Haiti Report by TeleSur's Reed Lindsay, Now Translated to English

"It occurred to me this morning that this is the first time since the dawn of cable news that during a big international story that I don't have CNN or the other TV news networks turned on as I go about my day. "

That began to happen for me right after the election. The process continued through 2009, and is now complete.  I can't tell you the last time I turned on television news, and only do so for very local stories. I can find all the info I need through this and a few other sites, and don't have to put up with the posturing, ego and unfounded speculation of the television talkers (not to mention that I despise commercials)...  the reports of your scholars are a very welcome antidote to all the chatter. BTW, my daughter is an RN with a pediatric ICU specialty. She expects to be in Haiti sometime in February; is busy arranging to send the kids to their dads and getting her passport in order. I expect to get some additional insight through her work.

At 4:53 pm on Tuesday 12^th January 2010 an earthquake registering 7.0 on the Ritcher Scale devastated Haiti, the poorest and most underdeveloped nation in the Americas. 

Horrific images and digital messages of Haiti’s devastation began circulating the internet within hours of the quake.

In a globally connected world, technology makes us all witnesses of such crises. Like the Asian Tsunami in 2004 a global outpouring of emotion is developing.  

From the Asian Tsunami many lessons have been learnt regarding the effective delivery of aid in such humanitarian crises.

The main lesson is: once the headlines fade and the initial search and recovery phase is over, communities affected by such crises require aid in the intermediate and longer term that meets the community’s specific needs in a culturally appropriate manner. The most effective way to deliver such aid is through local community-based organisations with an already existing base and infrastructure. Cash donations are the preferred method as it does not undermine the local economy, area specific goods can be purchased, and freight and customs charges are avoided.

The key here is: finding small local community-based organisations on the ground and still operational.

For a humanitarian aid project for Haiti here in Australia, Al and Reed Lindsay have assisted in identifying Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY (Creole for “Working Together for Haiti”) as meeting the criteria for a Haitian local community-based organisation with an already existing base and infrastructure that is still operational.

KONPAY is an umbrella organisation focusing on Haitian solutions to environmental, social and economic problems, and provides training and funding to grassroots and community-based projects.

Melinda Miles, one of the founders and a director of KONPAY, is currently point person for immediate aid into the Jacmel region.

Jacmel is currently cut-off by road from Port-au-Prince and little aid is reaching the area as the main focus is on the capital. She has already organised boats to ferry aid into the region from Port-au-Prince and is setting up a supply line from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince over land.

From the KONPAY website:

“Since the earthquake, KONPAY has been a leader in building a coordinated response and encouraging collaboration. We are working with many small and mid-size NGOs with decades of Haiti experience to make a rapid and strategic intervention. Our long-term strategies are all similar in that we support the Haitian people and work to empower them to determine their future.”

Melinda’s latest progress report on the unfolding situation in her region is here:

http://development.konpay.org/en/node/466

KONPAY homepage: http://development.konpay.org

Have a look around.

BondiBeachViews

This authentic and quite moving story from Port-au-Prince supports Al’s thesis and Ansel Herz’s argument: http://development.konpay.org/en/node/470

BondiBeachViews

Thank you for the story from the Matthew 25 organization.

So, don’t believe Anderson Cooper when he says that Haiti is a hotbed for violence and riots, it is just not the case. In the darkest of times, Haiti has proven to be a country of brave, resilient and kind people and it is that behavior that is far more prevalent than the isolated incidents of violence.

Thank you for the links. I was surprised to hear a good story on Tuesday morning about Haiti media coverage on the CBC radio program, "The Current."

Here is a link: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/201001/20100119.html

Thanks, Al, for putting my video up on your site.  Between you and Baratunde at Jack and Jill Politics and Denise Velez over at DailyKos, it looks like my first time effort at writing and producing a video is making a difference.

We have to wrest back the dominant narrative from those who continue to abuse it and tell our own stories, or the stories of others with an eye to illuminating the truth of our shared history.

Ciao!

Kris Broughton

Brown Man Thinking Hard

I wanted to post here my award for the Most Disgusting 60 Seconds of "Reporting" from Haiti Earthquake:

Geraldo Rivera, reporting from the militarized airport in Haiti where all the corporate journalists were enjoying their vacation and speculating about what was going on outside their little enclave, shared with viewers footage from his "tour" of the city -- one can only imagine how this "tour" was arranged.

He was excited to actually come across something he thought was news -- police were responding to claims that a half-demolished Citibank was being "looted." So, Geraldo comes by and notices a random black man with his arms up in the air walking around.

Geraldo barks at his translator: "Did he take money?!" This is after Geraldo has already told viewers what is going on, going off of a few rumors he heard. The translator complies and tells Geraldo that the man said that he saw some people going into the Citibank and then police with guns came onto the scene and that's all he knows but that he wasn't stealing any money.

Geraldo then sneers into his microphone: "That's what they all say."

I was choked up for about a second because I was caught off-guard and then I was angry. This clip is the perfect example of everything that is wrong with everything. You can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC7Ryqlxm3s

Fair and balanced objective reporting.

I am so ashamed of the so-called reporting done by U.S. journalists.   They just lie.  It's called propaganda, but it's pure lying.  This must be the thousandth time I have had to apologize to my friends in the world community  for the barbaric behavior of U.S. idiots.

Anyone who has the slightest clue about how people behave in a disaster, know that crime decreases, and community increases.   All pretense and other silliness stops and everyone pitches in and helps everyone else.  Looters?   These are people who are simply trying to survive;  looking for water, food, shelter, and other basic necessities.  They're not "looting" or taking what does not belong to them; they are trying to survive when their survival is very questionable.

Like the writer above, we too pay no attention to the news on broadcast T.V.  by the the U.S. press.   They wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in the butt.

They are handed a script by the powers that be, and every channel is a carbon copy of the other.  We, in this household, have woken up and  get all of our truth from foreign sources, and have for the last decade.  Thank goodness for Narco News and other foreign news sources.