It is becoming increasingly evident that the lack of local engagement by large international organizations has resulted in a breakdown of relief efforts in Haiti.
There are numerous reasons why international organizations do not foster coordination with and empowerment of local actors. A primary factor is the time and expense involved in developing local community infrastructure. Efficiency and scale are the primary measures that agencies are judged by in the development industry. Furthermore, community organizing does not produce an emotional response in potential donors. In the typical marketing that HSP avoids when it comes to development and relief services, it is understood that a message needs to be easily communicated and pull at the heartstrings.
If we visualize the development and relief industry in traditional market terms, we would have to ask what is the supply and who is the demand. Understanding that the foundation of market relationships is meeting demand, that becomes the salient question. While we would like to imagine that development engineers focus on the needs of an impoverished community, the reality is that they must meet the demands of donors. Without the donor’s funds, the majority of programming activities simply would not be possible. Therefore, it becomes paramount to meet the donor’s ideological, political and theological world view.
Another factor is the corporate structure of international development, relief, charity and faith organizations. Semantically, the difference between a corporation and a cooperative is very small, but in practice this difference has a tremendous impact on programming. A corporation exists to make itself money while a cooperative exists to make its members money. Investors gain value with the growth of a corporation. In a cooperative, the entity exists to facilitate the growth of the member.
If we analyze the usual relationship of community members with international development agencies, we can see relationships akin to an investor in a corporation. The community members are passive recipients. A significant difference is that they typically do not have any voice and management policies as a shareholder would have in a private enterprise. Their benefit is dependent on how large the agency becomes. Increases in funding are typically directed towards growing the size of the agency. Staff and personnel allegiances are with the agency rather than the community and are compensated based on the growth of the agency.
The relevance of these issues are striking when considering reports like those on today's Democracy Now.
Sasha Kramer witnessed that aid arrived quickly but was not able to be distributed for lack of local coordination. She noted that when the big aid organizations do circulate around Port-au-Prince they are in large vehicles with their window sealed. They are not able to develop good relationships with the community and do not speak Creole. These organizations are that have worked in Haiti for decades, but do not have the local contacts or organization to go out in the communities themselves.
Catherine Lane commented on how the security concerns before the earthquake limited the type of interactions you would expect people to have after working in the country for a long time. She said this lack of connections in the community is the main reason they are not able to get things out quickly and that this is a major failure in the way larger aid organizations function and in general.
This underscores HSP's methodology in focusing on community empowerment and fostering agency with partner organizations. This reinforces our commitment in staying the course even though it is very challenging.
Showing posts with label haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label haiti. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Blame for the Victim and Praise for the Predator: Haiti in the Wake of Devastation
A recent Op-Ed piece in the New York Times by David Brooks demonstrates the worst colonial mentality of blaming the victim. In a piece titled The Underlying Tragedy, Brooks argues that the voodoo culture and poor work ethic are the underlying causes of the economic woes of the country. He postulates that other former colonies have been able to pull themselves up by the boot straps and ask why not Haiti. He proposes to fix Haiti by changing the Haitian culture through programs to teach hard work, responsibility and thrift.
Mr. Brooks is either ignorant or overlooks a critical difference in Haiti’s history. The Haitian people have struggled under a significant debt load since colonial times as a price for their “freedom”. The islands example of liberation has caused fears in Northern capitals for two centuries and to this day the island’s attempts at self rule are blocked by anxious outsiders worried by the example Haiti could represent to its neighbors.
Haiti became the third revolutionary republic of the modern era, joining the USA and France, when François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture successfully defeated the French, then the Spanish and finally the English to obtain liberation for the enslaved population of the island. This liberation was short lived as chains of force were replaced by chains of debt. While the United States initially supported the revolution through the policies of President John Adams, this was changed by Thomas Jefferson who feared an independent state of black people so close to the United would influence the South’s enslaved population. Jefferson went so far as to advocate the emancipation and colonization of American slaves to Africa to prevent another Haiti.
Haiti was left isolated after the revolution and had no friends in the colonial West. Besides slave holding United States, all of her neighbors were colonies that depended on slavery.
