Major earthquake strikes Haiti; What you can do to help

What does Red Cross do to be considered organizational corruption?

Their corruption and problems are well-documented even by the corporate media. Our friends doing aid in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina had numerous problems with the Red Cross.

If they aren't disaster pimps, they are poverty pimps.

Chuck

Not to mention, just like religious organizations, their main purpose is pacification of the population, using the velvet glove (since they control the distribution of aid) instead of the iron fist that the authorities tend to use.

I am interested in reading the source of the Yele Haiti allegation on this post. I don't doubt it, but I would like to see some sources if I'm going to post this link and ask others to do the same...

In return, a friend of mine wrote an article on the Red Cross for a campus radical newsletter in 2006, pleading for folks to not give money intended to help with Katrina survivors to the Red Cross.

http://oak.conncoll.edu/~ccleft/speakleft/speakleft060125.pdf

Here is the text of that article:

Double Cross: The Red Cross
by Tristan Husby

The people that donated to the Red Cross out of concern for those truly in need would be horrified to learn how the Red Cross has used its money in the past. The history of the Red Cross is stained with racism and scandals.

After the 1927 flood that came across the Mississippi delta, the Red Cross came down to help the farmers and sharecroppers. While the whites were given food and shelter, the National Guard confined the blacks within camps. All food was first given to whites, Blacks received only leftovers. These kinds of actions continued.

While always willing to accept money from African Americans, the Red Cross is hesitant to accept blood donations from people of African American decent. In 1941, then-president of the Red Cross Charles Drew headed a government intervention of the discrimination. Drew, an African American, was the inventor of the blood storing process employed by the Red Cross. Following the intervention, the Red Cross complied and allowed African Americans to donate blood. Despite these efforts, the blood was still segregated according to race, a practice that continued up into the 1960’s.

The Red Cross has not redeemed itself in the face of the recent crises of AIDS and 9/11. As the largest blood bank in America, the threat of AIDS should have immediately prompted the Red Cross to check their blood for contamination.

Despite the assurance of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler that the blood was “100% safe,” several people died after blood transfusions. To assuage public outrage, the Red Cross changed its stance, saying that those in need of excessive amounts of blood would obviously be at risk. After the tragedy of 9/11, the Red Cross was able to raise $564 million dollars to help the families in need in New York. Only $154 million of the initial amount was dispersed throughout New York. When the Red Cross was heartily criticized by both the left and the right, they tried to spend as much money as they could, as quickly as possible. This included reimbursing $30 million of lost income to NY taxi drivers, paying utility bills of residents of SoHo and Tribeca, regardless of how high their incomes were, and shifting money to other Red Cross chapters that were short of cash after the flood of money to the Liberty Fund. The Red Cross later admitted that it was going to use $50 million, given with the intent of helping those harmed by 9/11, to build a facility to store blood. It would have been in the interest of the Red Cross to build such a facility, as the average yearly blood collection often reaches 6 million pints and each year makes 1.5 billion dollars by selling plasma and platelets from this blood. What does this have to do with anything?

After 9/11 the Red Cross had an excess of 400,000 units of blood, most of which went to waste as it passed the 42 day shelf life before it could be properly stored.

Unfortunately the Red Cross did not redeem itself in their actions after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Water, food and shelter, all desperately needed by the survivors, were not adequately provided, despite donations given expressely for that purpose. Five weeks after the hurricane hit, the Red Cross set up service centers, but the organization has since admitted to giving victims only vague directions to such locations. Those in need have had to wait day and night in order to access aid in these service centers. The idiocy of the Red Cross was recognized in Atlanta, where their relief center was ordered out due to the chaos of the bureaucracy that almost caused riots. Aid seekers were denied monetary aid that was promised early and were issued debit cards that did not work, simply to move them along in line.

Despite the Red Cross’s mishandling of the situation, many charities exist that do not stagger under the weight of bureaucracy. There are a plethora of grassroots organizations run by focused individuals who achieve many great things. However, they often lack funds due to their resistance to spend money on advertising.

