Hungry Haitians like animals, says UN peacekeeper

[Electric Monk]

Source: Herald Sun

A DAILY aid handout in front of the collapsed National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti turned into a chaotic scramble yesterday as some 18 Uruguayan UN peacekeepers attempted to contain a 4000-strong mass of desperately hungry Haitians.

"Whatever we do, it doesn't matter - they are animals," one UN peacekeeper, who declined to be named, cried in Spanish when asked why the peacekeepers weren't trying to explain anything in French or Creole.

(snip)

Others standing atop a grubby white UN tank fired off steady rounds of rubber bullets to the air - barely acknowledged by people shoving to get at precious food supplied by the US multi-faith Eagles Wings Foundation, which is providing disaster relief.

(big snip)

She joined dozens of others to kneel on the trash-strewn street to pick up the last rice grains.

Read more: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/hungry-haitians-like-animals-says-un-peacekeeper/story-e6frf7jx-1225823549452

---

How sad

[EFerrari]

1. Animals have more empathy than this racist idiot.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

35. Curious as to whether you still see no need for security forces

between this report, the story of a mob stoning a suspected thief to death, etc.?

[CJCRANE]

2. Unrec. What an anonymous Uruguayan peacekeeper says isn't news.

[dipsydoodle]

11. See reply #10.

.

[dixiegrrrrl]

29. I will rec.

Don't need censorship here, thanks anyway.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

36. Unreccing is not "censorship"...

[gula]

3. 18 non French/Creole speaking Uners to hand out

food to 4,000 people? Will the foreigners i.e. the UN never learn?

How about co-opting the locals rather than shoot at them. It has been known to work to everyones benefit.

[jwirr]

15. I have been thinking that from day one. They are setting helplessly

around while we do the work. They need to be included in the distribution. If for no other reason than that it helps them feel less helpless and it creates local leadership.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

37. Agreed.

[ck4829]

4. This pampered peacekeeper needs to be sent back home

He's obviously never been separated from the opportunity to obtain food for more than 3 hours at most.

[Matariki]

5. For all the aid the world has given? This?

I think I need to have (another) good cry, after reading this.

[Karenina]

6. I do believe the cover of incompetence

in driving the populace to this state is INTENTIONAL.

[dipsydoodle]

14. I think you may well be correct in your assessment.

It's becoming like a cull with survival of the fittest.

[Prometheus Bound]

17. I'm starting to believe the same.

[EFerrari]

20. To increase UN presence during the "recovery"?

[Prometheus Bound]

23. No. The delay in massive distribution of food, medicine and water until the city was "secure".

[EFerrari]

25. Right. But I mean, the delay could cause enough chaos for the PTB

to then decide Haiti needs a bigger babysitter.

At that point, the monies from the recovery and even the direction of this "new" Haiti is a lot easier to control. Maybe that's a little too paranoid but I don't think so.

[Karenina]

42. Here's the culmination of what I sincerely believe was manufactured

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMfLQjYLfU4&feature=channel

THIS is the justification for "boots on the ground." The broader truth of the U.S. "effort" has been expressed clearly by General Larry Platt in my own warped interpretation of such things as his observations and "the big picture."

[Karenina]

43. Here's the culmination of what I sincerely believe was manufactured

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMfLQjYLfU4&feature=channel

THIS is the justification for "boots on the ground." The broader truth of the U.S. "effort" has been expressed clearly by General Larry Platt in my own warped interpretation of such things as his observations and "the big picture."

[tanyev]

7. Huh. Is his last name Bauer by any chance?

[SKKY]

8. Hungry (ANY NATIONALITY) like animals. It's a basic need that isn't being met...

...If I were in their situation, I doubt seriously I would act any differently.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

38. Same here

While I'm sure this peacekeeper is stressed out and has been through a lot lately, his callousness is saddening.

[liberalmuse]

9. Maybe some people need to understand what it's like to be truly hungry.

What an insensitive thing to say.

