What is the Truth in Haiti?
What is really happening in Haiti? Why is the huge deployment of US troops into the island taking up the flights that could be used for aid supplies?
According to PAULINE JELINEK (Associated Press Writer)
“American military officials are pressing ahead with a new infusion of troops in a bid to break a logjam blocking critical supplies from reaching desperate Haitian earthquake refugees.
Some 800 Marines moved ashore Tuesday in Haiti, ferrying supplies on helicopters and Humvees as the U.S. military force there swelled to as many as 11,000.
The influx of troops comes as the military struggles to distribute aid throughout the country without setting off street riots. Defence officials last week ruled out air drops directly into unsecured populated areas because of the fear of street rioting.
But in some cases, large swarms of people have kept helicopters from landing, and troops were forced to drop water bottles into the populated areas instead of distributing them on the ground.”
But not all are convinced by those claims. See “The myth of Haiti’s lawless streets” by Inigo Gilmore. He says,
“To withhold aid because of the ’security situation’ is a miserable excuse for agencies’ failure to deliver desperately needed help.”
And why should the Haitian people be so welcoming to the US anyway? It was only in 2004 that the US did not approve of the result of democracy in Haiti and they backed a coup to topple the elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and installed their own puppet government.
US troops are needed there to enable to distribution of aid we are told. Yes, but so many? 10,000?
See the excellent article by Mark Weisbrot of the Guardian, who says,
“If people do not get clean water, there could be epidemics of water-borne diseases that could greatly increase the death toll. But the US is now sending 10,000 troops and seems to be prioritising “security” over much more urgent, life-and-death needs. This in addition to the increase of 3,500 UN troops scheduled to arrive.”
This is more than me asking political questions about things I am no expert in. This relates to the early questions after the earthquake when people were asking, “Where was God?” And going on to ask why God had not intervened. I gave one reply in a previous post. However, very often when God is being blamed the man-made circumstances are completely overlooked.
Why has the country been kept in such poverty? Why, as a result of such poverty have so many people been living, working and learning in building so unsuited to an earthquake zone?
Where was God? I have a question. Where were the good people who could have made a difference over the last decade?
John Usher said:
I’m not in the habit of defending the Americans but I do get the impression that they just can’t win sometimes. If they’re not sending enough troops into New Orleans then they’re sending too many troops to Haiti. Sometimes I despair at how News is presented to us. There always has to be something wrong, something to complain about or something that could be better and we’re always expected to be really concerned about it. The fact is, the media lives off this fearmongering and whinging without it they have no jobs. It’s tiring though.