This is the 108th diary on the earthquake disaster in Haiti. The first diary was by Dallasdoc and previous diaries are linked below. The idea is to keep resources visible and easily available for those wishing help.
ShelterBox: TexMex is busy moving, but carolina stargazer is still watching the store. The next ShelterBox diary is scheduled for Tuesday morning, but activity in Friday's diary will continue to be monitored until then. Also, ShelterBox is in the running for a $20K grant. Vote here each day through April 12.
This is a special edition Action Alert diary. Swampus and I added the action alert to the dairy.
For standard series diary see yesterday's diary,here.
Our policies must change for Haiti for recover. Clinton admittedthat he is responsible for Haiti's food dependency but still advocates neoliberal trade policies for the garment district.
WashingtonPost first reported Clinton's apology but I can no longerfind the article. It was stunning and they provided no video. So I found the video on C-span it starts around 18:20 and posted a diary about it.
The apology got very little attention. Democracy Now came through with the video on youtube and story on it.
The Miami Harold had an article Ex-presidents Clinton, Bush visit Haiti, 3/22/10. It is unclear whether Clinton understands that neo liberalism has failed. He admits that he caused Haiti's food dependancy but what about the policy of using Haiti's poverty to attract corporate investment? In other words creating sweatshops and restricting Haiti from raising minimum wage. The trade policies in the garment industry have led to more poverty but Clinton seems to want that to expand. To be fair Clinton says that the HOPE legislation is flawed. But did not specify how. He alluded to the fact that the textile trade agreement (sweatshops) isn't big enough.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/...
Clinton acknowledged that some of the U.S. legislation he and Bush signed while in office exacerbated Haiti's woes, and he promised to urge Congress to make changes.
Clinton cited the U.S. Congress-approved HOPE II as one piece of legislation in need of revision. As it is, the act -- which gives local garment manufacturers duty-free access to the U.S. market -- has already created 11,000 jobs. Revisions would bring even more.
``I think we can create 100,000 jobs in short order,'' Clinton said.
One of my favorite writers covering Haiti is Mark Schuller. Here is his article on it from 3/24/10:
Tectonic Shifts? The upcoming donors' conference for Haiti
True, there is a new team in Washington. True also, the severity of the earthquake has triggered rumblings of new thinking: even former President Bill Clinton apologized this past weekend for his promotion of subsidized rice in the 1990s that destroyed Haiti's peasant economy while being a boon for Arkansas agribusiness. But this donor conference bears too close a resemblance to those before it, which basically rubber-stamped an assemblage of policies hurriedly culled together and imposed by international institutions.
After the 2004 coup, and after the U.S. passed the baton onto Brazil, was a conference hosted in Washington by the World Bank called in French Cadre de Coopération Intérimaire (CCI), or Interim Cooperation Framework in English. The CCI began with a three-week "participation" period wherein 200 experts, most of them foreign, consulted large NGOs and members of "civil society," particularly leaders within the Group of 184, the bourgeois opposition to Aristide. "Participation" also included merely an invitation letter to other groups who boycotted the process. A network of progressive groups in Haiti published three scathing critiques of the CCI, particularly the rushed, top-down approach and the neoliberal plan that came out of it.
The Coast reported, 3/30 Local activists surprised by Clinton apology to Haiti
Nova Scotia activists are expressing surprise that former US president Bill Clinton has apologized for flooding Haiti with cheap American rice beginning in the mid 1990s. During testimony before a US Senate committee three weeks ago, Clinton admitted that requiring Haiti to lower its tariffs on rice imports made it impossible for Haitian farmers to compete. The trade policy forced farmers off the land and undercut Haiti's ability to feed itself.
“It may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has not worked. It was a mistake,” Clinton — now a UN special envoy to Haiti — told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 10. “I had to live everyday with the consequences of the loss of capacity to produce a rice crop in Haiti to feed those people because of what I did; nobody else.”
