3 de febrero de 2010 | Noticias | Derechos humanos
Real Help
Social organizations and unions send missions to support Haiti
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After the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th, the emergency work which has not been carried out by the military occupying Haiti has automatically become the responsibility of social organizations, both national and international, who have given a new meaning to the concept of humanitarian aid.
They have also expressed political statements on the uncertain future of the Caribbean island. For instance, a few days ago, la Vía Campesina, Jubilee South and other organizations organized an international mission with a strong presence of social activists from Dominican Republic.
Among other things, the mission denounced that after the catastrophe, US military officers “took advantage of the situation” to position themselves in “strategic points”, which is an “attack to the sovereignty” of the poorest country in Latin America. Despite this, it is estimated that the support provided by the Dominican civil society has been 30 times more than that provided by the US.
The mission also stated that taking people to other provinces in Haiti is “increasing the poverty which already existed” and warned that this year the shortage of seeds will cause a “huge food crisis”. This is proof that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti has not contributed to the improvement of the situation of the island and in fact its presence has only caused the country to take steps backward.
The rebuilding stage, according to the organizations, will end up confronting two opposing visions: that of the governments and many international institutions that are speculating and an alternative vision of the people to rebuild the country in a participatory way, without foreign debt.
The Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (CSA) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) also organized a mission and contacted Haitian unions.
Leandra Perpétuo, Human Rights Adviser for the CSA said that the military occupation of the island is not contributing with its rebuilding process, but is “imposing fear” to the population. On the distribution of international aid, Perpétuo said that the situation is completely different to what international networks are showing.
“It is not true that people are crazy and attack those who are offering help. That didn´t happen. People stood in line, waiting their turn. It was all peaceful”, said Perpétuo, according to CSA website.