In 1825 Haiti was forced to sign a treaty with France to prevent another invasion and forced slavery by European forces. France’s king agreed to recognize Haiti's independence only if the new republic paid France an indemnity of 150 million francs and reduced its import and export taxes by half. By comparison, the United States paid France 60 million francs for the much larger Louisiana Territory.
Haiti was forced to borrow money from private European banks to pay the indemnity. The banks charged high interest and administrative fees that further increased the debt burden. The nation did not finish paying the French for their freedom until after WWII. The repayment of these loans has been a major factor in the continued invasion and occupation of Haiti by the United States. From the 1960’s and beyond, Haiti has suffered under International Monetary Fund management that has done little but assure that all GDP would be channeled to serving debt hosted upon the Haitian people by the governments imposed upon this people by governments acting on behalf of international banking.
While CNN commentators are praising the American response to this crisis, there seems to be little understanding of why we invaded Haiti so many times in the 20th century or the continued role of the United States in defending the interest of banks. There is even less understanding of the long term structural issues created by these policies.
Mr. Brooks is either ignorant or overlooks a critical difference in Haiti’s history. The Haitian people have struggled under a significant debt load since colonial times as a price for their “freedom”. The islands example of liberation has caused fears in Northern capitals for two centuries and to this day the island’s attempts at self rule are blocked by anxious outsiders worried by the example Haiti could represent to its neighbors.
Haiti became the third revolutionary republic of the modern era, joining the USA and France, when François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture successfully defeated the French, then the Spanish and finally the English to obtain liberation for the enslaved population of the island. This liberation was short lived as chains of force were replaced by chains of debt. While the United States initially supported the revolution through the policies of President John Adams, this was changed by Thomas Jefferson who feared an independent state of black people so close to the United would influence the South’s enslaved population. Jefferson went so far as to advocate the emancipation and colonization of American slaves to Africa to prevent another Haiti.
Haiti was left isolated after the revolution and had no friends in the colonial West. Besides slave holding United States, all of her neighbors were colonies that depended on slavery.
In 1825 Haiti was forced to sign a treaty with France to prevent another invasion and forced slavery by European forces. France’s king agreed to recognize Haiti's independence only if the new republic paid France an indemnity of 150 million francs and reduced its import and export taxes by half. By comparison, the United States paid France 60 million francs for the much larger Louisiana Territory.
Haiti was forced to borrow money from private European banks to pay the indemnity. The banks charged high interest and administrative fees that further increased the debt burden. The nation did not finish paying the French for their freedom until after WWII. The repayment of these loans has been a major factor in the continued invasion and occupation of Haiti by the United States. From the 1960’s and beyond, Haiti has suffered under International Monetary Fund management that has done little but assure that all GDP would be channeled to serving debt hosted upon the Haitian people by the governments imposed upon this people by governments acting on behalf of international banking.
While CNN commentators are praising the American response to this crisis, there seems to be little understanding of why we invaded Haiti so many times in the 20th century or the continued role of the United States in defending the interest of banks. There is even less understanding of the long term structural issues created by these policies.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Haiti Relief - How to Really Help
We all want to help the people of Haiti as they deal with the horrific consequences of yesterday’s earthquake. While HSP isn’t capable of doing emergency relief work outside of Guatemala, we can recommend good folks who do, that you can donate to. Personally, I’ll be donating through Oxfam to help provide immediate emergency assistance.
HSP’s sister nonprofit in Guatemala, AMA(Asociacion de Mujeres del Altiplano), is also planning to donate funds as an organization. The impoverished Mayan women in AMA’s women’s circles plan to raise $250 for women and families in Haiti by the end of this week. These AMA women and their families live on an average of $300 a year, less than $1 a day, making their donation all the more meaningful.
AMA's intentions remind us of the parable of the Widow’s Gift (Mark 12:41-43), in which a poor widow gives her last two copper coins, and thus the greatest gift of all – all she has. AMA will be making their donation through Rights Action, an organization that supports grassroots humanitarian organizing internationally.
Give Now to these HSP recommended organizations
Oxfam has long experience in Haiti and is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation where our assistance is most needed.
