where is all the international aid money going?

I think most of the supplies are still at the airport and docks while the logistics of distributing the aid is worked out. I think you will see most of the relief supplies being doled out within the next week as the streets are cleared and a secure system of distribution is implemented.

Frank the Tank said:

I think most of the supplies are still at the airport and docks while the logistics of distributing the aid is worked out. I think you will see most of the relief supplies being doled out within the next week as the streets are cleared and a secure system of distribution is implemented.

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And after thousands had already died of hunger and thirst already.

Adrian Bye said:

it seems like around $1 billion USD is being raised for Haiti for groups like the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, etc. The US military is in there getting things working.

yet ladybird can fill a truck and take it into Haiti and it seems to be adding value -- and desperately needed? i know a guy from santiago who seems to be doing the same.

what am i missing? are these international organizations in haiti actually helping? where is all the money going?

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I'm sorry but I'm a show me type guy. What proof do we have that any small group has been able to get past the boarder? I have reports, not proof, that others with aid have been stopped.

Reports that the roads from the D.R. to Haiti are backed up for miles. CNN and other reports. But I'm not their and don't know but tend to believe them more in these reports then most DR1 here say from people that are not their.

I know that others on DR1 have said that they have trucks going to Haiti but I have not heard them report back on IF they did. If they could not get past the boarder, why and what did they do?

More important.. IF they DID get past the boarder, how and where did they go?

Ringo

ExtremeR,

You seem to be saying that not everything that could have been done was done. Would you please substantiate your accusations.

It is not as if everything was in place before hand. Obviously people have died. That is the definition of a disaster, is it not?

Those who have responded to this disaster have not caused any deaths, and they have prevented many.

And what have you done besides trying to find fault, if you don't mind my asking??

catcherintherye said:

ExtremeR,

You seem to be saying that not everything that could have been done was done. Would you please substantiate your accusations.

It is not as if everything was in place before hand. Obviously people have died. That is the definition of a disaster, is it not?

Those who have responded to this disaster have not caused any deaths, and they have prevented many.

And what have you done besides trying to find fault, if you don't mind my asking??

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There have been several reports that the logjam of aid starts at the PaP airport, Anderson Cooper spent 2 hours last night denouncing this while he has seen people getting desperate by the lack of water, food, shelter and medicine. He particularly denounced the unwillingness to clear a Chilean and French aircrafts full of doctors and medical equipment to land giving forcing them to land in the DR while they are giving priority to American airplanes carrying healthy orphans to the US. This has lead to preventable deaths all over Haiti.

What have I done you ask?? I'm in Las Vegas so obviously I'm limited to sending money to my mother's church relief efforts and the Supreme Court relief effort in form of food, water and medicines wrapped in boxes which will arrive to Haiti way sooner than sending my money to the American Red Cross and their huge overhead.

I was not obligated to answer that question but I did, now if you are so kind to answer me too? What have you done catcherintherye?

I have donated money, food and clothing, and I have refrained from making snap and unsubstantiated judgments of those who are actually in Haiti giving aid.

Aid has been sent through Dajabon and Comendador and by sea from Pedernales. It is gettin There

HB

catcherintherye said:

I have donated money, food and clothing, and I have refrained from making snap and unsubstantiated judgments of those who are actually in Haiti giving aid.

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That you don't like your US to be bashed because of their inefficient way to handle things in this disaster is one thing. France have already sent a complain to the US embassy because of that, so is not only me.

That people die because of those poor decisions is another thing that should trump whether or not you may feel hurt by my "snap and unsubstantiated judgments" of them.

It is clear that help being sent from the DR right now is being more helpful to the Haitians than the huge amount of money people (with their best intentions) has donated to these international groups as the OP stated.

As I tried to indicate in the other thread, there is no way for South Comm. to win in this situation. If they had landed the Dr's. and not flew the kids out there would have been 15 other aid groups on their ass for not taking care of the future of Haiti.

I still say if anyone else wants the the job I have yet to see them step forward, all any one wants to do is bitch. Venezuela, France Anderson Cooper, etc.

Maybe they should just start doing air drops? with no security. that should look good on TV. Due to people not moving out of the way of large heavy objects falling from the sky.

Gentlemen,

Please. It is true that relief planes were directed away from the airport. This was, as far as I have been able to ascertain, because the airport in PauP cannot take more than one plane at a time. The planes that you refer to as taking orphans up to the USA also brought supplies in with them.

I appreciate Anderson Cooper's outrage and his being there but I have stopped watching.. since, as Robert observed, the Dominican channels were bringing better coverage. The CNN crew (who are, of course, extremely well housed, fed, and paid) was the one who was stirring up all the news of violence and "looting"... now, would you call it looting, if you were starving and there was a collapse grocery store and you took the food?

This is now a long term military operation... think.. well... say... Darfur?