A long list of charities that will put your money to good use can be found at http://katrina.mayfirst.org/, where people organize direct food connections, help make contact between missing friends and relatives and aid in the strenuous rebuilding of communities. Oxfam America and Americares are two larger organizations that do a much more effective job of providing direct care, without the cumbersome beaurocracy employed by the Red Cross. To donate your blood with the confidance that it is not being used for profit, donate to hospitals such as Saint Rapheals in New Haven, or to American Blood Centers, who were the first to respond to tragedies like 9/11 or the Oklahoma City bombings.

When donating money to a charity, it’s important to know where this money is going. When giving money Red Cross, it’s important to realize the likelihood that your money will not go to its intended recipients.

still looking for more information on Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti and why it is bad. Plz post sauce.

Really Mogonista, sauce for Haitians? That's in really bad taste.

Here you go lazy bones. I just did a wikipedia search and here's what they have. "sustainable opportunity" is just a fancy way of saying he wants to extend the regime of capitalism. If not neo-liberalism, then some other flavor of entrepreneurial exploitation. And that would totally fit in with the allegation that he's in favor of US militiary humanism.

Yéle Haiti, and its predecessor the Wyclef Jean Foundation, have been involuntarily dissolved by the the Florida Division of Corporations on multiple occasions for failing to file required state disclosure reports.[16] Of the $1,142,944 in total revenue the foundation collected in 2006, at least $410,000 was paid directly to Jean and his business partner for rent, production services, and Jean's appearance at a benefit concert.[17]

In a 2009 interview with Allhiphop.com writer Han O'Connor, Wyclef stated that his priority for the organization was to raise money to build the Yéle Center, which would be a facility that consists of a sports center, Wyclef Jean School of the Arts, a cultural center focusing on the environment and an internet café. During the interview he claimed that he feels the key to improving the situation in Haiti is to build sustainable opportunity. [18]

A group of US-based street medics is organizing an independent, mobile medic team to offer direct mutual aid to survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.  Mutual Aid Disaster Relief for Haiti are partnered with Herbs for Orphans (http://herbs4orphans.org/) in the hard-hit Delma 33 area of
Port-Au-Prince and Common Ground Health Clinic (http://www.commongroundclinic.org/) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The first group leaves Tuesday.

Donate here: http://www.herbs4orphans.org/pages/donate.html
NOTE: Herbs for Orphans is 501c3 sponsoring this group, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief for Haiti, so that donations are tax-deductible. They have not yet (as of Sun night) updated their website to reflect that the Paypal link goes towards Disaster Relief, but when you click the Paypal button you'll see "Mutual Aid Disaster Relief for Haiti" in the Paypal check. An address to send checks will be coming soon.

mutual aid for haiti

stu o'neill, 19.01.2010 14:41

(rogue imc editor note- stu o'neill is a long time activist & community organizer in southern oregon)

hi friends,

i know folks are probably feeling inundated with requests to support the relief effort in Haiti, but i wanted to direct your attention to a project that is seeking support right now. a good friend of mine is helping pull together this group and they could really use your help. these are folks who were on the ground in New Orleans after Katrina and were a part of the Common Ground Relief effort that has served so many people in that city. please check out their website and consider sending your contributions to this crew. feel free to share this with your friends and family. i may be sending out periodic updates as they come in. if you are not interested in receiving those, please let me know and i will make sure to remove you from future emails.

in solidarity with the people of Haiti, stu o'neill

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti
 http://www.mutualaiddisasterrelief.com/

* * * Haitian Flag * * *

MISSION & OBJECTIVES

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti is a diverse collective working in solidarity with the people of Haiti during this time of crisis. The collective consist of many different skilled volunteers including, health workers, nurses, acupuncturists, construction specialists, cooks, communication technicians, and community organizers. We come from many different backgrounds and professions but are bound together by our common belief in providing solidarity and not charity.

