Haiti: How to help
I lived near the epicenter of the Northridge quake in the San Fernando Valley in 1994 and will never forget the terror and chaos that ensued. It measured 6.7 on the Richter scale.
Haiti is now suffering in the aftermath of a 7.0 quake. Thousands may be dead:
The earthquake was the worst in the region in more than 200 years and left the country in a shambles, without electricity or phone service, tangling efforts to provide relief to an estimated 3 million people who the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said had been affected by the quake.
The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said Haiti was now facing a “major humanitarian emergency” that would require a concerted international response.
President Obama promised that Haiti would have the “unwavering support” of the United States.
Mr. Obama said United States aid agencies were moving swiftly to get help to Haiti and that search-and-rescue teams were already en route. He described the reports of destruction as “truly heart-wrenching,” made more cruel given Haiti’s long-troubled circumstances.
Mr. Obama did not make a specific aid pledge, and administration officials said they were still trying to figure out what the island needed. But he urged Americans to dig into their pockets and to go to the White House’s Web site, www.whitehouse.gov, to find ways to donate money.
“This is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share,” Mr. Obama said, speaking in the White House diplomatic reception room with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at his side.
And on that, the president is absolutely correct.
Here are links on how to help:
State Department resources and charities.
Relief efforts list via The Anchoress.
Fund-raising efforts via Chuck Simmins.
And our military stands at the ready:
Defense Department officials are coordinating with their State Department counterparts to provide life-saving assistance in Haiti as quickly as possible after a devastating earthquake struck near the capital of Port-au-Prince yesterday afternoon.
U.S. Southern Command is coordinating with the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development to assess the situation after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake left perhaps thousands of people dead and many more trapped beneath collapsed buildings, officials reported.
Command officials said they will deploy a team of 30 people to Haiti today including military engineers, operational planners, and a command and control group and communication specialists, on two C-130 Hercules aircraft from the National Guard armory in Puerto Rico. The team will work with U.S. Embassy personnel as well as Haitian, United Nations and other officials to assess the situation to provide follow on support.
The Navy’s P-3 Orions made initial overflight assessments of damage on the ground, President Barack Obama announced this morning, and U.S. and rescue teams arriving in Haiti will use the information to plan their response.
DoD is looking at all ground, air and naval assets available to support the mission, if needed, pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is leading U.S. disaster relief efforts, and Southcom will serve a supporting role to its efforts, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Lenzini, a Southcom public affairs officer, explained.
***
From The Lede: Updates on the ongoing catastrophe and relief campaigns.
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I’ll wait to see how much Bill Clinton donates.
He’d be happy to donate every dollar you have.
I will head over to The Anchoress and donate today.
Pray for the good people of Haiti.
He may actually achieve something yet.
Snark aside, Support, contributions, and prayers for the poor people of Haiti, who have so little and now have even less, are what is most important now.
Thanks for this thread Michelle.
There is an aftermath after the aftermath. The people of Haiti are the poorest in the western hemisphere. Part of their “life style”, if you will, is stealing. There will be a substantial increase of theft in the hours, days, and weeks to come. All of the walls at the missions where we work and support have seen damage. Security is paramount to working in Haiti. Please, pray for the safety of the missionaries who give their lives to the people of Haiti. We are not sure of the condition of our house in Haiti. We cannot get a flight in and communication, for the most part, is non-existent. No matter, if it fell it fell and we will rebuild. We are just happy that nobody we work with was injured and the kids are safe.
Please, donate – any organization (save our government) will do. Even $10 will help when combined with thousands of others who donate. It only takes a little in the right hands to go a long way.
Blessings,
The Soaps
This is gut-wrenching. I have a lot of question for God when I get up there.
where’s the french?
Oh, didn’t you know? Bubba’s itinerary, as of last report, is set; he’s heading down East to stump for Martha, because she [and OB's health care bill] is in such desperate straights. /sarc.
soap, may I copy your comment to an e-mail to send to my friends and family about the situation in Haiti?
Most people do not know that the country was dedicated to the devil – twice. The country used to be 98% voodoo. Since missionaries have been going to Haiti, the precentage is now about 50/50 voodoo/Christian. God is doing a work, don’t blame Him.
