Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1001132230260.10619@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>,
Cyberculture <cyberculture@zacha.org>
Subject: How to Help Haiti (fwd)
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:30:32 -0500 (EST)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:54:28 -0500 From: moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG To: PORTSIDE@LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG Subject: How to Help Haiti How to Help Haiti 1. TransAfrica has 4 Immediate Recommendations of Aid Recovery 2. Helping Haiti (Peter Rothberg) 3. State Department info on family members and aide to Haiti === TransAfrica has 4 Immediate Recommendations of Aid Recovery TransAfrica Forum January 13, 2009 http://www.transafricaforum.org/policy-overview/where-we-work/sos-port-au-prince-earthqjan2010 "The country does not have the infrastructure or resources to deal with a crisis of this magnitude, the U.S. and the international community must provide immediate medical, humanitarian, search and rescue, and additional supports as requested by the government of Haiti," -- Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum. 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, is said to have suffered "massive damage." According to Associated Press, the capital is largely destroyed, with widespread loss of life predicted. "The people of Haiti are only just beginning to recover from a decade of economic, environmental, and political shocks. The global recession, increases in international food prices, and natural disasters, including four hurricanes in 2008, have undermined the country's already weak infrastructure and increased poverty in a country already the poorest in the western hemisphere," according to Nicole Lee, President of TransAfrica Forum. "The country does not have the infrastructure or resources to deal with a crisis of this magnitude, the U.S. and the international community must provide immediate medical, humanitarian, search and rescue, and additional supports as requested by the government of Haiti," Lee continued. According to Haitian Ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, "the quake has crippled the country." Aid agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, are meeting to organize a response. An emergency message from the internationally respected health organization Partners in Health gives an indication of the level of crisis: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, and bandages. Please help us." TransAfrica Forum recommends the following: 1. SUSPEND HAITIAN DEPORTATIONS AND GRANT TPS. Since January 2009 U.S. immigration judges have issued deportation orders to over 30,000 undocumented Haitians. The Department of Homeland Security should immediately halt the arrests of these deportees and grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians in the United States and conduct a full review of its policy towards Haiti. Temporary protected status (TPS) is granted by the United States (Homeland Security Department) to eligible nationals of countries that cannot safely return to their homelands because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Haiti clearly fits this description. 2. COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL RELIEF ASSISTANCE. The U.S. government and international aid agencies are already beginning to mobilize immediate relief. We urge the administration to continue its efforts, in full coordination with international agencies and multilateral agencies in order to ensure efficient relief efforts. The first impulse of individuals and governments in the face of a crisis of this level is to give, a reflection of the generous nature of the human spirit, which is to be admired. Joint planning, coordination, and full use of resources already available within the region will ensure the efficiency efficacy of relief efforts. 3. FULL RESOURCE MOBILIZATION. Within the context of international efforts, and as requested by the Haitian government, we encourage the Obama Administration to fully mobilize its resources to support urgent needed search and rescue of the wounded and trapped, including, again if requested by the Haitian government, mobilization of the Southern Command structure. 4. CHARITABLE DONATIONS. Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs) have long-established development projects on the ground. Those organizations are best placed to assist with the country's immediate needs; we encourage supporters to contribute to two highly effective organizations that are already providing emergency services: a. Partners in Health. Donate online at: www.pih.org/inforesources/news/Haiti_Earthquake.html or send your contribution to Partners In Health, P.O. Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578 b. Doctors Without Borders. Donate online atwww.doctorswithoutborders.org, or toll-free at 1-888-392-0392. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. USA Headquarters 333 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001-5004. BACKGROUND Haiti is the least-developed country in the Americas. The "dumping" of cheap products into its economy has further destabilized the nation and underscored the need to overhaul Haiti's agriculture policies in tandem with international trade policy. Approximately 80 percent of Haiti's population lives in poverty and over half struggle to survive on less than $1 a day. Remittances that Haitians outside the country send home account for over a quarter of gross domestic product (GDP), there is chronic unemployment and the informal economy is steadily growing. Foreign aid continues to dominate Haiti's budget (30-40 percent) and its debt stands at $1.3 billion - 40 percent of which was incurred by the Duvalier dictatorships by stealing or misspending most of the money between 1957 and 1986. While loss of civilian life and public security due to armed confrontations continue to be problems, people are increasingly dying as a result of starvation and poverty. The prices of products needed to fulfill basic needs have risen by more than 50 percent since 2007 and most families are forced to choose between buying food and sending their children to school. Unfortunately, the current conditions in the country show no signs of notable improvement and disproportionately impact vulnerable groups, such as women and children, human rights defenders and journalists. Through it all, Haitians continue to identify creative ways to survive and to help others along the way. This tradition of "youn ede lòt," or "one helping the other" remains strong. One example of this is the existence of solidarity lending groups, established by members to cover financial obligations, in which one person receives a rotating pool of money each pay period. TransAfrica Forum is the leading U.S. advocacy organization for Africa and the African Diaspora in U.S. foreign policy. TransAfrica Forum helped lead the world protest against apartheid in South Africa and today works for human and economic justice for African people on the continent of Africa, in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Contact us: TransAfrica Forum, 1629 K Street, N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, D.C., 2006, 202-223-1960, www.transafricaforum.org. === Helping Haiti Peter Rothberg The Nation January 13, 2010 http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/516315/helping_haiti The worst earthquake in 200 years struck Haiti yesterday, causing catastrophic destruction in the hemisphere's poorest country. The quake struck near the capital of Port-au-Prince, the most densely populated part of Haiti, and thousands are feared dead. Most telephone communications throughout the country have also been destroyed complicating relief work. The most urgent needs appear to be bandages, antibiotics, other basic medical supplies, and water tablets to prevent cholera outbreaks. The need for food and shelter is also growing especially given that these needs are severe in impoverished Haiti in the best of times. There are numerous ways to help groups already on the ground. One of the best, Partners In Health (http://www.pih.org/home.html), has been operating in the country since 1987, originally to deliver health care to the residents of Haiti's mountainous Central Plateau region. PiH now also operates clinics in Port au Prince and other major Haitian cities. With hospitals and a highly trained medical staff in place, Partners In Health is already mobilizing resources and preparing plans to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit. Donations to help earthquake relief efforts will be quickly routed to the disaster. The women's group MADRE (http://www.madre.org/index.php?video=1) has also worked in Haiti for many years, supporting community-based organizations, and has activated an emergency response through its partner organization, Zanmi Lasante Clinic. The doctors, nurses and community health workers there are working to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit. MADRE's partners are expert at reaching those in crisis and stretching resources to meet the myriad needs facing Haitian women and families. Teams from the group Doctors Without Borders (http://doctorswithoutborders.org/) were already working on medical projects in Haiti and have been treating victims of the quake since yesterday. Gifts to to the group's new Haiti Earthquake Response (https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=197&hbc=1&source=ADR1001E1D01) will support emergency medical care for the men, women, and children affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Despite heavy damages to its own offices in Port-au- Prince, the UN relief organization UNICEF is coordinating donations of things like blankets, toothpaste, canned food and other basic staples. Call 1-800-4UNICEF or go to unicef.org for information. And while all this relief work is saving lives, it's also critical to implore the Obama Administration to immediately authorize temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants. Tell the White House this is urgent: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/ === The State Department has set up an info line for people to call. That number is 1-888-407-4747. You can also direct people to the US Embassy website in Port- Au- Prince for information: http://haiti.usembassy.gov/service/emergency-contact.html "The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording). Our embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American Citizens through our Warden Network. Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time." For people wanting to assist in Haiti the State Department has issued this statement: Anyone wishing to donate or provide assistance in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that struck near Port au Prince on Jan 12, 2010, is asked to contact the Center for International Disaster Information. The Center, operated under a grant from the United States Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and initial support from IBM, has become a valuable resource to the public, as well as US government agencies, foreign embassies and international corporations. CIDI has established a dedicated page to coordinate Haiti support at: http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/ _____________________________________________ Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it. 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