Skewed Aid in Haiti

You can view the original of this article at: http://mathaba.net/news/?x=625846

By Ray Shader

For awhile I have been upset with the way a lot of larger organizations work here in Haiti. While talking to a friend the other day he mentioned that it’s wrong how the people here feel that they are owed something and that they are under the misunderstanding that the money being pumped into the various organizations is theirs. The west does owe them and the money that is being donated is more theirs than it is the employees of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)’s, the non-needy benefactors and the west’s industrial complex. But a great portion of the funds go to these entities and precious little is making it to the people that need it.

I wrote above that the west does owe them. The west has been a serious detriment to Haiti’s ability to live from agriculture (Google: “Creole pig” and “failed subsidized rice for Haiti program”), has worked to bring down a leader that was a great hope for this country and it has helped increase the poverty and debt in Haiti through its demands and manipulative loan practices. It has actively supported dictators and military regimes here that have been responsible for the destruction of civil liberties, much suffering, tens of thousands of deaths and the wholesale siphoning of money out of the country. I am not a fool though, the chances that Haiti will be repaid for the suffering they have experienced under the west’s policies are the same as black Americans chances of receiving reparation for the years their ancestors lived in slavery, nil.

I do understand a part of what my friend was saying. The Haitians are seeing themselves as victims and my experience with people who settle into being victims is that they either wait for someone else to take care of things or they lose heart and stop trying to do what they can. This puts foreigner relief workers in a difficult place. How do you tell them it’s up to them to do this for themselves and not marginalize the fact that they have been victimized?

There are the resources here now for the sheet metal to brought to Haiti and then formed into the studs and track being used in the construction of shelters and semi-permanent structures. Haitians would have jobs, some industry would start here and it would cost less. After the need for the building materials eases Haiti would be in a place where they could start stamping washing machine bodies for Maytag or manufacturing steel cabinets for Home Depot. Instead the contracts go to American steel firms who bid it so low it would seem that it was a better price. When it gets here the work is often shoddy and there are constant delays in the arrival of materials. When you add up the cost of waste and delays the price has gone exceedingly high. The steel industry answers with, “You get what you pay for.”

In the meantime the rich have their contracts and the Haitians have received the big dump off once again. I say dump off because there Haiti is becoming a dump site. In America we hear about the containers of clothes that are coming here and the resources and materials but no one hears about the containers of old and soiled underwear and socks that are sent or the container of breast implants, probably deemed dangerous to use in the U.S. and difficult to dispose of, that sits in Port-au-Prince.

In the new western invasion the NGOs are the new overseers. They have lost sight of one very important thing; they are stewards of resources, not the owners. Many wonderful donors have seen a need here and stepped up to provide funds and resources to help the Haitians. NGOs read this carefully, “IT IS NOT YOUR MONEY. THOSE ARE NOT YOUR RESOURCES. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING THEM INTO SOMETHING THAT HELPS THIS COUNTRY IN NEED. YOU ARE HERE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF HAITI AND THE DONORS. YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE ON BOTH SIDES. INSTEAD YOU HAVE THROWN OFF THE MANTLE OF SERVANT AND TAKEN ON THE ROLE OF MASTER. YOU MAKE EVERYONE RESPONSIBLE EXCEPT FOR YOURSELVES.”

Is everyone doing it wrong here? No, there are some remarkable small organizations here that are deeply integrated and making a difference. They are having an impact in housing, health, water, sanitation and the infrastructure. Why because they are with the people, they come into their homes and they know their needs. When resources and funds are given, those resources and funds make it to those in need quickly instead of feeding miles of bureaucracy. They work closely with both the donor and the recipient and recognize their actions are being watched by each. The biggest difference is that they are actually serving.

Many of the larger NGOs have a non-fraternization policy. They have drivers and SUVs, wonderful walled compounds, cooks and launderers. I know some employees of NGOs who have been here since before the earthquake that cannot order a soda from a road side vendor in Creole. They do drive by site inspections. They never experience food or fuel shortages. Many have their headquarters in Petionville surrounded by the rich elite. I know how furious many Americans were when it was found out that the members of the big automakers flew in private jets to ask congress for money. All people in the west, especially those who have given either from their plenty or from their poverty, should be equally furious now. How is it that I compare non-profit, charitable organization with for-profit capitalist giants? I can because with both it’s all about the money.

The small organizations that are diving into the communities are accomplishing much with very little funds. In the coming weeks It will be these organizations that I will be writing about and how you can contact them to be a help. My hope is that we will stop throwing good money after bad or at least bring some accountability to the larger NGOs. Like America, they have a lot of pork in their budgets and maybe it’s time for it to be trimmed.

In the end I really am sorry for the people that don’t invest themselves here. This country is rich in hope, laughter, love, and the people have amazing hearts. That won’t be learned in a compound or through seven layers of separation.

-- Ray Shader is a former relief worker living in Leogane, Haiti. He can be contacted at: #

ray_shader@hotmail.com