I guess that means he wasn’t in the destroyed UN headquarters in Haiti?
Isn’t Clinton the UN envoy to Haiti?
I would beg you to. Thanks.
Yes he is. And Washington’s face is on the dollar. At least the dollar has some value.
Thank you. Just read it to my husband and he agrees.
Blessings to you and yours.
My son has a classmate from school whose father grew up in Haiti. He’s a tough guy! The sentence most often uttered to his son, “You’re lucky you don’t live in Haiti!”
Thank you for the links to the Anchoress. I just gave to Food for the Poor – at times like this it’s good to know which organizations are reputable and already on the ground.
Just received this from my best friend in Haiti who runs Heartline Ministries. This is real life of a missionary folks.
What will we be eating tonight?
When the tsunami occurred in Indonesia, President Bush sent a Navy Aircraft Carrier, immediately. The carrier provided power, food, medical, and housing for the victims.
What has the B.O. done? Anything? Oh, he’s released a press statement. Send a carrier to Haiti, you stinking socialist! Get those people some help NOW! Don’t be a typical liberal. Stand up and be a true American.
Give the partisan rancor a rest for just one second.
The earthquake was yesterday for goodness sakes. Supplies and manpower do not just materialize out of thin air on a President’s say so.
Still think he is just releasing statements?
Will give to the Red Cross. The people, especially the children, break my heart. Slavery still exists there.
Note: where are their socialist neighbors when disaster strikes? Cuba? Venezuela? The wealthy middle eastern countries? I read that China and Taiwan are sending rescue dogs and men. The USA and much of Europe are always there to help.
I saw this on Dave Barry’s blog, in the comments on Haiti. Bill Nathan was injured in the earthquake. His story clarifies, to me, the conditions of Haiti, and how desperately poor the people are.
Pray for rescue of those trapped and injured,coordination and organization of effort, for donations,and for comfort of the people.I also pray for the heroes, like our military, who are being sent to rescue and give aide, may they stay safe and healthy.
When President Bush sent the carrier to Indonesia, the liberals laughed and asked if he was going to attack. It was a big joke. Until a Boeing engineer answered with what a carrier can do, other than launch attack planes. He informed the libtards about the food, medical, and power capabilities of a nuclear aircraft carrier.
I’ll stop when the libtards stop.
Stay classy, TooMuchTime.
My own church has a Committee on Relief that I will contribute to–we already has a mission there. I would avoid ANY contribution through a government agency or the White House-you will be put on a mailing list. I learned that years ago.
That individual persons and agencies give is wonderful and the way that it should be. That the United States government takes our money and gives it to other countries escapes me: can anyone point to the Constitutional authorization for that?
From 2000 to 2006 Barack and Michelle Obama averaged less than 2% of Adjusted Gross Income to Charity including donations to Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago. I do not think they are the people to handle any private donations. With their lack of public openness I would worry about the “handling fees”. Do what Soap sez.
Um, G-d is not mocked.
He didn’t ‘do’ this. The god of this world has come calling.
I am going to agree with chap here and say we should set aside politics – which will never help people in disaster relief (even though I got my shot in on Slick Willy).
If the liberals were, indeed, being jerks, it behooves us to ape them. It would speak more to our character to out give them.
We just committed $100 billion to “developing” countries to fight the carbon scourge. The same amount spent in Haiti would elevate it to the first world.
Somehow, I can foresee this earthquake being blamed on Global-Warming-Bull; there will be another push to urgency of implement carbon taxes. Never let a crisis go to waste.
Yes, I think we can all put aside politics on this one.
I will be helping through my local church first as we have a team on-the-ground in Haiti already. It appears the team are all safe and engaged in relief efforts at this time.
I have experienced a 5.4 quake and that was no fun. I can’t image what a 7.x quake would do in a place like Haiti.
It does appear that the people in Haiti aren’t ever going to get a break on this side of eternity…
They are in our prayers. Nothing like a natural disaster to recognize that but for the grace of God go all of us.
At any moment they can have the ‘big one’ in California and destroy a big chunk of our economy. Large earthquakes have been happening a lot more frequently. I hope people are prepared in earthquake prone areas.
