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Not a good impression. The government of Hati doesn't seem seriously interested in building the place up, they say they are grateful for the help they are recieving, but they don't do anything with it beyond subsist, waiting for the next handout.

I don't know if you've ever been there but its sickening what the place looks like, trash heaps everywhere, children playing in open sewers, rampent pollution (and its not from foreign companies exploiting loose environemntal laws because there aren't any foreign companies really doing business there). Basicly picture the worst poverty you can possibly imagine and tripple it.

They've chopped down all the trees on their side of the island for wood and not replanted any (every time a replanting occurs, people come and cut down the sapplings for wood) so they get huge mudslides whenever there is a storm. The roads are substandard dirt tracks that wash out in any kind of rain.

I can understand people feeling like these people need to be helped (and they truly do) but they need to come to the realization that they have to help themselves first and the IC can support and help them establish capacity. Every time we give them something they squander it away and ask for more.

Its extremely frustrating.

I've actually been there, the first impression I got of Hati was when I was standing on the bridge of our ship coming into Port au Prince and I saw one of the locals on the shore drop his pants and take a dump on the beach. Not a good impression. The government of Hati doesn't seem seriously interested in building the place up, they say they are grateful for the help they are recieving, but they don't do anything with it beyond subsist, waiting for the next handout. I don't know if you've ever been there but its sickening what the place looks like, trash heaps everywhere, children playing in open sewers, rampent pollution (and its not from foreign companies exploiting loose environemntal laws because there aren't any foreign companies really doing business there). Basicly picture the worst poverty you can possibly imagine and tripple it. They've chopped down all the trees on their side of the island for wood and not replanted any (every time a replanting occurs, people come and cut down the sapplings for wood) so they get huge mudslides whenever there is a storm. The roads are substandard dirt tracks that wash out in any kind of rain. I can understand people feeling like these people need to be helped (and they truly do) but they need to come to the realization that they have to help themselves first and the IC can support and help them establish capacity. Every time we give them something they squander it away and ask for more. Its extremely frustrating.

Thanks! I've never been there, but somehow I knew this is exactly what I imagined.

“Its extremely frustrating.”

O’Reilly’s opening dialog dealt with this subject last night.

I hope we do all we can to help the citizens of Haiti, but unless we annex it, the corrupt leader(s) their will probably sell the food and medical supplies and spend the proceeds on a Lear jet, lap dances and 24 carat gold “grills”.