Haiti - donations and the military presence there

[Catty1]

The thread on donations to Pakistan got me thinking about Haiti.

I know several people here who have been to Haiti under the auspices of and NGO or some such. All the reports I have heard back allege that the U.S. Military (acting under orders I would guess) delayed the delivery of aid supplies in order to carry out their own activities first, which were not aid-related. Also, it's alleged that the military is still there in numbers not necessarily required for aid, but that may ensure that Haiti will not have a chance to grow stronger and independent.

I do NOT intend to pick on any one organization; again I have heard these things from people who were seriously working there. Just wondering how the politics vs helping the Haitian people is working - does anyone have any other knowledge?

In the PK thread, sana mentioned that the government there was doing nothing - which may invite external governments to come in with help and power.

kinda scary...

[Laura's Babies]

I still want to know why all the donations that were given is not being used to help the Haitian people! Clean it up and rebuild! Get those people out of TENTS! I saw a thing on TV just the other night where Soles for Souls had taken shoes for the kids and they reported that the only help those people were getting was from organizations like that.

[sana]

If you are thinking about sending donations to Pak, its best you donate it through some foundation which is collecting the money for the flood refugees. :)

[wombat2u2004]

I don't have much faith in those organisations who collect money on behalf of disaster stricken countries. The money always ends up in the hands of the wrong people.

[wombat2u2004]

I still want to know why all the donations that were given is not being used to help the Haitian people! Clean it up and rebuild! Get those people out of TENTS! I saw a thing on TV just the other night where Soles for Souls had taken shoes for the kids and they reported that the only help those people were getting was from organizations like that.

The guy who had a farm next to ours was a retired Army major. He left the army with hardly a thing, and then got a job at Unicef or some big outfit like that. A year later he bought the farm next to us with a very beautiful house on it. The talk about town was that he paid cash.....go figure.

[Lady's Human]

The US military delayed flights to Haiti because the Airport was a cluster, and the Military organized things so it would run smoother. Organizing an airport so it can function is most certainly aid related.

As to the claim that the US has more troops than needed to assist, define what too many is. Despite the US military doing a lot of good in areas where they go to assist in disaster relief, to some people 2 personnel in US uniform are too many.

As to Haiti growing up? How many decades would they like?