. The money that does come into the country goes not to the government
but to private corporations. Thus the government of Haiti is nearly powerless to
provide assistance to its own people on regular days - much less in the face of a real disaster like this one.

Some specifics from recent years.

In 2004, the U.S. assisted in a coup against the democratically elected President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand
Aristide. This continues a long tradition of the U.S. deciding who will rule the poorest country in the
hemisphere. No government lasts in Haiti without U.S. approval.

In 2001, when the U.S. was mad at the President of Haiti, the U.S. successfully led an effort to freeze
$148 million in already-approved loans and many hundreds of millions more of potential loans from the
Inter-American Development Bank to Haiti. Funds which were dedicated to improve education, public
health and roads.

For much of 2001-2004, the U.S. insisted that any international funds sent to Haiti had to go through
non-governmental organizations. Funds that would have provided government services were re-routed
thus shrinking the ability of the government to provide aid.

For years the U.S. has helped ruin small farmers in Haiti by dumping heavily subsidized U.S. rice on
their market making it extremely difficult for small farmers to survive. This was done to help U.S. farmers.
Haitian farmers? They don't vote in the U.S.

Those who visit Haiti will confirm that the biggest SUVs in Port au Prince are plastered with decals of
non-governmental organizations. The biggest offices are for private groups doing the basic work of
government - healthcare, education, disaster response. And all are guarded not by police but by private
heavily-militarized security.

The government was systematically starved of funds. The public sector shrank away. Poor people streamed
to the cities.

Thus there are no rescue units. Little public healthcare is available.

So when disaster struck, the people of Haiti were on their own. We can see them pitching in. We can see
them trying. They are courageous and generous and innovative, but volunteers cannot replace government.
So people suffer and die in greater numbers than necessary.

The results are on display for all to see. Tragically, much of the suffering after the earthquake is "Made in
the USA."

FOR MORE REFLECTIONS ON HAITI, SEE THESE PIECES
1."What You're Not Hearing about Haiti (But Should Be)"

2."Bush Was Responsible for Destroying Haitian Democracy"

3."Haiti and America's Historic Debt>"

4."TransAfrica has 4 Immediate Recommendations of Aid Recovery"

5."The Resolution Will Not Be Televised" a two minute video.