Haiti Crisis: UN Appeals for $674 Million (UN and Charity Scandals)
Kanako Mita and Chika Yoshida
Modern Tokyo Times
Haiti is a failed state that goes from one crisis to another. Henceforth, endless appeals by the United Nations (also a scandal-hit record) and various humanitarian organizations. However, the end product appears to be little apart from papering over the cracks. Therefore, the nation enters another year relying on international economic assistance.
Haiti is blighted by political incompetency, corruption, cronyism, high crime, gang violence, enormous economic disparity – and so forth. Accordingly, Haiti can’t break the cycle of despair.
High achievers in Haiti also seek pastures new in America, Canada, and other nations. Thus, a natural brain drain is hitting Haiti. This situation also happens in other nations blighted by severe problems.
The United Nations (UN) – tainted by horrendous scandals in Haiti – is appealing for $674 million to shore up the public health system (in a dire situation) and provide food for the millions who face food insecurity.
Voice of America reports, “A nation of at least 10 million, Haiti has been in turmoil for years, with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.”
According to the UN, approximately 45% of the population faces food insecurity. This includes hundreds of thousands of children facing forms of acute malnutrition.
UN News reports, “The number of Haitians forced to flee their homes has also risen, with some 314,000 now displaced. People are sleeping on the streets, camping out in schools or living in host communities, where resources are already overstretched.”
UN SCANDALS
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Sadly, the horrendous history of the UN in Haiti is a cause of tremendous pain and suffering. For example, Sri Lankan peacekeepers were involved in child sex gangs – along with other international peacekeepers. Also, cholera was spread by peacekeepers from Nepal that killed vast numbers of Haitians – and several charities, including Oxfam, were also involved in abusing women and children.”
Reuters reports, “Girls as young as 11 were sexually abused and impregnated by U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti and abandoned to raise their children alone, according to testimonies from more than 2,000 residents.”
The BBC (2019) said: “Claims first emerged in The Times last year that Oxfam employees, including former country director Roland van Hauwermeiren, used young prostitutes while based in Haiti after the earthquake.”
AP reports (2017), “In March, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced new measures to tackle sexual abuse and exploitation by U.N. peacekeepers and other personnel. But the proclamation had a depressingly familiar ring: More than a decade ago, the United Nations commissioned a report that promised to do much the same thing, yet most of the reforms never materialized… For a full two years after those promises were made, the children in Haiti were passed around from soldier to soldier. And in the years since, peacekeepers have been accused of sexual abuse the world over.”
The UN was also in denial about spreading cholera and killing approximately 8,300 Haitians. The New York Times (2012) reports: “In telling the truth, the U.N. could have gained the trust of the population and facilitated the fight against cholera,” said Dr. Renaud Piarroux, who led an early investigation into the outbreak. “But that was bungled.”
Dr. Piarroux and other colleagues categorically conclude that: “…the onset of cholera in Haiti was not due to climatic factors and was not the direct consequence of the January 2010 earthquake. All of the scientific evidence shows that cholera was brought by a contingent of soldiers traveling from a country experiencing a cholera epidemic. Understanding what triggered the epidemic is important for preventing future occurrences, and acknowledges the right of Haitians to understand the events that lead to their cholera devastation.”
Overall, the people of Haiti need support during these trying times. However, this international support needs to be focused on stabilizing the nation – rather than papering over the cracks.
Lee Jay Walker says, “It is difficult for Haitians to trust their politicians, the UN, and international charities – given the recent history of Haiti. Accordingly, if one nation sums up internal and external failure – it is Haiti.“
Yet solutions need to be found internally to help the people of this nation. However, is this feasible under the prevailing conditions?
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