Rape, homelessness, cholera hound Haiti 2 yrs after quake

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/rape-homelessness-cholera-hound-haiti-2-yrs-after-quake-iom


05 Jan 2012 17:52

BOGOTA (AlertNet) - Two years after Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake, more still needs to be done to tackle deteriorating conditions and extensive sexual violence in makeshift camps where over half a million people live, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) said.

Around 520,000 Haitians displaced by 2010’s Jan. 12 quake still live in tents and under tarpaulin across some 800 settlements in the capital Port-au-Prince, according to latest figures from the Geneva-based an intergovernmental organisation.

The IOM said camp dwellers faced worsening conditions as donor funding and interest in Haiti’s reconstruction has waned.

“Free services like water have gone. Non-governmental organisations have had to pull out because of a lack of funding. Donor fatigue has set in. Conditions are really tough,” Leonard Doyle, IOM’s communications officer told AlertNet in a telephone interview from Port-au-Prince.

[Louisiana1976]

1. K&R!

[Peace Patriot]

2. Could this have something to do with Bill Clinton and George Jr grabbing control of...

...ten billion in aid money and the U.S. State Dept. rigging Haiti's election against Haiti's majority party--the leftist party of Aristide, we might well arsk? SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT of Haitians DIDN'T VOTE in the U.S.-run election because their party of choice was banned from the ballot!

Where has all that money gone? Why hasn't progressive reconstruction of the country occurred? Why are millions of people still living in tents--really, under mere tarps--with little or no access to water and food?

I'll tell you my suspicion. All that aid money is slated for transglobal corporations and other private 'contractors' to create a slave labor country and a base for transglobal operations, once the Haitians have been sufficiently subdued by extreme poverty and want. The money has been hijacked and will never be used according to the wishes of the Haitian people or in their interest.

This is NOT a case of "donor fatigue," as the article alleges. It is a case of RIP-OFF!

[Bacchus4.0]

3. I doubt it. the money is unspent. the government is inept

Haiti is already "subdued" by extreme povert and want.


found this relatively recent article. I've never heard of the organization before and I don't know or care about their politics.

http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2012-01-10/two-years-on-haiti-reconstruction-proceeds-snail-pace



Some progress, but many still in need of housing
Two years on, there has been some positive progress made on reconstruction. Nearly half of all earthquake rubble has been removed, accounting for 5 million cubic meters of debris. That is significantly faster than the rate of removal in past humanitarian crises in areas not as complex as urban Port-au-Prince. In a country where only an estimated 5 per cent of roads were covered in hard-top before the earthquake, some 430 kilometers of roads have been constructed or rehabilitated since the earthquake, providing vital infrastructure for economic recovery.

However major problems remain. Over half a million people are still living under tents and tarpaulins; most Haitians do not have running water, a toilet or a access to a doctor; cholera has claimed thousands of lives and remains a major threat to public health and more than 70 percent of the workforce is under- or unemployed – many of these are problems that existed for years before the earthquake.

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) has made some progress on coordinating what reconstruction has been done, but little was achieved in bolstering the government’s ability to take critical, long term actions. With the mandate of the IHRC now expired, aid donors should support the creation of a national coordination body to take a strategic and collaborative role in reconstruction.

While Oxfam acknowledges that elections last year, followed by a political stand-off between the new president and parliament, have impeded progress on reconstruction, it calls on the new administration to take a strong leadership role and produce a comprehensive resettlement policy for those displaced by the earthquake with a clear timetable, as well as engaging more with Haitian civil society in the planning and management of reconstruction to ensure their priority needs are met.

Less then half of promised aid disbursed
Billions of dollars of aid were pledged for Haiti’s reconstruction, but promises of funding haven’t always been translated into money on the ground. According to the UN, as of the end of September 2011, donors had disbursed just 43 per cent of the $4.6 billion that they pledged for reconstruction in 2010 and 2011.

With some 70 per cent of the Government of Haiti’s budget coming from development assistance, donor support is essential if the new government is to deliver on its promises to tackle some of Haiti’s most pressing issues.

“Donors must honor their promises to Haiti and stay the course. We must not allow impatience with the slow pace of progress to stand in the way of much needed support to those who remain without access to basic services or opportunities for a secure future. We must work together and keep our long-term commitments to the Haitian people,” said Millan.

[Peace Patriot]

4. And who installed this "inept government"? The U.S. State Dept. nt

[Bacchus4.0]

5. just another in a long history of inept and corrupt administrations n/t

s

[sabrina 1]

6. How sad. That country has always broken my heart. I used to follow events there and

wrote extensively about them on another forum for several years hoping they would not be forgotten after the coup against Aristedes.

Maybe donors do not trust what will be done with their money. The Western powers who are involved in Haiti's business, should leave and allow South American countries to take over imo. Nothing good for Haiti has ever come of Western interference there.

It's shameful that things are still so bad there. Those poor people. Thank you for the link, still heart breaking to read about it.

[sabrina 1]

7. I asked the same question. The world needs to start asking. Next time there is a disaster like

this, I will find a family who are victims of it and directly donate the money to them. After Haiti a lot of people lost confidence in donating to these huge organizations where the money never seems to get to the actual intended people.