Haiti: Bwa Kayiman – the night of the revolution

Edike by Lataye – mp3 file.

On the night of 13/14th August 1791 a meeting and voudou ceremony took place at the foot of the mountains just outside what is now Cap Haitian. The purpose of the ceremony was a call for action, a call for the revolution which would lead to Haiti becoming the first Black Republic. One of the leaders who was present was a Jamaican named Boukman whose words have come to represent the revolution and continuous struggle of the Haitian people.

“The god who created the sun which gives us light, who rouses the waves and rules the storm, though hidden in the clouds, he watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the white man inspires him with crime, but our god calls upon us to do good works. Our god, who is good to us, orders us to revenge our wrongs. He will direct our arms and aid us. Throw away the symbol of the god of the whites, who has so often caused us to weep, and listen to the voice of liberty, which speaks in the hearts of us all.”

I went to the site of Bwa Kayiman on August 14th 2007 and spoke with the principle officiating Voudou priest who explained the ceremony to me. In the light of the day Bwa Kayiman is a large clearing in the bush with the mountains to one side and a covered space where the voudou ceremony takes place. As an historic site for all African descendants, Bwa Kayiman is much more – for me it is a place where the collective spirits of all our ancestors across Africa and in Ayiti came together with the lovers of liberty to form a powerful force against the wickedness of the oppressors.

More on Bwa Kayiman

Remember Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine

Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is an internationally respected Haitian human rights activist who disappeared on the evening of 12 August 2007 after meeting a US-Canadian human rights delegation in Port-au-Prince. We are acutely aware of the suffering, hardship and heartbreak Lovinsky’s disappearance has meant for his family and other loved ones, as well as of the anger and suffering of the community from whose arms this gentle man and leading advocate for the poor has been snatched.

Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is a father, a husband, an uncle, a member of an extended family; a soft-spoken man of great compassion with a big heart and a sense of humor. He is also an extraordinary grassroots leader. Lovinsky, as he is generally known, is a co-founder of Fondasyon Trant Septanm (September 30th Foundation), an organization founded by family members and others concerned about the victims of the 1991 coup, the first against President Aristide; the organization’s name is the date of that coup. Similar to the work of internationally renowned Mothers of the Disappeared in Central and South America, the September 30th Foundation for over a decade held weekly vigils demanding justice for victims of human rights violations and the release of political prisoners.

Lovinsky was the co-founder of Fondasyon Kore Timoun Yo (Foundation for the Support of Children) for young street children in Port-au-Prince, FAM (Foyer pour Adolescentes Mères), a center for teenage mothers, and Map Viv (“I Live”), a program designed to give medical and psychological aid to the victims of the 1991coup. His present community-based human rights organization Fondasyon Trant Septanm grew out of the work of those earlier efforts. He is part of the Lavalas movement and a member of the Lavalas Party, and was a potential candidate for the Haitian Senate.

Lovinsky lived in Washington DC during the turmoil and violence that followed the removal of President Aristide in 2004. During that time he continued his work as an advocate for Haiti’s poverty-stricken majority, including gathering support of a wide network of organizations and individuals in the US, meeting with members of Congress, speaking at human rights forums in Boston, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the US as well as in Brazil, Canada and Venezuela. A month after he returned to Haiti, Lovinsky was instrumental in bringing together a delegation that included journalists and others from Guyana, Barbados and the United States to attend the May 2006 Inauguration of President René Préval.

Lovinsky received from grassroots Haitians as they greeted him publicly for the first time since his return. At a community-based event to mark the inauguration of President Préval, he was mobbed as a returning hero, a man who was clearly respected, loved and had been missed by the thousands who had gathered hopeful for a new day in Haiti. The mutual respect and love between him and other grassroots women and men was also evident in a later meeting with women from Cité Soleil most of whom were either former political prisoners or the mothers, wives and other relatives of political prisoners, many carrying photographs of their tortured children and husbands.

