Bill Clinton's Haiti Reconstruction Commission and others that claim to look out for the poor

[Hannah Bell]

AMID THE hoopla over Chelsea Clinton's wedding at a posh estate north of New York City, there were plenty of toasts in the media to Bill Clinton and the good works he's performed since leaving the White House.

In particular, Clinton's role in working with Haiti, both before and after the catastrophic earthquake last January, was singled out. To the U.S. media, Clinton is a compassionate statesmen, with only the best interests of the Haitian people at heart...Ordinary Haitians have a different view. They remember Clinton as the man who, while president, demanded Haiti follow the "Plan of Death"--the neoliberal prescriptions of the IMF and World Bank that "structurally adjusted" the Haitian economy in the interests of U.S. business, at the expense of the country's peasants and poor.

Today, Haitians know Clinton as a man who wields immense power over the country's future. Esquire's description of him as the "CEO of a leaderless nation." can only be called a political Freudian slip--a CEO, after all, is concerned with profitable investments for shareholders, not meeting people's needs.

It isn't even true that Clinton can "get things done." According to the Washington Post, only 2 percent of the more than $5 billion in aid promised by the U.S. and other countries at a UN donor conference for the first 18 months of reconstruction has materialized. Clinton's IHRC has dispensed just over $500 million so far--a drop in the bucket compared to the need...

http://socialistworker.org/2010/08/05/haitis-colonial-overlord

[Hannah Bell]

1. kicking for the clinton philanthropies....

[Hannah Bell]

2. k

[Whisp]

3. Its sad that Haiti has been almost forgotten.

There should be a more honest way to donate to these things rather than by just pledging and 'promising'. People give generously then the money is stuck somewhere. What a stupid system. I bet someone profits from this scam besides the people intended.

[hedgehog]

4. I don't think the reporter got the details right -

"According to the Washington Post, only 2 percent of the more than $5 billion in aid promised by the U.S. and other countries at a UN donor conference for the first 18 months of reconstruction has materialized. Clinton's IHRC has dispensed just over $500 million so far--a drop in the bucket compared to the need."

2% 0f $5 billion is $100 million, yet Clinton handed out $500 million?

The sense of the story might be accurate, but it would be more convincing if the numbers were.

[Hannah Bell]

7. The $5 billion is $$ promised specifically by governments, not private foundations like clinton's.

http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org/

[hedgehog]

8. OK. I tend to agree with the article's point, so it's good to have the

apparent error explained. Thanks for the correction.

[blindpig]

5. k&r

[Ikonoklast]

6. I wonder how much money and manpower the Socialist Workers Party donated.

I know, it's the thought that counts.


People like Clinton are trying to do good and get pissed on for it by a bunch of pipsqueaks.

[hedgehog]

9. The OP linked to an article that made the point that while

Clinton looks like he is out there trying to do good, the reality is that not much is happening. I myself have solved Global Climate Change, but all the pipsqueeks refuse to give me credit because they haven't seen any results yet.

[leftstreet]

10. K&R

[Hekate]

11. How many nations made promises? How is Clinton to persuade them to cough up? How much did his own...

... foundation pledge and deliver? How much is his foundation worth--and would it make a difference if he bankrupted it to try to help out this one nation as opposed to keeping a reserve for other projects? If all of the $5 billion were to be dumped on Haiti tomorrow, what do you think would become of it? Would it be like the pallets of money literally dropped off in Iraq and Afghanistan--gone gods know where but not actually into roads or hospitals or schools? Would the Haitians suddenly produce thousands of trained Haitian public works engineers and builders and doctors and teachers and also become fiscally wise and able to fend off bad advice? Would they have a system of meaningful and enforceable building codes? --I can tell you as a Californian that the photos of the rubble was in its own way worse than the rubble created by mud-brick structures because the Haitian workers who poured the cement saved money by not putting in any rebar.

Seriously, I would like to know the answers to these questions before excoriating Bill Clinton and holding him personally responsible for the current level of outcome.

Haiti's infrastructure is all-but-nonexistent now, and wasn't in very good shape before the devastation of a mere 6 months ago. $500,000,000 may be short of the actual total need, but it's hardly loose change -- it really constitutes a good start, a down payment on the future.

Looking forward to further information. Thanks.