There will be at first a massive loss of life... those who are already dead, those who will perish from their injuries, those who will perish from sheer lack of hope. Those who had one little thing have lost it. They have no jobs, no money, no homes, no possessions.

So, for me, the issue is not how well what was delivered was delivered but how long will they stay? When the news teams go home, will we all be keeping this issue in the hearts and minds of our friends and family? What will we be able to do in the LONG RUN....

please, no more bickering

I am sure that each has done what he or she was led to do.

Hillbilly said:

Aid has been sent through Dajabon and Comendador and by sea from Pedernales. It is gettin There

HB

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Thanks HB. Your word is good enough for me that SOME aid is getting there from the D.R. side?

Can you or would you tell us the Who, What and Where in the D.R. to best help?

WE ALL KNOW that nothing will be perfect nor as we each expect.

Thanks, Ringo

ExtremeR said:

And after thousands had already died of hunger and thirst already.

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Would you prefer riots and out of control mobs at distribution sites? 1 truck shows up with supplies for 50 and 200 or 1000 are there? Then what?

This may be a "wild guess" but if "are giving priority to American airplanes carrying healthy orphans to the US" the planes were already on the ground (likely had been full of supplies and off loaded) and there was no room until they departed.

"Healthy orphans" and their staying in present Haiti are an oxymoron. I find it hard to believe ATC is playing favorites, I am sure their only concern is aircraft safety, recall Operation Baby Lift? Sometimes you go too fast and you go backward

I wonder what type of flight planning the Chilean and French planes had that the time used for a couple US planes to depart caused them to divert? Did they have arrival slots, fuel for what has been announced as extremely long holds? ATC has said previously if any planes take off headed to Haiti without prior clearance, don't bother.

I have read P Prince airport is now handling 100 planes per day on it's single runaway, add to that needed apron space and equipment to unload, that's a lot of big aircraft down, unloaded, sometimes loaded with refugees and out again

I honestly would like to hear proposals for a better solution? I understand these inexperienced USAF controllers really don't know how to handle traffic in a crisis, I wish someone would show them a better way to do the job.

I keep hearing about groups of a dozen or so relief workers quickly getting into Haiti and helping, you would think the US could get their 10,000 people and thousands of tons of supplies in quicker than this

They should tell the US to get out and let Venezuela or someone more experienced handle this

You all do realize the most effective way to get supplies in is the port which lost all it's unloading capabilities?

Have you and "Anderson Cooper' (Who seem to be a modern Geraldo Rivera) proposed a better logistics plan?

ExtremeR said:

There have been several reports that the logjam of aid starts at the PaP airport, Anderson Cooper spent 2 hours last night denouncing this while he has seen people getting desperate by the lack of water, food, shelter and medicine. He particularly denounced the unwillingness to clear a Chilean and French aircrafts full of doctors and medical equipment to land giving forcing them to land in the DR while they are giving priority to American airplanes carrying healthy orphans to the US. This has lead to preventable deaths all over Haiti.

.
QUOTE]

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Just a note on the orphans... then you can get back to your bickering...

there were a number of orphans whose adoptive parents had been waiting for them for up to three and four years.. These children had their papers expedited by the US Embassy,, which clearly had been capable of doing this at some point during the last three or four years.

There was another group of orphans.. or rather children since no one knows if they are orphans i think about 70, who were airlifted for medical treatment.

On the subject of orphans... since we will have a lot more of them... I got a note from a professor friend in the UK who said that she was willing to adopt a child from HAiti but that the UK has a very strict racial policy about adoptions. That only Black couples can adopt Black children.

thought you might need some more fat for the fire

Who says the aid isn't arriving?

The aid is arriving, although perhaps not as quickly as some might wish. Those on the ground are doing everything in their power to get aid to those who need it.

Listen to what knowledgeable people are saying. It takes time to do things correctly, and everyone is doing the best they can. No one is trying to short-cut the aid.

Many people are frustrated, but all organizations are doing the best they can under extremely difficult circumstances.

They knew going in what the roads looked like ...they could have loaded up a C-17 with heavy earth moving equipment and dropped the 82nd airborne outside of the capital and walked them into the city IMO...
YouTube - C-17 Globemaster III arrives at Dover AFB

So Paddy, you should be directing this operation. I'm sure they would welcome your informed advice.

There are always those who think they know more and better than those actually doing the work.

When I worked in the Free Zone in Santiago we had fire drills, all 500 or so workers in the factory were supposed to form an orderly line and exit the building.

Unfortunately, those instructions were not clear enough, and the first few people would exit the building and stop, blocking the exit for everyone else.

Something like that is what in happening is Haiti, with the added complication of the locals also gathering at the landing sites, and of course this is not a drill.

My wife has been working her ass off collecting goods to send and organizing transportation with her church group. They have about 8 cargo containers shipping out tonight, I am sure I will get a lot of details about the delivery of the goods and will post them here.