Consolidating occupation of Haiti

Beverley Bell explains that in “ceding it’s independence”, the Haitian government and the US led [re]construction has allowed the Haitian earthquake to be used to consolidate the foreign occupation of Haiti which is led by the “Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (CIRH).

The CIRH’s mandate is to direct the post-earthquake reconstruction of Haiti through the $9.9 billion in pledges of international aid, including approving policies, projects, and budgeting. The World Bank will manage the money.

The majority of members on the CIRH are foreign. The criterion for becoming a foreign voting member is that the institution has contributed at least $100 million during two consecutive years or has cancelled at least $200 million in debt. Others who have given less may share a seat. The Organization of American States and non-governmental organizations working in Haiti do not have a vote.
Now they’ve developed the CIRH, which has moved the military occupation we had to a new level of economic and political occupation, though we already had an economic occupation with the lowering of trade barriers and the destruction to local production.

“The CIRH only gives power to the Haitian executive branch and the international community. This doesn’t respond to constitutional norms; it’s illegal. The constitution talks of three branches, but only one is involved in the CIRH. Only those close to the president, plus a commission of which majority power is foreign, have power. This has made Haiti a rèstavak [child slave] and opens the doors for the dictatorial powers we used to have to return. This is not the path to democracy. Continue Reading…..

In /humanitarian aid

This afternoon I got soaked in a  torrential down pour in South Florida.  First thing I thought about was all the people living outside or in tents in Haiti.  After I got myself nicely showered and dry I sat down and read this post from Carole DeVilliers on her second trip to Haiti in which she stresses the point that three months on and people still remain without “the most basic necessity – a roof over their heads”

Rains have started early and downpours are frequent. Again and again I hear the same comment “The government doesn’t do anything for us”. I cannot stay doing nothing, even though my modest means may provide only a patch on the wounds of destitution and distress. Through PATCH-Haiti (Photography in Aid To Children of Haiti), a program I started long ago, and with the proceeds of a photo sale fund raiser I organized in Albuquerque, I was able to buy and bring eight dome tents to provide emergency shelters to the most needy I meet on my visits………….People are excited and another woman asks me to come and see where she lives “It’s as bad as her” she says, talking about Lavilia. I go and look. Indeed, a small and flimsy tarp is attached on poles no higher than three feet. “When it rains I sleep on the small table with my daughter, underneath the tarp. Otherwise I sleep right there on the pavement.” she explains to me. She sells some small items such as candies and cookies, displayed in a flat basket on an bucket.

Adeline Gaspard and her daughter Judeline show where

they live – under the small blue tarp.

One of the most recurring themes in the reports from Haiti is that thousands still remain without shelter, food, medical help and for women vulnerable to rape as they sleep.   The question “where is the money” keeps cropping up.  Take this investigative documentary on the work and monies collected by the American Red Cross [ARC]  in Haiti “How did the Red Cross spend $106 million?”

The American Red Cross issued it’s three month report on expenditures in Haiti recently, but people are asking, where’s the American Red Cross in Haiti? After a recent trip to Haiti, Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of Florida also had her doubts about Red Cross efforts in Haiti. “The lack of a visible presence of the Red Cross even prompted the congresswoman to question whether she could recommend that citizens donate to the group. ‘I wouldn’t say that,’ she said when asked if the Red Cross was the best place for [people] to donate.”

The ARC has collected $409 million.  They claim they spent $110 million on food shelter  and health and reached 2 million people.  But Haitians say they do not see evidence of this money being spent eg no shelter, food etc has been received by many people.    Three questions arise.  Where is the remaining two thirds of the money collected and why have only half those in need of shelter received anything.   And why are  people are receiving vaccinations  for illnesses they may never contract when emergency medical health should be the priority?   The video report is essential viewing and goes into detail about claims and realities on the ground.  The ARC also came under harsh criticism for it’s handling of emergency relief during the Hurricane Katrina  and elsewhere and there is a possibility of a class action suit being filed by the Friday Haiti Relief Coalition.