I wish them all well and they are in our prayers.
Sounds good in theory until you look at the ammount of money that we have given to their gooberment in the past compared to how much actually reached the people. It is presumed that Aristide made off with billions – nobody knows for sure how much money he socked away.
ThackerAgency,
With all due respect, I do not believe there is any evidence that “Large earthquakes have been happening a lot more frequently.”
But we do need to pray for these people and do what we can to help them recover from this catastrophe.
The pictures I have seen are heartbreaking…
He needs to “can it” and get in on the relief. No need here, Mr. Robertson, to advance your philosophies for profit.
US foreign aid to Haiti – 2005 $118,000,000
2006 $154,000,000
2007 $164,000,000
2008 $192,000,000
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s1261.xls
$510,000,000 over three years.
Hot news from my niece in grammar school:
Their teacher wants them to write an essay on global warming and earthquakes and how it affects children of the future. Tell me I’m reading too much into it, but does this sound like linking quakes with global warming?
More serious and maddening to me is it seems the kids are told that soliders and sailors are most proudest when they help people from storms and quakes around the world. I don’t doubt our servicepeople are superb at humanatrian roles, but they’re proud of another reason for being in the military!
The BEST gift we can give Haiti is the ability to run a stable and responsibile government (Tough love intervention?). Even CARE finally admitted that thirty years of shipping packages of compassion did squat by feeding misery instead of fixing it.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
I’ve actually been to Haiti. The country could have been developed into a tourist paradise. Instead, the country is almost totally dependent upon foreign aid, while the dictators have ruined whatever productivity might have existed. It is a sad commentary on what could have been an amazing place.
There’s the problem. Making sure it gets to the people and not the government.
Conservatives think the answer is to remove the thieves from the process.
Liberals think the answer is to throw more of the conservatives’ money at the problem until some of it manages to trickle down.
The headline on Yahoo is now estimating 100,000 dead. Let’s pray that this is not true.
I have a lot of question for God when I get up there.
I agree, Spacey…This world is full of misery. God did not promise anything different, and He does not owe us any explanations. The world is unfolding as it will. I trust in the end result and God’s people will triumph.
A great percentage of the population lives in un-reinforced concrete or cinder block homes. I expect similar patterns we saw in Turkey and Armenia with far greater numbers-it hit urban areas.
A second great problem for Haiti is their lack of organized rescue services. The army and police are basically street gangs.
And Happy-you will then know all things you need to know. We live in a fallen world-since Adam’s sin death entered the world.
My prayers go out to the people of Haiti.
Didn’t take long for me to find comments about how Boooooosh failed to respond to Katrina.
Done and done. God bless them.
Thank you, Michelle, for those links. It makes donating so convenient!
And if I’m remembering correctly, didn’t both Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier (sp?) make off with boatloads of money that should have gone to the people of Haiti?
This is why agencies that work directly with the people rather than the government are a better choice – seems there’s a lesson there for us too, don’t you think?
WS,
Yes, the Doc’s helped themselves. Say what you will about Papa Doc but under his rule women, children and Missionaries were protected – off limits to crime. He took that very seriously. We now have the UN which is the same thing but with no protection for women, children and Missionaries.
The UN watched as my friend, Phil Snyder was shot and kidnapped. His story will be on the Biography Channel Jan 17 at 9:00pm Eastern.
There will also be a program about the Haiti revolution Thur at 10:00pm eastern on PBS.
I would encourage everybody to watch.
Haiti is a cursed land and a failed state. It’s the last place that could handle this kind of disaster.
Keep in mind that, as bad as the situation is, the initial casualty figures are essentially pulled out of thin air. There may be 100,000 dead or 20,000. NOBODY KNOWS AT THIS POINT.
Regardless of the final casualty figures, there are a lot of needs in Haiti and more today than there were two days ago.
The best way to help is to give to a charity that has been working in Haiti for a long time.
I didn’t realize that about Papa Doc.
As for the UN, we’ve heard about what they’ve done in places like Africa. The blue helmets don’t inspire much confidence.
Thanks for the heads up about your friend’s bio and the special about Haiti’s revolution.