Rights Action funds and works with community development, environmental justice, human rights and disaster relief organizations in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in El Salvador, Haiti, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Direct Relief has an ongoing "Emergency Pre-Positioning Program" and a program in Haiti that stages essential medical materials on site with key partners for immediate use in emergency situations.
Learn More about how to best support emergency relief and long-term aid
This post from the Blood And Milk blog is a good summary of relief vs. aid funding:
"Humanitarian relief programs are focused on rapid start-up, and rapid impact. Implementers of humanitarian programs need to gear up as fast as possible, and start providing necessary assistance as fast as possible. Their primary focus is not building local capacity, sustainability, or monitoring and evaluation. Their primary focus is getting help to people in need. They end when the emergency ends. Relief can come from the outside, and it is a response to some kind of breakdown or disaster.... Development programs are focused on achieving long-term change of some kind, with the intent of improving people’s lives and the lives of their descendants. They involve rigorous planning and ongoing operational research. They are rooted in local capacity building, because they are aimed at change which continues after the project ends. Even if it has outside support, development in the end has to come from inside.”
The blog, Good Intentions Are Not Enough has a great post entitled “Choosing organizations to donate to after the Haiti earthquake.”
AidWatch has posted “Haiti Earthquake: Help Navigating Complex Terrain of Disaster Relief.”
Tales from the Hood, written by an experienced aid worker, has a post—“Haiti”—just out providing information for donors as well.
Philanthropy Action has also posted “Advice for Donors to Haiti - providing advice based on research from the World Bank and the Fritz Institute”
An article “Haiti's Coming Public Health Challenges”, written by Alanna Shaikh at UN Dispatch.
An article from Michael Maren, the author of The Road to Hell – “From an expert: Haiti Donation Advice”
HSP’s sister nonprofit in Guatemala, AMA(Asociacion de Mujeres del Altiplano), is also planning to donate funds as an organization. The impoverished Mayan women in AMA’s women’s circles plan to raise $250 for women and families in Haiti by the end of this week. These AMA women and their families live on an average of $300 a year, less than $1 a day, making their donation all the more meaningful.
AMA's intentions remind us of the parable of the Widow’s Gift (Mark 12:41-43), in which a poor widow gives her last two copper coins, and thus the greatest gift of all – all she has. AMA will be making their donation through Rights Action, an organization that supports grassroots humanitarian organizing internationally.
Give Now to these HSP recommended organizations
Oxfam has long experience in Haiti and is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation where our assistance is most needed.
Rights Action funds and works with community development, environmental justice, human rights and disaster relief organizations in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in El Salvador, Haiti, Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Direct Relief has an ongoing "Emergency Pre-Positioning Program" and a program in Haiti that stages essential medical materials on site with key partners for immediate use in emergency situations.
Learn More about how to best support emergency relief and long-term aid
This post from the Blood And Milk blog is a good summary of relief vs. aid funding:
"Humanitarian relief programs are focused on rapid start-up, and rapid impact. Implementers of humanitarian programs need to gear up as fast as possible, and start providing necessary assistance as fast as possible. Their primary focus is not building local capacity, sustainability, or monitoring and evaluation. Their primary focus is getting help to people in need. They end when the emergency ends. Relief can come from the outside, and it is a response to some kind of breakdown or disaster.... Development programs are focused on achieving long-term change of some kind, with the intent of improving people’s lives and the lives of their descendants. They involve rigorous planning and ongoing operational research. They are rooted in local capacity building, because they are aimed at change which continues after the project ends. Even if it has outside support, development in the end has to come from inside.”
The blog, Good Intentions Are Not Enough has a great post entitled “Choosing organizations to donate to after the Haiti earthquake.”
AidWatch has posted “Haiti Earthquake: Help Navigating Complex Terrain of Disaster Relief.”
Tales from the Hood, written by an experienced aid worker, has a post—“Haiti”—just out providing information for donors as well.
Philanthropy Action has also posted “Advice for Donors to Haiti - providing advice based on research from the World Bank and the Fritz Institute”
An article “Haiti's Coming Public Health Challenges”, written by Alanna Shaikh at UN Dispatch.
An article from Michael Maren, the author of The Road to Hell – “From an expert: Haiti Donation Advice”
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