“They would not help me before the quake. Why would I bother to ask them now?

Haitian community activist Rea Dol talks about SOPUDEP the school she started in 2000, the struggles to keep it going and surviving the earthquake… without the help of the “Republic of NGO’s”. This is what happened to Rea and thousands of other Haitians who acted to help themselves. They knew that from past experience that to wait for help was a waste of time – and she was right, still they have not come to help!

When the quake hit and Rea realized she was still alive, her first instinct was to get to work.

“I knew many of my kids were buried under the rubble. I felt I could not stay in my house. My mission was to help the kids. I tried to do my best. I’m not a doctor; I’m not a nurse, but I tried”

Rea strapped a gallon of the surgical disinfectant Betadine to her back and climbed through the devastated hillsides, washing the wounds of the injured as best she could. When possible, she arranged transport for the broken bodies that still held a flicker of life.

How did she find the strength?

“I have gone beyond what I was the day before the earthquake,” is all she will say.

And so Save the Children has done nothing to save Rea’s children. But she continues to try, against all odds.

Needs are many. Temporary classrooms are a must, but tents are impossible to come by here. The current school will never be used, but the field is secured at 83 Delmas Road. She needs $20,000 to pay it off completely. Haitian officials have promised tents, but it is doubtful they will arrive……….Continue Reading

Links: Haitians still not receiving aid – corporate scramble , missionary scramble
Dont feed the Haitians, they already got one meal a day.

International Women’s Day

On International Women of Colour Day I celebrate all the women of colour who consistently work towards social justice across the world. In particular I would like to honour the work of Haitian community activist and founder of SOPUDEP School, Réa Dol and ALL the Haitian women and girls who have self-organised in their communities in the aftermath of the earthquake. Although initially it was thought the school would survive, two weeks after the earthquake it had to be abandoned. At the time the school was being used as a shelter but the stench of dead bodies which had not been removed together with internal structural damage meant it was no longer felt to be safe. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake Réa opened her home as a refuge and hospital to the homeless and wounded and she is now in charge of sanitization and medical distribution for a camp of 16,000 people located beside the National Palace. Altogether there are 26 locations where SOPUDEP staff have distributed food, water and medical help with very little help from the big agencies. All the food they have distributed was bought by SOPUDEP which has cost them $18,000 so far [See distribution table below].

Haitian Realities

Haiti: Thoughts on Women

KOFAVIV - The Commission of Women Victims for Victims [working with women who have been raped] has issued a report from Haiti.

Because of where the catastrophe hit in Haiti the majority of victims are woman of Kofaviv and many of them died with all of their family, the rest that are left are sleeping under the stars, their houses destroyed with everything in it in the process.  Actually many women are sleeping in Chanmas in bad conditions, in the damp night air, where the sun beats on them, rain falls on them, damp air hits them, many of them lost a lot of their family, we can say, many of them already did not have anything to their name, now hunger almost kills them.

The report is a very personal one and speaks to the particular conditions women are having to struggle for their survival.   [I am no longer naming the earthquake a “disaster”  because of the way the media is using the word which implies the massive loss of life was due solely to an uncontrollable force. ] As in other regions of extreme poverty and militarisation it is largely women  and children who are the most vulnerable due to gender disparities and sexism. They face sexual and domestic violence, assault and  they are often the last to gain access to food, water and medical care as the fight for survival reaches critical conditions.     Children more so now than ever, are  vulnerable to sexual exploitation and who is authorising the many “orphaned” children who are been fast tracked through the adoption process to Canada, France and the US within days. How are we sure they are orphaned and do not have relatives searching for them at this very moment?   I don’t believe one single child should leave the island at this moment – the cost of flying them to Canada and France can be used to provide them with the proper care they need in Haiti- it’s like kidnapping.   This is why it is so important for foreign aid agencies to work with local groups – to search them out and not assume they dont exist – just takes a little effort.

