gazans donate to haiti relief

Ma'an News reports: Gazans Raise Money for Haiti

Of course they do.

Because despite 60+ years of dispossession and 40+ years of occupation--or perhaps because of it--Palestinians remain some of the most generous people on the planet.

Because who knows rubble, destruction, despair, the stench of death, the pain of sudden loss, and the terror of being without food, shelter, clean water and medical care during an emergency better than them?

The idea of Gazans lining up to donate blankets and milk, in the middle of Gaza's cold, rainy winter, when many are still homeless from the war the year before, is inspiring and humbling. But as usual, there's a cruel twist, courtesy of the siege:

"The Red Cross director was only able to accept financial donations as transferring goods out of the Strip is near impossible."

haiti/palestine

Leave it to Mondoweiss to have the best thing to say about Haiti, and so simply and succinctly, too.

On October 17, 1989, an earthquake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco Bay area. 62 people died. The earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday was the same intensity, 7.1. But the death toll is already estimated in the thousands [at least].

And as a bonus, it led me to this interview with Haitian photojournalist Daniel Morel, who has great things to say about so many things I'm interested in.

solidarity with haiti

A bit off topic from the destroyed places I'm usually concerned with, but as I'm sure everyone knows, the worst earthquake in 240 years struck the impoverished nation of Haiti on Tuesday.

While the 7.0 earthquake is certainly a natural disaster, there is nothing natural in the slightest about Haiti's poverty. Haiti can claim the title of the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial free Black nation, and the only modern nation to have gained independence through a successful slave rebellion.

And for that it has paid a steep price--literally. First to the French, the former slave masters, to whom Haitians were required to pay reparations in exchange for their independence...until 1947. (Um...isn't it supposed to work the other way around?) Then to the United States, through savage neoliberal policies enforced by the IMF and World Bank, which trapped Haiti in an inescapable spiral of out-of-control debt and destroyed the indigenous economy, as they have in so many developing nations. And don't get me started on the US's role in the 2004 coup d'etat.

So, once again, a natural disaster is made worse by the malignant neglect and often intentional de-development forced on poor nations by rich ones. So you can understand the skepticism with which many Haitians, and many of us here in the US, might view Barack Obama's claim of "unwavering support" for Haiti...which will supposedly be administered through four institutions no Haitian in their right mind would trust: the US State Department, Defense Department, USAID, and the UN "peacekeeping force" already in Haiti.

Those who want to help are encouraged to donate directly to independent, grassroots relief organizations that are trusted and respected in Haiti. Many of these groups already had people on the ground before the quake struck and have started to set up relief efforts, but are badly in need of funds. Three organizations that have been recommended by sources I trust are:

1. Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. Well-regarded by many activists and progressive Haiti experts in the US. Many links with independent, democratic grassroots forces on the ground in Haiti.

2. Partners in Health. Direct relief and community development organization founded by Dr. Paul Farmer. "At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone," begins this organization's "Vision" statement.

3. Doctors Without Borders. Their team on the ground in Haiti had emergency medical facilities set up while the American Red Cross was still writing its press release.