Just because Pat Robertson said something ‘difficult’ does not mean that all Christians are the same, or believes as he does.
That is true for any category of people.
Although this is a time for prayer for these poor people, I can’t be sending any money there personally. I know my tax dollars will go there, which is fine.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island. One half is a vacation resort (DR), the other half (Haiti) is mired in poverty and corrupt dictators. Most money sent there will go into the pockets of these criminals running the country. It’s so unfortunate.
You couldn’t be more wrong. Your tax dollars sent there are a total waste and do very little for the people of Haiti. YOUR money could be well spent and, if given to a 501(c)(3) charity, is tax deductable and WILL go to help people.
Not trying to change your mind as I see you have made it clear your will not help. Not everybody can be a Samaritan. Most people walk around the bleeding, beaten guy lying on the street.
There are 8 million people living in Haiti and 2 million of them live in Port-au-Prince. I have been there visiting and living. There is no doubt in my mind 100,000 could be dead in an instant. I have seen the construction. I have seen the row houses built up the side of mountains. I have been in an earthquake (4.0) and seen the destruction a small shake can do. While nobody knows the numbers, I can assure you that the 100,000 number is not to sensationalize the news. Trust me, there is no need. I am getting pictures and first and accounts – it is as bad as it sounds.
On-My-Soap-Box,
Like I said, nobody knows the numbers at this point. I lived in Manila and went through a 5.4 quake there. There were 16 to 20 million people in Manila back then. Construction standards were pretty lax. There weren’t 500,000 casualties. There weren’t 100,000 casualties. There weren’t 10,000 casualties. In fact there were a few score casualties.
I am not trying to minimize the situation. I am simply stating a fact.
Any casualty numbers offered at this point are pulled out of the air. NOBODY KNOWS AT THIS POINT.
To help, see what your local church is doing. In my case, we have a team on-the-ground at this point and they are far more likely to know what is needed in their theater of operations. Give to groups you know and trust. It will have the most impact.
A 5.4 quake is about 150 kilotons of energy.
A 7.0 is 32,000 kilotons of energy.
That is like 213 time stronger.
Link to Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief efforts —> give online at http://bit.ly/5s8g9n
Not much news how Dominican Republic’s (and nearby Jamaica and Cuba) helping out outside a couple of trucks and planes over the border. Just think their relative response (and compassion) could be a LOT stronger… (just whose beaches were the boat people pushed back into the surf?)…
BTW, one slogen for Obama’s 2nd term campaign will be “There was no Katrina on his watch!”
James Greenidge
Queens NY
Until their government and security improves, the people will only get pillaged of the aid they receive by their own government.
wareagle,
He is the truth. The deaths from starvation, dehydration and disease will be higher than the initial shake. Widows and children will suffer immensely as none willing be will to care for them while in survival mode. Haiti, at its best, is a country about survival. Stealing for survival is a way of life. The death from malaria will be staggering (thanks to environ-idiots who think DDT should be banned). Doctors without Borders is reporting they are seeing a staggering number of people with crushed limbs. Infection will kill horrendous numbers in horrendous ways.
Normally, tens of thousands of Haitians die a year from starvation, diseases and gang wars. You tack on these earthquakes (42 since the big one and three so far today) LINK 100,000 is just the beginning.
Alas, I will agree you win, there will be 10,000 deaths.
A 7.0 is 50 megatons
I know that the long-term casualties will be higher than the initial casualties. I have never stated otherwise.
I will say it one more time. AS OF YESTERDAY, NOBODY KNOWS THE ACTUAL CASUALTY FIGURE. NOBODY IS LIKELY TO KNOW ACTUAL CASUALTY FIGURE FOR SOME TIME, IF EVER.
And as usual, Chappy’s comments are stupid in the extreme. The bombs that leveled Hiroshima (15 kilotons) and Nagasaki (20 kilotons) leveled several square miles of this city. And a 50 megaton bomb air-burst over Port-au-Prince, Haiti would do far more damage than a 7.0 quake. There would be approximately 2,000,000 casualties in Port-au-Prince in that situation. Never get your bomb damage assessment report from an ambulance chaser…
But, once again, the main point is to donate through charities that are already working in Haiti and that you know you can trust. That will be far more effective than giving to other organizations.