Below are some of the publications and articles which directly address the need for a gendered and child centered approach towards “relief and recovery”.

The Gender and Disaster Network point to the importance of recognising the unique needs of  women and men,  girls and boys, taking into consideration, health – pregnant and breast feeding women, people living with HIV or AIDS, the chronically ill – the elderly, youths,  and disabled people.  They provide a comprehensive list of  grassroots women’s organisations and groups in Haiti and ask that we think carefully about what ways we can provide support in addition to donating money.    I would add to the list Famm Voudou pou Ayiti (Voudou Women for Ayiti)  [See this on misrepresentations of Voudou] Madam Evonne Auguste, who I met in August 2007 and do not know yet if she made it or not.  Although I do not have a contact for her, the organisation can be reached through SOPUDEP which should also be on the list.

Incite, Women of Colour Against Violence published a document following the Katrina Hurricane on the horrendous conditions faced by the affected communities and which are now taking place in Haiti.    They have also published a list of partner organisations and are calling on everyone to educate themselves on the history of Haiti, [here's a start] the intersection of gender violence and disaster  vulnerabilities, identify patterns of disaster and conflict impact on marginalised communities/

As many of us work to figure out appropriate strategies to support the people of Haiti, it’s important to note that the people most vulnerable–namely, women, LGBT folks, people with disabilities, incarcerated people, children, and elders–can experience a slower unfolding of specific crises that are consequences of the original disaster and the social conditions that preceded the disaster.

There is also the increased militarisation with  thousands of additional UN forces and US military both of whom have a record of brutality in Haiti, and which can only intensify  the suffering already being experienced.  Again and again I spoke with women of all ages who reported acts of violence by the security forces,  against them personally or their fathers, husbands and sons which has left them in even greater poverty.  One of the most common themes I met with was the demand for the return of President Bertrand Aristide – the only Haitian leader to have to have been freely elected and who worked on behalf of the poor but was constantly undermined by the US and eventually removed with their consent.

What we are witnessing is an invasion of battalions of military personal,  journalists and mega  aid agencies which can often  bring with them additional problems due to insensitivity, preconceived ideas of the country and a lack of gender analysis. See the  Red Cross in Katrina and  Christian Aid’s previous  record in Haiti    As one twitter asked – who is feeding them and on what?  How much of the resources are they eating up?  How much of their needs are preventing urgent medical equipment and food  reaching the Haitian people?  And all this so they can report that people are “scavenging” and “looting”,  gorge on people’s misery.  Write about the need to protect food from hungry people and hospitals from the wounded.    A disgusting shameful spectacle – the real long term disaster is the one  being set in place by yet more  cultures of violence and greed.

Yesterday I heard someone from the Red Cross blaming some of the failures on a lack of local organisaitons to work with.  Well  here are some local organisations to donate to -  ones that have been there for years – not big names but actually working with people.

Haiti Action Emergency Relief Fund,

SOPUDEP

Dwa Fanm – Womens Rights

Partners in Health

More Womens Organisations here

Finally if you havent already read it – Shailja Patel’s Ten Point Action Plan for Haiti which should also be sent to Mr Obama with the added question on whether he is in control of the US or is it his army generals and if it is him – why is he acting like a war monger?  In whos interest is Haiti going to be rebuilt by the military, aid agencies which act for their governments and the US? In the interest of Haitian business elite or the people?

Urgent Haiti Appeal

Banks and shops protected while most people get no help.
Donate to grassroots women.

Support return of elected President Aristide.

Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, many appeals have been circulating, many promises of help made.  But as with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, help is not getting to people, especially those in the poorest neighbourhoods.  If you want your money to go to grassroots women and their families rather than to thieving elites and their corrupt NGOs:

Donate Here!