“I would like to believe that Clinton has had a change of heart,” says an e-mail from Heidi Verheul of the Halifax Peace Coalition. “But he actually needs to do something to challenge the free market shock doctrine economic policies that are being designed to further subjugate and impoverish Haiti,” she added. “The policies of aid and development in Haiti have continuously served to undermine democracy, local economies, and have driven tens of thousands of people from their land, enslaved them in sweatshops, makeshift homes, and absolute grinding, miserable poverty.”
snip
“When high-profile leaders admit that economic globalization isn’t working, then it’s time for governments to get on board and look at alternatives.” Eaton adds. “It is time to admit that these failures exist and put an end to the aggressive free trade frenzy that is now occurring in Canada, the US and Europe as they vie for foreign markets, raw materials and unfettered free trade.”
We Owe Haiti. Naomi Klein, The Naion NOT DEBTORS BUT CREDITORS:
If we are to believe the G-7 finance ministers, Haiti is on its way to getting something it has deserved for a very long time: full "forgiveness" of its foreign debt. In Port-au-Prince, Haitian economist Camille Chalmers has been watching these developments with cautious optimism. Debt cancellation is a good start, he told Al Jazeera English, but "It's time to go much further. We have to talk about reparations and restitution for the devastating consequences of debt." In this telling, the whole idea that Haiti is a debtor needs to be abandoned. Haiti, he argues, is a creditor--and it is we, in the West, who are deeply in arrears.
Our debt to Haiti stems from four main sources: slavery, the US occupation, dictatorship and climate change. These claims are not fantastical, nor are they merely rhetorical. They rest on multiple violations of legal norms and agreements. Here, far too briefly, are highlights of the Haiti case.
And we see the IMF is already not into the idea, according to the Inner City Press, On Haiti, IMF's Strauss-Kahn Dodges on Debt Forgiveness, Past Conditions' Harm:
Soon, the representative of the IADB came out, and confirmed that full forgiveness of $479 million in loans. Inner City Press asked, what explained the IABD's fast forgiveness, and the IMF's continued delay?
The IADB representative diplomatically mentioned the meeting of finance ministers in Cancun. But there are been a number of IMF Executive Board meetings and/or actions since Haiti's earthquake.
Some question whether Strauss-Kahn's perhaps related fixation on Greece -- where he's said the IMF would "intervene" if asked -- and his personal political trajectory, not only vis a vis Nicolas Sarkozy but also Martine Aubry, have made him and the IMF slow on Haiti. One wouldn't know it from Wednesday's bluster, but facts... are facts. Watch this site.
* * *
For IMF, Canceling Haiti's Debt is Medium Term Goal, Outcome Uncertain, UN's IFAD, Venezuela and Taiwan Are Creditors
I can't find this covered anywhere else and I know nothing about the news organization. This is a problem. Haiti is hardly being covered and many places that are covering it are small and it is not easy to tell if they are credible.
Haiti has been promised much. Haiti recieved less than a third of aid promised after the 2008 hurricanes. Huffington Post has an article by PIH cofounder, Dr. Joia Mukherjee
Promises, Promises -- What It Will Take to Rebuild Haiti:
To understand the skepticism with which Haitians receive even the most generous pledges of support, take a few moments to reflect on the country's rich history and its people's hard-earned sense of pride and dignity. Haiti was born of a slave revolt that defeated the three major colonial powers of the day: France, England, and Spain. The idea of a nation of free blacks struck fear not only in the defeated colonial powers but also in the United States, fear that resulted in isolation and political manipulation from the time of Thomas Jefferson to George W. Bush. Control of Haiti's free populace has taken the form of military occupation, externally backed coups and dictatorships, and mountains of debt. Each method assured that the one thing that Haitians fought for--self-determination--would be limited.
What will it take for Haiti to win the struggle for dignity at last?