We will:

Provide direct medical aid, medical and social advocacy
Document the developing situation on the ground and provide an alternative media source
Establish a grassroots structure that allows the effective distribution of aid

NEED & SOLUTION

Currently hospitals, clinics and triage centers in and around the Port-Au-Prince area are overrun with casualties. Due to the overwhelming destruction the removal and burial of bodies has become difficult if not impossible. With an increasing militarization of Haiti the distribution of medical supplies and food and water has become bogged down and grossly time consuming.

It is imperative that relief groups adapt to the developing situation in order to provide the help that the Haitian community needs during this crisis. Large non-profit organizations and international assistance are crucial to Haiti’s recovery but often fail to be nimble and adaptive to day to day changes in a disaster zone. The delays in emergency medical attention, food and water are costing lives every hour.

With assistance from various organizations based in Haiti, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti has organized teams of 10-15 volunteers that can swiftly mobilize and set up triage centers and distribute medical services. As the situation develops and changes the collective can evolve to meet the on the ground needs on a day-to-day basis.

TIMELINE AND IMPLEMENTATION

Since the news of the disaster, we have assembled teams that include medical personnel (EMT-B and P’s, an herbalist), translators, communications directors, journalists, search and rescue, construction and mechanics, and community organizers. This highly organized and well-experienced eight-person team will arrive in Port-au-Prince from Miami on the morning of Tuesday, January 19.

Our group consists of people that have lived and worked in Haiti as well as those that have worked in other disaster zones such as those in post-Katrina New Orleans, LA. In the United States, we have a team of fundraisers, medical professionals and logisticians that will provide support to the volunteers in Haiti.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

We need your help. Please make a monetary donation today. We are currently mobilizing our first team to arrive in Port-Au-Prince early next week and urgently need to raise $10-15K to pay for transportation and basic expenses of the ten-person team. Through working closely with existing Haitian organizations and community organizers our smaller independent teams will be able to effectively navigate through the disaster areas as well as the developing bureaucracy to provide immediate relief.

To Donate to Mutual Aid go to Herbs4Orphans website  http://www.herbs4orphans.org

*All check or wire transfer donations are
tax-deductible and can be made out to:

Artistic Evolution Inc///Dedicated Haiti Relief Account (Mutual Aid's 501c3 fiscal sponsor)

account # 7922720508 routing #026013673 

is attached to TD BANK and a Visa Check Card that will be used to purchase immediate emergency relief supplies.

Please be sure to tell donors to write Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in the memo so we can invoice donations.

WHO WE ARE & ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti is formally partnered with Herbs for Orphans ( http://herbs4orphans.org/) in the hard-hit Delma 33 area of Port-Au-Prince and Common ground Health Clinic ( http://www.commongroundclinic.org/) in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is informally partnered with other assorted NGOs already mobilized in the Port-Au-Prince area. Continue reading for further information about these partnerships.

Being Able to Move Heaven and Earth for Haiti and Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti are organizations that are currently deploying highly mobile medical teams and shipping containers that can effectively reach community contacts in places that other aid structures may declare unsafe or not secured.

MADR in Haiti receives on-the-ground and stateside support from its institutional partnership with Common Ground Health Clinic. Many of the founders of MADR in Haiti have been intimately involved with Common Ground Health Clinic, the first health care in New Orleans post-Katrina, founded nine days after the storm. It saw 20,000 people in its first year and remains open.

Herbs for Orphans is also an institutional partner of MADR in Haiti. The founder of Herbs for Orphans was involved in developing MADR in Haiti Team One in order to check on the children at five orphanages in the hard-hit Delma area of Port-au-Prince. The children have all been moved into one of the orphanages. Herbs for Orphans has provided nutritional supplements to the children of the five orphanages and immune boosting and anti-viral supplements to the only dedicated HIV orphanage in Haiti for two years.

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief in Haiti
 http://www.mutualaiddisasterrelief.com/

FURTHER INFORMATION
 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=274212548553&ref=mf
 http://groups.google.com/group/mutual-aid-disaster-relief-in-haiti?pli=1
 http://www.herbs4orphans.org