Your donation will go to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, established long before this latest disaster and is dedicated to helping grassroots people. Please send us an email at womenstrike8m@server101.com telling us what you have donated and when so we can inform the Fund administrators that you wish to prioritise grassroots women.  Experience in every country is the same: resources in women’s hands go straight to help children and other vulnerable people.

As you’ve seen in the news, hundreds of thousands are feared dead after Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake, the largest in 250 years, 10 miles from its capital Port-au-Prince.  Thousands of homes have been crushed along with hospitals, the National Palace and the UN’s HQ.  At least three million people, a third of the population, have been affected.

Since 12 January survivors have been desperately calling for emergency relief. They are increasingly angry that despite promises the aid is not getting to them.  People looking for loved ones are struggling with their bare hands to free trapped survivors.

The US military has taken over the airport and are obstructing rescue efforts. Caribbean and Latin American governments and Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres are complaining that the US is preventing humanitarian aid coming in.  In a repeat of what the US did with Katrina, banks, shops and institutions are protected while starving people who help themselves to whatever they can find are called a ‘security risk’ and shot at.

The earthquake’s devastating effects could have been avoided. In 2008 experts warned of this kind of catastrophe.  The US and the UN have occupied Haiti for years, but their priority is military occupation, not survival – unlike Cuba, which has weathered similar natural disasters with hardly any loss of life.

We’ve seen how, after other disasters, governments pledge help which they may never send; and what the public sends is often siphoned off before reaching those it was intended to help.  We must do all we can to prevent this happening again in Haiti.

People are calling for the return of their democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, removed by Bush. US troops marching into Haiti seem more concerned with stopping the movement for Aristide’s return than with any rescue.  From his forced exile in South Africa, President Aristide, cried as he said that he and his wife were prepared to leave immediately.  ”We feel deeply and profoundly that we should be there, in Haiti, with them, trying our best to prevent death.”  He added in Creole, “If one suffers we all suffer. Togetherness is strength. Courage. Hold on, hold on.”

Will the only person with a mandate to govern be kept from leading Hait’s recovery and reconstruction? Haitians feel he is the only guarantee that funds will be used to save lives and rebuild homes, hospitals, schools.

o     In 2004 a US military coup removed Haiti’s democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The US was backed by Canada and France. UN forces have occupied Haiti ever since.

o     In 2008 four consecutive hurricanes devastated Haiti, killing over 1,000 people. Many more later died because two-thirds of the people were left starving and homeless.

o     UN troops did not help hurricane victims. Despite their technology and a $535m yearly budget, saving lives from starvation, drowning and homelessness was not part of their mandate. Well-funded NGOs did little.

o     The Free Market has devastated Haiti. 98% is deforested.  Even fruit trees were cut down. Soil is then washed away in floods and mudslides.  US-subsidized rice destroyed local farms which had sustained Haitians for centuries.  When the price of staples went up in 2008, people starved.  Women made ‘mud cakes’ to stave off hunger.

o     78% of Haitians live on less than $2 a day. US and Canadian corporations and Haiti’s elite profit from sweatshops, as people are forced to work for slave wages.  Before the earthquake Bill Clinton, UN special envoy to Haiti, was promoting yet more sweatshops as the route to ‘development’.

The extent of this catastrophe is being blamed on Haitians having a ‘failed state’.  But who failed?  Not the people of Haiti who have shown extraordinary courage and resilience.For over two centuries Haitians have survived much more than natural disasters.  They have been demonised and victimised for their 1804 revolution in which they freed themselves from the imperial powers.  Their enormous contribution to humanity as the first to abolish slavery is kept largely hidden. With gunships in the harbour, France imposed a crippling ‘debt’ to ‘compensate’ its slave owners; while the US invaded and occupied, imposing economic blockades and dictatorships.But people have never given up. In 1991 and again in 2000 they elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a liberation theology priest, with a 60% and 91.8% mandate; they have been campaigning for his return from forced exile in South Africa, and an end to the occupation. Aristide prioritised food security, health, education, and raised the minimum wage.  He encouraged reforestation and agricultural co-operatives. Even before the present crisis, Haitians made it clear that they want Aristide back. In 2009, they boycotted elections which banned Aristide’s party Fanmi Lavalas from standing – 97% of people did not vote! The Global Women’s Strike holds regular Vigils and other actions for Haiti in London, Guyana, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  With the Haitian grassroots, we are demanding the return of disappeared human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine who worked tirelessly with women and children who have least, and of President Aristide.