[dipsydoodle]

10. I saw it on TV here in the UK tonight GMT

They used pepper spray on the crowd.x(

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Plucketeer]

16. C'mon Glenn!

We're more likely to be swayed if you throw in some tears! :cry:

[dipsydoodle]

13. The crowd problems,

which are expected to go considerably downhill from now, are mainly as a result of delays in distributing food and water. The locals managed for the first week or so rummaging for food and spending what money they'd got, if any , on food brought in from the counrtyside. By and large the locals are now at their wits end and are reacting to the fact that when food whatever is brought in for distribution they know it will only be in very limited amounts - totally insufficient for those in need. Hence the panic amongst the crowd in the scamble to get some.

[JDPriestly]

18. The Haitians have been incredibly patient.

I understood that we could not get aid to them the first hours and days. But by now, we should be getting the aid in the hands of the people. What is going on? What is causing the delays at this point. If Haiti were a war zone, we would have airstrips built and large transport planes landing by this time.

[bread_and_roses]

21. exactly. i have been in a rage that pushes me even into irrationality about this

we can kill people on the other side of the globe with the push of a button, but we can't get aid into Haiti? The UN/all the relief agengies/NGOs can't distribute the aid? WTF is going on here?

I think the Haitian people have shown remarkable restraint. How many have died post-quake from lack of medical care and basic needs? Little children can't go weeks without food.

Whatever excuses were legitimate in the first days after the quake, surely solutions should have been found by now.

[XemaSab]

32. I think that's everything that's wrong about the military right there:

We can push a button and level a city, but feeding people practically right off our shore, or finding Bin Laden?

Not so good at that "on the ground" stuff.

[PacerLJ35]

26. We do have airstrips and large transport planes landing...

[gichboy]

19. totally insensitive jackass!

Someone ought to remind him that hunger and desperation can lead to drastic measures in mankind.

Perhaps he is too young to be aware what the Uruguayan rugby team did to survive after their plane crashed in 1972?

[XemaSab]

33. Hungry Urugayans like animals, says XemaSab

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[FedUpWithIt All]

22. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

:mad:

And just where are the 17,000 plus US servicemen? Where is the damned security now? Where is the fucking food?

They are only feeding 400,000 or so daily. There are over a million people who need that aid.

It is unbearable to even imagine the suffering.

[Zoeisright]

24. "declined to be named", huh?

Gee, what a surprise.

This ignorant jackass needs to have food taken away from him AND his small children for a couple of weeks. Then we'll see how HE behaves.

Dipshit.

[No Elephants]

27. It isn't only hunger. Thirst is more urgent than even hunger. So is terror. Their

infrastructure, such as it was, is gone. No running water, electricty, etc.

When people must live like a pack of animals in an area with scant basic resources and many casualties, we revert, especially if we are trying to provide for our parents and/or our children, along with ourselves.

Anyone who doesn't get that he or she would do the same thing in their shoes should not be allowed into Haiti.

The whole damned world just gets more and more conservative. Everyone is starting to sound as heartless as the PNACers.

Makes me so mad.

[Psephos]

30. well said n/t

[ronnie624]

39. *

:thumbsup: :-)

[RZM]

28. Humans ARE animals

Every one of us. Too often people lose sight of what human beings actually are -- we have large brains, but we're still mammals. It has nothing to do with Haiti -- this would happen in the Hamptons (or anywhere else) if there wasn't enough food to go around.

[FedUpWithIt All]

31. And it would probably happen much quicker in the Hamptons. n/t

[Jennicut]

34. Well, people are starving, scared, desperate, and traumatized.

Maybe they need new people doing that job...these workers get burned out fast. Or someone needs to screw that worker's head on straight.

[Raine]

40. I'd like to see how this POS would be after 14 days of being hungry and thirsty

he'd probably kill for a crumb of food or drop of water ... what a sorry excuse for a human being. :-(

[raccoon]

41. +1000. nt

[closeupready]

44. Duh. That happens to anyone who is starving.

n/t

[Odin2005]

45. Humans are animals and that peacekeeper is a racist asshole.