tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post7405635844646579623..comments2024-03-28T08:26:58.108-04:00Comments on Our Odyssey: Haiti is broken: send money -- and nothing elseLouisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06306854459459257368noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-86684633316361520402010-01-26T10:21:47.557-05:002010-01-26T10:21:47.557-05:00@DaVE: I can speculate, but I'd rather not, s...@DaVE: I can speculate, but I'd rather not, since I don't really want the blog to become a forum for political discourse.<br /><br />One of the things we like about the Red Cross and why we donate both time and money there, is that the relief provided is based strictly on the disaster and not on the financial circumstances of the victims. When your house is destroyed, it doesn't matter whether you lived in a 6,000 square foot mansion or a cardboard box in a back alley; the Red Cross will feed you, house you, and clothe you, and everybody is treated exactly the same.<br /><br />Right now, the problems of housing, food, water, sanitation, medical assistance, and communications are overwhelming and would not have been fundamentally different had this happened in a less poor country. At some point, long after the relief operation is over and the reconstruction process has begun, people will have to face these harder questions. I will point out, though, that we had exactly this issue in New Orleans after Katrina, and here we are five years later without having dealt with it. And that's in the US, the wealthiest nation in the world.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930398671280529448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-49006056444666760312010-01-25T15:04:56.108-05:002010-01-25T15:04:56.108-05:00I've been curious as to why Haiti is so poor. ...I've been curious as to why Haiti is so poor. I understand that at the moment they have an immediate need for "fish," but long term where can we donate to teach them to fish rather than keeping them dependent on us continuing to hand them more "fish" every year?DaVEnoreply@blogger.com