Where in Haiti is the Red Cross? ... They have now surpassed the $100 million mark in Aid money/pledges for Haiti, but they don't seem to have a presence there... No visibility on any news stations... and some very evasive answers on the BBC as to how that money is being spent. How can we hold them accountable??!!
Newsnight discovered that two years after the tsunami disaster, billions of pounds were sitting unused in Red Cross bank accounts. No joke, here's a link to the video.
Really no laughing matter.
I know they have some people there setting up tents etc... but their presence, when compared with the finances and manpower behind them, is sadly lacking.
Most of this seems due to TERRIBLE organizational skills, policies and red tape.
Perhaps I am biased... My Mother, a nurse/midwife who worked for the Red Cross in Africa, has a plethora of stories of the Red Cross administration's blunders and their poor understanding of what is actually essential in a Crisis.
While working in Africa, and desperately needing medicines and food, they were sent boxes and boxes of tinned food, with no can opener. To aid her in her work the Red Cross "generously" provided her, and those on her team with a kit, no larger than a small make up bag, in order to provide medical care for the people she met... it included bandages (small plasters) a small pair of scissors, and some aspirin... BUT they were given many stickers and badges so that they and their vehicles could be clearly marked.
There were even fur coats generously donated to the African people, who neither needed nor wanted them. That, I'm afraid, is just the tip of the iceburg!
It seems that those "on the ground" working for the Red Cross are talented, caring people who really do want to do all that they can, but the organization of this talent and the provisions given them are so limited it that they are severely inhibited.
I would include Unicef in this rant... they seem to be not much better at the moment... but I have less information on them so maybe I'll save it for later :D
BUT I do pray that there will be more accountability for this organization (and others like them). That they won't withold much needed aid. That the organization will soon be run by capable, level headed, sensible people that really do care more about others than they care about themselves.
HOWEVER.. I do still recommend to you Doctors Without Borders... despite their supply planes continuously being turned away from the Port-au-Prince airport, they have already done thousands of surgeries... even though forced to buy a saw (locally) they are doing what they can! Check out this video from Amanpour... you can hear their frustration... tinged with a tiny bit of joy in what they have been able to accomplish despite these ridiculously terrible conditions.
1 comment:
This isn't the first place I have heard these rumblings about the Red Cross. It seems every time there is a major disaster all the aid agencies mobilise to try and get as much fund raising as possible into their coffers.
The UN or an independent agency should list which agencies are best placed in each Geography and let the people fund those organisations.
Haiti was a disaster waiting to happen. Poor Housing , High density of population , In an Earthquake zone , Low GDP.
Learn from these mistakes.
Only 17 more of this size Earthquake due in the world this year (based on yearly average since 1900).
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