My goodness, you are stupid. Those kiloton numbers are not my figures. You can look them up yourself. And, I never compared an earthquake to a bomb. I just used a common measurement of energy release. Would you prefer joules? 5.4 is about 625 terajoules of energy versus a 7.0, which is 134 perajoules. Point being, that you would even try to compare a 5.4 to a 7.0 demonstrates your profound ignorance on how magnitude scales work.
Also, it is pathetic you are using this thread of all places to play out your little super hero/arch enemy fantasy with me. Which is obviously your intent, because you didn’t say a damn thing about Soap Box’s very similar comment.
But, you don’t really know why I do…
AIDS is already an epidemic in Haiti
Those going had better prepare themselves
The problem with Haiti is centuries of voodoo/pagan culture, and the American liberal mindset, who go by the notion that every culture is more precious than ours. The very idea of trying to establishing superior ideas and belief systems in a country that is as primitive as Haiti’s is anathema to the elitist liberal.
We can pour billions, or even trillions into Haiti, but it will be money wasted, because it is a country with no tradition in independent thinking and responsibility. We could pour every last bit of wealth on Earth into Haiti, build it to be the 21st century wonder of the world, but it would revert back to a 3rd-world hell hole within a decade.
I’ve been to Haiti and Honduras, the two poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, and there is NO comparison between the two. Honduras is certainly poorer compared to any poor in the US, but they are FAR wealthier than your common Haitian, and it’s all due to the Haitian’s lack of understanding of how the world works beyond spiritual causation. If anything bad happens to them, it is because of evil spirits, not because of their own lack of preventive action to keep bad things from happening. How can such thinking not lead to the terrible poverty that every Haitian has faced for centuries.
So long as we continue “respecting” their archaic, primitive culture, and not do anything to change the minds and hearts of the people there, they will continue to be a doomed nation.
Sad but true. Well stated.
I don’t think it is historically accurate to state that Haiti “is a country with no tradition in independent thinking and responsibility.”
Haiti was the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1804. As far as I know, no other revolt by African slaves ever produced an independent nation.
That said, I am surely grateful I am not Haitian. Their per-capita (nominal GDP) is ranked 152 out of 180 countries according to the IMF. That is the lowest in the western hemisphere.
But it is pretty accurate to state that all the aid that has been delivered to Haiti in the last 50 years hasn’t crated lasting prosperity.
But, once again, the main point is to donate through charities that are already working in Haiti and that you know you can trust. That will be far more effective than giving to other organizations.
Where did this revolt produce a nation of independent thinking people who were free to achieve personal goals and aspirations? All it achieved was a new set of slave masters to rule over the people. The people of Haiti have never stopped being slaves. They have never stopped being chained by fear and ignorance that keeps them under control.
I am fully aware of their history. What you fail to understand is that an idea can chain and enslave as much as physical restraints. There are millions of similarly enslaved people in THIS country, who are enslaved by elitist lords and ladies in Washington, DC–people beholden to the idea that they are totally dependent upon THEM for their very survival.
Here is the irony about our relationship with Haiti–rather than exporting freedom and liberty to their country, we have IMPORTED their system of slavery and tyranny into ours. In time, given how liberal tyranny has advanced in America, we will live to see the sort of self-induced tragedies that all Haitians have experienced throughout their history. We will see starvation, panic, and utter ruin if we do not recover our historic heritage.
The following is a letter to the editor that I wrote to my local newspaper (the Lansing State Journal):
Nearly 15 months later, we finally get the goverment to admit that nobody knows how many people died in the Haiti quake last year.
Huge casualty estimates flew everywhere in short order. Now, a more thoroughly researched report indicates the earlier numbers, were most likely, vastly over-stated.
Even worse, 15 months later, Haiti still languishes in poverty and despair with little to show from the influx of aid. Ironically, some “peace keeping troops” actually introduced Cholera to Haiti after the the earthquake.
Whatever happened to “first, do no harm.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110531/ap_on_bi_ge/cb_haiti_earthquake