First, it will take recognition of what it truly means to say that the response to this tragedy must be led by Haitians and must include civil society. Haiti has a democratically elected but impoverished government. If we believe in democracy, if we understand that civil society refers to collective action around shared interests and values, there can be no greater actor in Haitian civil society than the democratic will of the Haitian people. Yet civil society is too commonly construed as anything that is "not government." The thousands of non-governmental organizations that are active in Haiti, with little or no local participation or presence, should not be equated with civil society. Let Haitian organizations and the Haitian democratic process be the arbiters of aid effectiveness. This could be accomplished by setting up a board to oversee relief that is largely Haitian and representative of the population.
Second, it will take significant, long-term investments. The $9.9 billion pledged on Wednesday was encouraging. But it falls short of the $11.5 billion UN target over the next decade and is dwarfed by the $150 billion that was committed for relief of New Orleans, a city of 200,000 people, after Hurricane Katrina. Moreover, Haitians know from painful experience that money pledged does not mean money delivered. Less than a third of the aid pledged to Haiti after the devastating 2008 hurricanes has ever been disbursed. It is important to develop a long-term relief plan that has, embedded within it, a monitoring and evaluation plan and advocacy strategy to hold the donor community to its promises.
Let Haitian's decide how to rebuild Haiti. According to a recent must read article by Bev Bell and another by Steven Stoll, Published in Harper’s Magazine, April 2010 (http://ijdh.org/archives/10804) Haitian's may want an entirely different kind of economy than we have. Here is another article, Give Haiti control over its recovery.
All of this is to say get busy Kossaks. Make calls. Tell them we are watching. This time let's not abandon Haiti.
Action Alerts:
TransAfrica urges the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress to:
Maintain EMERGENCY RELIEF efforts at their highest levels - Currently, the United Nations and large international aid agencies have prioritized distribution to only19 major camps in Port-au-Prince, leaving the majority of those affected by the earthquake without access to food, water, and shelter.
DECENTRALIZE THE TRIAGE - In addition to the capital city, the earthquake has devastated several major cities in the country. An estimated 600,000 people have left the Port-au-Prince area for the rural areas. The migration has sparked an immediate need for food, shelter, and sanitation in earthquake affected areas outside of Port-au-Prince and in those rural areas now hosting displaced people.
ADHERENCE TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS - There is anecdotal evidence that humanitarian agencies have not uniformly applied international humanitarian standards of ethics and practice in creating camps and in disposing of rubble and waste.
From Port-Au-Prince, Nicole Lee writes, “There is still overwhelming need in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. No one should be deceived. People desperately need medical care, shelter and food. We need to remain vigilant and provide effective assistance. The need for clean food and real shelter is even exacerbating the need for healthcare. Aid is still trickling and has not nearly met the need.”
For more information visit, www.transafricaforum.org or contact Joia Nuri, jnuri@transafricaforum.org.
HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE ACTION ALERT:
White House: 202-456-1111
Email at www.whitehouse.gov
US State Department: 202-647-4000
Toll Free Contact 1 (866) 266-6678
(also see allie123's contact list, here And for Immigration, here.)
Immigration
Read Deoliver47's action diary calling for pressure to be applied to congress to relax the caps for Haitian visa applicants. Allie123 found an easy way to fax or e-mail congress using existing templates and form letters. Frisco wrote a letter to President Obama and gives permission for it to be used as a template by others.
transAfica forum:
Urgent - Temporary Protective Status for Haitians (relax the caps for Haitian visa applicants)
HIAS
Urge Secretary Napolitano to Reunite Haitian Families here.
Urge Your Legislators to Reunite Haitian Families here.
Immigratioin Committee Contact information, here.
Frisco's sample letter:
RE: Open our doors to Haitian refugees
Mr. President,
I am writing to implore you to work with Secretary of State Clinton and with the Congress to provide relief in expediting "green card" processing for Haitian immigration applicants caught up in the horrible aftermath of the 12 January earthquake that so devastated that country. I am further asking that you work with Congress to temporarily raise the limits on Haitian immigration levels for 2010.