Hekate

[Hekate]

12. Two recent articles on the state of aid in Haiti at the SIX-MONTH mark. More accuracy, less bile

They focus on Direct Relief International, but are a good snapshot of activities there.

http://www.independent.com/news/2010/jul/19/haiti-not-forgotten/

Haiti Not Forgotten
Local Aid Organization Continues to Help Devastated Caribbean Country
Monday, July 19, 2010

Direct Relief International (DRI) — a Santa Barbara-based nongovernmental organization that has been providing medical supplies to needy communities domestically and abroad for over 60 years — has been an integral part of Haiti’s recovery since the January earthquake. Workers in the devastated Caribbean nation have witnessed firsthand both the difficulties and the progress of the last six months, and while Haiti’s troubles have been mostly absent in the media recently, there is still much more to be done.
“It’s still an unfolding tragedy,” CEO Thomas Tighe said on Thursday during DRI's progress briefing. “People get fully occupied with all they can digest about Haiti, and then it’s on to something else. It’s hard to sustain that level of attention, because it was white hot, but it doesn’t mean that the conditions have changed or are better. There are still millions of people living in a very fragile situation.”

DRI puts the death toll at about 230,000, and the amount of people living in temporary shelters at 1.5 million, or half of Port-au-Prince’s population. “You’re kind of overwhelmed to see 60,000 people living on a golf course. It’s sort of hard to grasp what it looks like,” Tighe said. “They were in a deep hole to begin with, and now it’s even deeper.”

What made matters worse for Haiti was that although countries and organizations all over the world provided aid, there were serious PROBLEMS in delivering those supplies because of the state of the country’s INFRASTRUCTURE. “In the early days it was literally the wild west,” said Emergency Preparedness and Response Director Brett Williams. “EVERYTHING WAS ON THE TARMAC. You could go grab it if you wanted to, you could leave it if you wanted to — it was one of those things where things are needed and time is of the essence, and there’s A HUGE AMOUNT OF WASTE. It’s an UNFORTUNATE BYPRODUCT OF GOODWILL.” >snip<

“We’ve had success. Everything that has been sent to Haiti has been delivered to the site that it’s used,” Tighe said, but he noted that Haiti is a long way from full recovery, and further support is needed. “There are some areas to be hopeful about, but it’s still a very dire situation for millions of people.”~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.directrelief.org/EmergencyResponse/2010/EarthquakeHaiti.aspx
Haiti Earthquake: A Six-Month Update
July 9, 2010

Since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti’s capital on January 12, 2010, Direct Relief International has provided over 400 tons of emergency medical assistance worth more than $45.4 million to 53 Haitian healthcare facilities, international medical teams, mobile medical clinics, tent-based hospitals, and medical units at camps for displaced people across the country.

This response has been the largest, most comprehensive, emergency response in our 62-year history. It has been possible because of the outpouring of private financial support and extraordinary engagement from corporate partners with which Direct Relief has long worked. Six months later, the response continues at full force and will require a sustained effort for an extended period.

Direct Relief has provided support in Haiti since 1964 to health facilities... >snip<
The earthquake exacerbated a chronic problem of limited resources and access to care. The quake left tens of thousands of people injured and scrambling for access to not only medical care but to food, water, and shelter. Because of the infrastructure damage and overwhelming workloads at healthcare facilities, Direct Relief established its own storage and distribution mechanisms in the country to ensure secure delivery of essential medicines and supplies. Direct Relief also deployed information systems to manage, track, and report the flow of resources into Haiti and helped develop a comprehensive inventory and mapping of the country’s health infrastructure.

We have received $6.3 million in cash contributions for Haiti and more than $52 million of product contributions intended for Haiti. The cost of delivering this material aid has been over $880,000. In addition, $2 million in cash has been allocated to support disability services, such as prosthetics, orthotics, assistive devices such as wheelchairs, and to support rehabilitative services. Another $500,000 has been devoted to a Community Grant Fund for local Haitian organizations that themselves suffered tremendous losses, undertaken extraordinary efforts, and will play an essential role in the ongoing efforts to recover, rebuild, and serve affected people. >snip<

The Next Six Months
Providing Essential Medicines and Medical Supplies ....
Community Grants Program....
Hurricane Preparedness in a Disaster Zone....
Prosthetic and Orthotic Rehabilitative Services.....
The Long Term: Investment in Infrastructure
Train the Future Rehabilitation Specialists of Haiti.....
Build an Orthopedic Wing at Haiti’s Second-Largest Hospital.....

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