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2010
Soap Box Archives Haiti It seems that America is one of the most despised countries in the world. We're accused of nation building, military aggression, and forcing our decadent Western lifestyle on an innocent and unsuspecting world. That is until there is a major disaster in the world, and then everybody expects America to do ten times more than all the nations who accuse us of being an uncaring monolithic empire. And we always do. We always do more than any other nation on Earth, no matter what the disaster, or where it occurs, and not just the government, but the people of America. We are always ready to open our hearts and our pocketbooks to help out with whatever needs doing. Compare the massive shipments of food, water, medicine and medical help we sent to the stricken people of Haiti to the measly one million dollars that the People's Republic of China donated. There are individuals in this country who donated much more than that on their own. Unfortunately, many of the dollars we send will end up in the pockets of the inept crooks that run Haiti. It's happened to us time and time again, but it never dulls our appetite to help out in an emergency. If you were to take America out of the global charity picture, what would you have left except for a few benevolent small countries with the desire, but not the wherewithal to deliver the massive amount of aid that is required in catastrophic world events? Having said that, let's look at the reality of the situation in Haiti. There is not even enough governmental infrastructure to make sure that the aid we send will reach the people that it is intended for. If we send money you can bet that much will be skimmed off by the crooks that run the country. If we send food, there is a distinct likelihood that without strong supervision it will be confiscated by violent street gangs and various sundry outlaw types. So what should we do? In my humble opinion, we should not send any cash, but convert the cash donated into food, medicine, etc… and if the United Nations was up to the task, they should supply armed peacekeepers to accompany the shipments of humanitarian aid to the people it is meant for. If we don't take a strong hand in Haiti, the billions of dollars in goods and cash that will be donated will end up in Swiss bank accounts and on the black market. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and no matter how much aid they receive, until they have honest government, it's going to stay the poorest country. Due to the substandard housing in Haiti, the earthquake destroyed most residences, so they not only need food and medicine, but shelter. We should not send building materials except under the auspices of organizations like Habitat For Humanity; otherwise most of the houses will never get built. The building materials will disappear into the black hole of corruption that is Haiti. I contributed to the Haitian Fund, but I made sure that the money I sent was going through the hands of an organization I trust, I would advise you to do the same. What do you think? Pray for our troops, and for our country. God Bless America. Charlie Daniels
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