Send in the Marines, OK?

We are now into the sixth day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti which struck at 4.30pm on Tuesday 12th January.   Knowing fully that an urgently timely response  would be essential yet humanitarian aid is only just beginning to reach small numbers of people.  Aid and the aid agencies continue to sit on the tarmac of Port-au-Prince airport now controlled by the US military.   Parallels with Katrina cannot be ignored as well as racist attitudes towards  Black people with comments of people hungry for food being described as “scavenging” and “looting”  [used by the US secretary of defense]  and much of the media using similar derogatory language to describe the suffering of the Haitian people who are presented as victims.  A perception that contradicts the reality of Haitians helping each other such as a friend of mine who has turned her home into a hospital treating the wounded with whatever she and others can find to hand.  People all over the city are working together to help each other in whatever way they can – waiting and waiting for so many huge promises.

From the very beginning it was clear that the tragedy of the earthquake would be used as an opportunity for the US  to further militarise the country and control the political process.   The silence of the puppet President, René Préval and the resulting absence of any leadership could also be seen as part of the justification for US intervention and involvement.  It is not extreme to question whether the US had any influence in maintaining his silence. And then President Obama’s shameful act of calling President Bush and Clinton to oversee the military process – described by the London Daily Mail as the “American Invasion” .

On Wednesday evening, the day after the earthquake,  The Foundry [the blog of the right wing neo-con think tank]  published the following headline warning us that disaster capitalism was ready to roll.

“Amidst the Suffering, Crisis in Haiti Offers Opportunities to the U.S “ and called for the “reshaping” of Haiti. A few hours later it had removed the headline and changed it to: “Things to do while helping Haiti”. They also removed the direct reference to “reshaping” the country but the message remained clear with reference to military involvement and the inclusion of President Bush in the “long-term recovery and reform”  – meaning occupation and control.  Many of the  comments  left are highly critical of the post and further speak to the revulsion felt by many with the Foundry’s position.

“The U.S. government response should be bold and decisive. It must mobilize U.S. civilian and military capabilities for short-term rescue and relief and long-term recovery and reform. President Obama should tap high-level, bipartisan leadership. Clearly former President Clinton, who was already named as the U.N. envoy on Haiti, is a logical choice. President Obama should also reach out to a senior Republican figure, perhaps former President George W. Bush, to lead the bipartisan effort for the Republicans.”

Various blog posts since then have echoed much of the analysis in the mainstream media in the US and UK in which historical facts are distorted and ignored regarding the role of the US and France in particular in the underdevelopment and down right exploitation of Haiti.  Even the naming of this as a “natural disaster” is flawed and putting the blame on poverty and lack of infrastructure without any explanation as to why this is so.

The disaster is years of crippling debt including the equivalent to $21 billion in today’s money paid to France [following independence], continued support by the US of the Duvalier dictatorships and US occupation -[1915-1934] and de facto occupation since 2004.  When democracy was finally attained with the election of President Aristide, the US did everything it could to undermine the government and when that failed they backed  the 2004 coup which led to the exile of President Aristide.

