“Haiti: Two years on

''While there has been some rebuilding, more than half a million Haitians are still living in tents.

Since the earthquake, Haiti has experienced a cholera epidemic with more than half a million people infected, and at least another 7,000 dead.
And 4.5 million people – almost half the population – are experiencing food insecurity due to low wages and high food prices. Many Haitians live on less than $2 a day.''

''Haiti’s prime minister has pointed out that 40 per cent of aid money supports the foreigners handing it out. Undoubtedly, huge sums have been wasted: for example, humanitarian groups paid double local rates for lorry loads of water.''

''One car dealer sold more than 250 Toyota Land Cruisers a month at £40,000 each. ‘You see traffic jams at Friday lunchtime of all the white NGO and UN four-wheel drives heading off early to the beaches for the weekend,’ said one Irish aid worker. ‘It makes me sick.’..''

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/86ysv9y


Ray Laforest, Haitian activist says:

"The quake was anything but a natural phenomenon. Not only do we have a system where Haitians are, one more time, not consulted or part of the solution, it is also treated as an emergency. Ideally, we need elections that truly elect representatives who reflect our needs and desires, and assistance would come through that government."

http://tinyurl.com/86ysv9y

-”

By homerjay