I have just finished watching a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Haiti.
I was heartened to stumble on this event from today since I have noticed that CNN and MSNBC have been steadily reducing their coverage of this heart breaking disaster as no more battered bodies are found to pull alive from the rubble. I can't help but remember that we no longer pay much attention to New Orleans, or Banda Ache.
But, at least for now, there would seem to be a concerted effort to use the earthquake disaster to review and repair some of the damage that international foreign aid has inflicted on Haiti during the past 25 years.
The questions and testimony presented in today's hearing were startling and earnest.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Chair of the FRC, and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) showed remarkable accord, given the current rancorous climate, in their understanding of what must be done, and how it must be approached.
The main points were:
- A major organizational effort must be planned and undertaken to rebuild the island nation. Port-au-Prince must be bull dozed and completely rebuilt, including government buildings, new sewer and water systems, roads, public schools to replace the current private school system, and power and communications facilities. Development of infrastructure and services must include the entire geographical area of Haiti and not just the single city of Port-au-Prince.
- The current government is very ineffectual, in large part because aid to Haiti during the past decades has not been targeted to building a sustainable state. Part of the difficulty arises from a common circumstance in Caribbean Island nations - the existence of a very few families controlling the levers of power and wealth. Illiteracy is very high, gender equality is very low, and long before the quake the majority of people were so busy struggling to find food and water that their interest and participation in politics and civic issues in non-existent.
- NGOs and various volunteer organizations have been operating with little regard for, or support from, the government of Haiti. Although this may provide short term relief to many individuals it does nothing to build a stable economic, educational or infrastructure system that can survive the aid agencies leaving. It's the old adage, "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. A great deal of interest was expressed in economic development of the type that former President, and current United Nations Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton was so successfully propagating just before the quake.
- The most important acknowledgment was that it will take 5 to 10 years to build a functioning society with the acoutrements of 21st century life. The entire committee pledged to see to it that the work was undertaken.
There were verbal struggles around stating how the current government of Haiti can be "managed", and who should control the entire operation, much discussion of the need to avoid contractors and place the Haitian people in jobs that perform the tasks of reconstruction, and a lot of suggestions to improve pieces of the problem.
But, I thought you might like to know that our Democratic controlled Congress is not turning away from the issue. They are beginning the long process of trying to plan for a new Haiti when the cameras wander off to the next shiny object. And, I was gladdened by their sincerity.
The testimony is very interesting. May I suggest you take the time to read it when the opportunity presents?