Haitian Tragedy Should Transcend Politics And Naïveté

By Alicia Colon

There can be no excuse for interjecting partisan politics at a time when disaster has struck one of the poorest nations in the world. Yet that doesn't stop those still suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

I well remember how critics immediately complained about our supposedly slow response to the devastation in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami, as if the United States was the only country able to give aid.

They even mocked the use of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln that President Bush sent charging to the scene, saying that this was the same ship that Mr. Bush landed on that bore the sign "Mission Accomplished."

There's a popular e-mail making the rounds that's headed "You could hear a pin drop" and was supposed to have answers to barbs from the French. I usually dismiss many of these as conservative rants that may be overblown, but I found this response particularly interesting. It was the response of a Boeing engineer to a Frenchman who laughed at the idea of Mr. Bush sending an aircraft carrier to help the victims and asked, "What is he going to do. Bomb them?"

"Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"

I'm not sure if this kind of help is being sent to the stricken Haitians but I will guarantee that whatever it is will be far superior to any assistance sent from another nation. That is what America does - no matter where the disaster occurs and to which country - because contrary to the opinion of many Hollywood celebs, we are a benevolent people.

The idiocy of pundits now blaming the Bush administration for not lifting Haiti out of its dire poverty is exceeded only by the idiocy of Hollywood celebs who simply can't move off message.

Actor Danny Glover blamed the earthquake on global warming and climate change. Said Mr. Glover in a post-disaster interview: "When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I'm sayin'?"

That Haiti is still suffering from such acute poverty in spite of the efforts by the Clinton administration to bring stability there points out the futility of our foreign-aid policy. There is never a follow-up to the funding we send to ensure that the money doesn't perpetuate corruption as it inevitably does.

What Americans should do is realize that there will be many fraudulent schemes that try to take advantage of our charity and they should choose to give wisely to those organizations that already have facilities in place for these emergencies.

According to the Associated Press: "Groups that vet charities are raising doubts about the organization backed by Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean, questioning its accounting practices and ability to function in earthquake-hit Haiti."

I well recall a sign in a neighborhood storefront that advertised a fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and I wondered who on earth would contribute money to a makeshift and possibly fraudulent endeavor.

Apparently, there were many naïve souls who did and the place soon filled up with well wishers donating dollars in the coffee cans passed around.

Several years ago, a priest from Cross International came to my parish to raise funds for the work this Catholic organization does. He told us that he had been in Haiti the week before and the poverty was so severe that he saw children there eating dirt. Yet, he said, just an hour and a half away, children in Miami were chomping down on inexpensive burgers at McDonald's. The rest of his plea left me in tears for the plight of these people but also inspired me to help in any way I could and since then I''ve pledged a monthly sum that while small I was assured would go far to help in the missions.

Just recently, another mission priest spoke at our parish. He was from India and was one of those children that Cross International helped as a child. Obviously, Cross International (Crossinternational.org) will be the one receiving an extra donation from me to aid Haitians and there will probably be extra collections at all the Masses that will go to Catholic Relief Services.

But the question remains why Haiti - a country so near to the wealthiest nation on this planet - is still so poor. I only know a few Haitians personally. Its ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, once was a colleague of mine at The New York Sun. But there's a very large African community on Staten Island and I once spoke to several parishioners about their opinion on foreign aid and the continuing poverty in that continent, and their responses may be relevant to Haiti.

One man from Liberia shrugged his shoulders as if to suggest that all those global poverty conferences were a waste of time. The money, he said, just goes to the government and the poor never see any of it.

"What about countries that are not corrupt?" I asked. "There are none," he said. "The only African country that is not riddled with corruption is South Africa, and that country is just emerging from colonialism. It is now run by blacks, and we will have to learn how to govern ourselves."

A priest from Ghana who substitutes for our pastor during the summer, Father Isaac, summed up the essential weakness of all foreign aid: "The trouble is that governments and politicians are not really in touch with the poor Africans. They have no connection with the grass roots. What would work better is donating directly to those organizations that are in direct touch with the poor and know their needs.

There are Catholic, Anglican, and other missions already in place. Helping them is the way to end poverty."

Needless to say, the Red Cross is another good resource for our donations as is the Salvation Army, and while it's heartwarming to see celebrities gearing up for another aid telethon, I can't help but wonder if it might not be better for all these participants to give generously out of their own pockets, as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Sandra Bullock did with their $1 million gifts. Has anyone ever audited Live Aid or any of the other celeb-driven telethons?

There's always been controversy involving fundraisers that end up funding the organizers rather than any victims and it's crucial that there be no misdirection of American largesse. One thing we can do that will cost nothing is to pray for Haiti. C

Alicia Colon lives in New York City and can be reached at aliciav.colon@gmail.com and at www.aliciacolon.com