Groups jockey for role in Haiti revival

[rabs]

Source: Miami Herald





Snips --

Haiti has long been fertile ground for international aid agencies that want a shot at helping the impoverished nation pull out of misery. But the politics of aid has become even sharper following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that left more than 200,000 dead and toppled hundreds of thousands of buildings.

The behind-the-scenes jockeying -- even as hundreds of thousands remain without adequate shelter -- is likely to intensify as President René Préval pleads for more aid from Washington this week and the international community prepares to meet in New York later this month to discuss Haiti's reconstruction plans.

The battle includes aid groups known as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and U.N. agencies that want to be the chief humanitarian agencies, countries that are lobbying for a seat at the decision table, and leaders from around the world who fly in frequently making promises that have yet to be met.

``Every country is out to get a piece of the action,'' Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert at the University of Virginia. ``Did the earthquake release something that we don't know anything about?'' The answer, according to experts: a grab for cash. "It's the biggest source of money,'' Mark Turner, a spokesman with the International Organization for Migration, said of the Haiti earthquake, considered to be the deadliest disaster to beset any single nation in the modern era. ``The world is pumping in money here and everyone wants in on the action.''





Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/09/1521511/groups-jockey-for-role-in-haiti.html

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Dubious NGOs, U.N. agencies and vulture private companies are meeting in Miami in a frenzied dash for cash in Haiti. About US$ 2 billion is up for grabs; a lot of people want a piece of the action.

Meeting concludes tomorrow (Wednesday).

[Hannah Bell]

1. "vulture non-profitism"

[lonestarnot]

2. Sounds like some getting their Milton Friedman shock and awing on.

[rpannier]

3. Help my ass!!!!

Help themselves to huge profits and f*ck over the Haitians