To return to the response of the media and non-profits.  We are constantly being bombarded with “news” on how much money has been donated and by whom with every commercial outfit jumping on the donor bandwagon from Apple Mac to T-Mobile.   Yes, it’s wonderful that businesses such as these are helping to facilitate donations, but let there be no doubt and name it for what it is – disaster capitalism.   In addition to constant updates on the huge and generous sums of money being donated to the mega NGO industry [non-profits] such as the Oxfam, Christian Aid [see here for Christian Aid’s previous role in Haiti] and Save the Children -  a large percentage which goes towards often exorbitant operating and administrative costs and the hourly reports on how much aid is being flown in to Port-au-Prince gives the impression that a great deal is happening when in reality very little of this aid has yet to reach the people who need it.   But again there is much more to this story.  The New York Times recently reported on the US military preventing planes from landing with urgent food and medical supplies further delaying the start of the distribution process and a a report in today’s AlertNet states that Western Union offices are still closed.

French, Brazilian and other officials had earlier complained about the U.S.-run airport’s refusal to allow their supply planes to land. A World Food Program official told The New York Times that the Americans’ priorities were out of sync, allowing too many U.S. military flights and too few aid deliveries…..The Geneva-based aid group Doctors Without Borders put it bluntly: ”There is little sign of significant aid distribution.”..The ”major difficulty,” it said, was the bottleneck at the airport, under U.S. military control. It said a flight carrying its own inflatable hospital was denied landing clearance and was being trucked overland from Santo Domingo, almost 200 miles away in the Dominican Republic, delaying its arrival by 24 hours.

Michel Chossudovsky has written an excellent report on the US military and political operations in Haiti  questioning whether this is a “humanitarian operation or an an Invasion?”.  H e provides  a detailed list of “US military assets” being deployed with decision making on the “humanitarian operation” being led by the “US Southern Command.”

The main actors in America’s “humanitarian operation” are the Department of Defense, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (See USAID Speeches: On-The-Record Briefing on the Situation in Haiti, 01/13/10). USAID has also been entrusted in channelling food aid to Haiti, which is distributed by the World Food Program. (See USAID Press Release: USAID to Provide Emergency Food Aid for Haiti Earthquake Victims, January 13, 2010)
A massive deployment of military hardware and personnel is contemplated. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has confirmed that the US will be sending nine to ten thousand troops to Haiti, including 2000 marines. (American Forces Press Service, January 14, 2010)………………Aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson and its complement of supporting ships has already arrived in Port au Prince. (January 15, 2010).  The  2,000-member Marine Amphibious Unit as well as and soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne division “are trained in a wide variety of missions including security and riot-control in addition to humanitarian tasks.”…………………In contrast to rescue and relief teams dispatched by various civilian teams and organizations, the humanitarian mandate of the US military is not clearly defined:
“Marines are definitely warriors first, and that is what the world knows the Marines for,… [but] we’re equally as compassionate when we need to be, and this is a role that we’d like to show — that compassionate warrior, reaching out with a helping hand for those who need it. We are very excited about this.” (Marines’ Spokesman, Marines Embark on Haiti Response Mission, Army Forces Press Services, January 14, 2010)

These numbers are in addition to the UN MINUSTAH force of 9,065 plus civilian staff whose record of death and destruction is well documented in the film “We Must Kill the Bandits” by Kevin Pina and here on Haiti Action.   The support of President Aristide and the Fanmi Lavalas party remains strong and vocal in Haiti despite their being prevented from participating in 2006 elections and banned from taking part in the next elections.   The militarisation of the earthquake in Haiti is a continuation of the US’s determination not to enable the rightful return of elected President Aristide and Fanmi Lavalas and to ensure that the main focus is on security and keeping the Haitian elite in power -  telling comments from one of Haiti’s few elite

“A palace built atop a mountain by the man who runs one of Haiti’s biggest lottery games is still standing. New-car dealers, the big importers, the families that control the port — they all drove through town with their drivers and security men this past weekend. Only a few homes here were destroyed.
“All the nation is feeling this earthquake — the poor, the middle class and the richest ones,” said Erwin Berthold, owner of the Big Star Market in Petionville. “But we did okay here. We have everything cleaned up inside. We are ready to open. We just need some security. So send in the Marines, okay?”

Links to Haiti