Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeCountriesHaitiHaiti needs solidarity not charity

Haiti needs solidarity not charity

-

This urgent statement was released by Haiti Support Group on 15 August.

Yesterday a fatal earthquake struck Haiti’s southern peninsula, measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale. Current reports tell us that at least 700 people have died. Thousands have suffered horrific injuries, and more still have seen homes, workplaces and community spaces destroyed. 

We have been here before. Those of us close to Haiti will never forget the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed close to 200,000 Haitians. The self-titled international “community” swooped in, promising radical change while it squandered hundreds of millions of dollars in failed and corrupt reconstruction efforts.

At 7.2, yesterday’s earthquake was larger, geologically speaking. But the scale of destruction natural disasters cause is largely determined by human factors. As the Haiti Support Group announced upon hearing the news:

“Haiti’s apparent fragility to ‘natural’ disaster is no accident. The world made it that way. After the 2010 quake, disaster capitalists promised recovery & resilience. Instead, they became richer as Haitians were systematically excluded.”

Beyond the elite, who benefitted handsomely from their dealings with western interference, Haitians endured an ongoing political crisis, a deadly cholera epidemic introduced by the UN that killed 10,000 people and sickened up to 100,000 more, abusive aid workers and violent peacekeepers found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting children, and a recently assassinated president who had been ruling by decree.

Then factor into this if you can yet another earthquake. Haiti really is a country on its knees.

Today, the Pope called for aid to be sent to Haiti. And once again the international “aid” vultures are circling overhead. Haiti cannot be forced to go through this charade over and over again.

Our civil society partners and grassroots organisations are best placed to respond to this crisis. Listen to them. Support them. Send your money to them. They are the ones clearing away the rubble and rescuing those trapped. They must lead the recovery effort so that the towns of the southern peninsula can not only repair but are also able to build for the future.  

Those of us outside of Haiti who want to help must take our cues from those who know their communities best and have Haiti’s interests at heart. 

This article is funded by readers like you

Only with regular support can we maintain our website, publish LAB books and support campaigns for social justice across Latin America. You can help by becoming a LAB Subscriber or a Friend of LAB. Or you can make a one-off donation. Click the link below to learn about the details.

Support LAB

The Haiti Support Group is calling for solidarity not charity. Please join us in this struggle.


URGENT
We have been informed by our civil society partners in Haiti that the most needed supplies by département are as follows:

  • Nippes: water, tents and tarpaulins, food, hygiene kits, first aid and sanitary supplies, doctors, jerry cans, woollen blankets, food kits, running costs for the Centre d’opérations d’urgence départemental (COUD) 
  • South: tents and tarpaulins, water, volunteers and rescuers, first aid equipment, sanitary supplies, hygiene kits, food kits, Covid-19 kits, running costs for the COUD 
  • Grand’Anse: tents and tarpaulins, water, woolen blankets, hygiene kits, kitchen kits, buckets, jerry cans, Covid-19 kits, running costs for the COUD, medical staff

If you would like to donate/support organisations involved, Haiti Support Group suggests:

Please consider supporting Konbit pou Ranfose Aksyon Lakay (KORAL) and Le Groupe de Recherche et d’Appui en Milieu Rural (GRAMIR). There is some very helpful advice on the Anthropolitics website that recommends donating directly to Lambi Fund of Haiti, FOKAL (Fondasyon pou Konesans ak Libète), ORE (l’Organisation pour la Réhabilitation de l’Environnement) and Fondation Paradis des Indiens. Their website states:

Many seeing the international coverage about the August 14 earthquakes are asking, how do we support? Where should we donate? It’s hard to answer because those most effective in humanitarian aid delivery are local groups, organizations/associations that are already a part of the communities or have longstanding relationships with impacted communities. They are respected and trusted, run by longtime Haitian professionals. There is also often no direct line to get donations to these groups.

Invest in reinforcing Haitian capacity. Not only are local professionals and community based organizations better equipped with the linguistic, cultural, and social know-how and relationships, they are trusted partners or part of impacted communities who should be the one to define their own priorities and create their future.

Meanwhile, all groups thinking about working in Haiti should contact the Departmental Emergency Cooridnation Center (COUD) for the area in which they work.
In addition, you can look at this helpful list of trusted emergency responders for donations compiled by the Haiti Response Coalition.

Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list. Please do send us any recommendations or additions you might like to see added to this page. Also note that the Haiti Support Group might not necessarily share all the views of these organisations and this platform is only intended to disseminate information.