These two actions would have the effect of reducing the on-site relief requirements in Haiti and providing funding for relief aid and rebuilding in the form of funds sent back to Haiti by members of the Haitian diaspora (currently estimated to be about 25% of Haiti's normal GNP).
With the impending rainy season nearly upon them, Haitians are facing a turn from horrendous living conditions to **unlivable** - with rain, mud and waste running in the streets and ditches throughout the tent & tarp "cities" that are currently everywhere in that nation.
Please help, Mr. President. The time for action is RIGHT NOW. Thank you.
Regards,
Debt Relief
Wherever applicable, please be clear that we're asking for grants to be provided, not loans.
- Cancel all remaining debts owed by Haiti to multilateral financial institutions;
- Declare a moratorium on Haiti’s debt service payments to these institutions until the debts are officially canceled; and
- Provide additional aid to Haiti in the form of grants so that the country is not burdened with new debts.
Jubilee USA urges us to contact President Obama and ask him to take these steps:
- Provide massive assistance for relief and reconstruction in the form of grants, not loans;
- Cancel the rest of Haiti's debt; and
- Provide Temporary Protective Status to Haitians living in the US.**
**President Obama has already granted TPS, so now urge to relax the caps for visa applicants.
Aid
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti has a petition, We Can Do Better for Haiti: Demand Transparency and Improved Aid Distribution:
As a donor and a taxpayer, I am insisting that the governments and NGOs entrusted with the world’s generosity respond more efficiently and effectively to Haiti’s earthquake. This means:
1. better coordination among aid donors and providers;
- allowing more participation of earthquake victims in the planning and implementation of earthquake response projects; and
- more transparency about where and how Haiti earthquake funds are spent.
transAfrica forum has an Emergency Relief Petition for Haiti. Tell Secretary Clinton that continued action is needed now.
They also urge us to contact the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which is coordinating the U.S. relief efforts and encourage:
- Immediate release of essential supplies
- Air clearance for relief flights to additional cities
- Coordinated, efficient, and expedient distribution of all aid.
By phone: 202-712-4810
Demand accountability and efficient aid delivery.
Additional Action Alerts:
Stand up and be counted (Partners in Health)
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
TransAfrica Forum
HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE ACTION ALERT
Update March 11: allie123 has finished a detailed list of contact information for the committees, subcommittees, offices, and office holders who have influence over these policies. She has made the source code for this list available here. |
Neoliberalism has failed. Time to let Haiti produce its own food.
White House, here
White House Comment line: 202-456- 1111; Fax: 202-456-2461
US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
House Subcommittee
The international community, which is currently providing most of Haiti’s food, should commit to buying at least the current and next season’s crop of locally produced rice at a profitable, guaranteed price, before distributing any imported rice. Currently, as has happened in the past, imported rice is pushing down the price of local rice and can make it difficult or impossible for farmers to survive.
The Haitian government also needs budget support; it is currently getting only a tiny fraction of U.S. government dollars, not nearly enough to even have a functioning government that is necessary for the reconstruction effort. It is both wrong and counter-productive to try to exclude Haitians from having a voice in the future of their own country.
http://www.cepr.net/...
UPCOMING DIARIES
Sunday: Aji
Monday: allie123
Tuesday: J Brunner Fan
Wednesday: Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse
Thursday: Tchrldy
Friday: ***open***
If you would like to volunteer to contribute a diary to continue this series, please volunteer in the comments below. Norbrook has created a Google documents file** with the source code for our usual introduction and the list of charities the community has developed. Doing one of these diaries, thanks to Norbrook, is not nearly as demanding as it was early in the series. Also, updates need to be made far less frequently. You don't need to set aside huge chunks of time for it and it's easy to multi-task if you have other things to do, as long as you're able to check the comments every 30 minutes or so.
**There is also a backup to the original google doc. See this comment for more details.