Does Our Aid Make a Difference in Haiti?

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Nov. 6) -- It's raining in Haiti still. It began to rain Thursday and forecasters predict the effects of Tomas, now a tropical storm, will bring rain through today, and maybe Sunday.

But everywhere, there is the feeling that it's always raining on Haiti, even when the sun is shining. That Haiti is a victim of a cosmic joke. First the poverty, then the earthquake, then the cholera, now hurricanes. Just waiting on the locusts, etc.

There is an old Yiddish tale-and if ever there was a moment for Jewish folklore in Haiti, it's now-about a village man who lives in a crowded house. And every time he asks God for a reprieve, the house suddenly becomes more crowded. Until there he is, with his family, and the goats and cows and chickens, thinking, "How did it come to this?"

The lesson, of course, is that things could always be worse. And here, like everywhere, they often are.

Can Haiti change? I saw a man reading the Bible on the street Thursday, peacefully, as storm clouds gathered. I asked him if he'd gotten to the part about Noah. Not yet, he said.

The U.S. government hasn't yet given its share of the $5.3 billion the world promised Haiti at the United Nations in February. As The Associated Press reported, bureaucratic hurdles in Congress are stalling an effort to give $1.15 billion. The State Department would like to further analyze the situation, to ensure the money isn't squandered by corruption.

But ordinary Americans have already contributed hundreds of millions of dollars for the humanitarian response effort. And Haiti has long been a recipient of international aid. Many were shocked this week, to see how ill-prepared the country was for another disaster.

For the 50,000 Haitians living in the camps at Champ de Mars plaza, outside of the National Palace, most tents leaked or were flooded as Hurricane Tomas passed. I asked them what they think: Should the U.S. keep giving aid? Can Haiti change? If you had a billion dollars, would you give it to your government? How should it be given to best help you?

The problem Haitians and foreigners alike seem to have in common-they can't figure out where the money went.


Nohomie Joseph, 30

"I personally haven't gotten any aid. OK, everyone can go to the hospital for free but that's it. People should either give the money directly into the hands of Haitian people or give them a job. It's difficult to get a job here in Champ de Mars, even to clean toilets."



Name withheld, 24 years old

"You know, you can't ask [Nohomie] what to do with a billion dollars, because she can't answer it. She's not able to. She doesn't have any background to know what to do with it. Education must come first-this is the only way to get out.

"My vision for Haiti is a constitutional right to a free education. First, relocate these people and put them in a proper place, right after that, it's education. It's fundamental.

"The reason the government is so weak is that the people have no education and they never exercise their right to be educated. They applaud the government when it's good and after that, they protest against it. They don't know their rights. They're begging for money when they should beg for schools."



Ademoril Pierre-Louis

"I don't think Haiti can change. If they want to give money, they have to give it hand-to-hand. Should they give money like that forever? Hand-to-hand? Well, I've never even seen them try it yet.

"If I had $200 I'd get out of here. I'd go out to the countryside and try to pay rent on a small house."



Farah Joseph, 17 years old

"I was sitting down outside here with my friends at about midnight. About six guys came up. They grabbed me and tried to walk away with me. They wanted to rape me. I called out for my mom and I screamed a lot. When my mother came, they let me go and went away. We went to the police. No, no I don't think Haiti can change. No."



Steve Boyer, and his son

"I hope they give us the money, yes I do. We call on America to create a committee, of responsible people from outside the system to come and help. We did that here. We came here, and then an organization put in place a committee led by women. Three hundred women work here, in the streets, sweeping the ground, managing the toilet. It works."



Ginette Deristoin

"I don't see anything that the money has done here. I don't even have a tent. Somewhere else in the country, I think they've gotten something. But I don't know where. I don't know."



Wensy Cange, 20 years old

"They need to do something for us. They need to create jobs. I've never worked a day in my life. I feel uncomfortable about it. I can't help my family. I do nothing all day. I brush my teeth in the morning and sit down here with friends. I don't know how to do anything. But, I am helpful. I could help."