After 5 long months and countless deaths: First meet for Clinton Haiti quake commission

By Alice Speri (AFP) – Jun 17, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The commission set up to oversee the five billion dollars in quake aid money pledged to Haiti by the international community has held its first working session.

Co-chaired by former US president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, the meeting came as disquiet grew over the little progress made in the more than five months since the disaster.

Up to 300,000 are estimated to have died in the January 12 quake, the biggest natural disaster of modern times, but despite massive pledges of aid from the international community, reconstruction has been painstakingly slow.

Clinton announced Thursday a new 20-million-dollar fund to help the small and medium-size businesses that he believes will be crucial to the Caribbean nation’s long-term recovery.

“We have to build the kind of business capital this country so desperately needs, to make your nation truly self-sustaining,” Clinton said. “We have to unleash the ideas, energy and creativity of your entrepreneurs.”

Profits from the fund, which was paid for by 10-million-dollar contributions from Canadian businessman Frank Giustra and the world’s richest man, Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim, will be reinvested and used for further loans.

“This fund belongs to the small and medium businesses,” Clinton said, stressing that there would be no profit for the billionaire investors. “It will be recycled over and over again, I hope forever.”

But many in Port-au-Prince feel the pace of the reconstruction has been slow at best and weekly protests betray increasing frustration at the perceived inefficiency of the government.

Demonstrators gathered Thursday outside the conference center where Clinton, Slim and Guis addressed reporters, hanging damning banners before being dispersed by police firing tear gas.

At the largely procedural meeting, Bellerive defended the recovery effort and tapped into popular fears that the pledged funds might never arrive.

“We are not going to make plans when we don’t know how much money we will actually have,” he said. “We did that in the past and saw the results.”

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COMMENT: HAITIAN-TRUTH.ORG

I say, what’s the big rush.

Some months ago, I participated in the fitting of the first 4 prosthetic devices  on what will be a major project… yet much too small to challenge the satisfying of 50,000 amputees.

Last week two of these died, from infections resulting from their injuries. There was a shortage of medicines to fight the threat. The nation has no tetanus medicines and dozens of people meet this terrible challenge each day.

5 months, and they are just holding their first meeting.

Bellerive gives  a load of bullshit to the effect that he won’t do anything until he knows how much money there will be. This effectively means he will not do anything until the November elections remove him from the game.

Just remember, this piece of shit was caught, a few hours after the January 12 quake killed 500,000 of his fellow Haitians and injured countless others, trying to escape into the Dominican Republic with an aluminum Zero Haliburton case crammed with $8,000,000 US dollars.   There was so much confusion, immediately after the disaster, that this was not really a big deal, nor was the fact that Preval disappeared for over a week, along with the entire MINUSTAH operation.

The Haitians were left to fend for themselves.

So, what’s the big deal. The Clinton/Mills/Bellerive commission, created over 5 months ago, shouldn’t be expected to meet just because a nation is dying and millions suffer.

The entire thing is really disgusting.

It is especially disgusting to see the world community kiss Rene Preval’s ass, and other parts of his body, in order to gain his support for the November 28 ballot.

Why bother?

Edmund Mulet has already been taped saying…”I have to go along with this but there will be no election.”  He will use the threat of instability or technical inability as excuses to cancel the game.

Canada, France and the United States could force the issue since they have Amaral Duclona’s testimony as to Preval’s involvement in torture, murder, kidnapping and the cocaine traffic.   Duclona was a Preval controlled gang leader who – among other things – killed a French Consul.  He was smuggled out of the country by Preval and supported with Western Union transfers  – from Preval’s office, until he was extradited from the Dominican Republic – to France.

But – of course – this information will not be used to help the poor Haitians.

God help them.

Because, no one else is interested.

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3 thoughts on “After 5 long months and countless deaths: First meet for Clinton Haiti quake commission

  1. That is a great comment!

    I am in Haiti, and have been here since the quake hit. The entire Clinton circus is a complete and total farce.

    A lot of talk and no action.

    A great deal of money has been pumped in to Haiti but there are no results. Some give the excuse that the cash is being spent on infrastructure…not obvious to the casual observer.

    I am within a major organization that should be doing something but does nothing.

    The Rainy Season brings more death and destruction with each storm. And we are expecting hurricanes now.

    There is absolutely no preparation for this.

  2. To hell with these imposters. They drag their feet like spoiled brats, while the drag their nets through the Nations banks.

    Where is our National Army? If they were still around, their patriotism would keep Haiti, and our leaders on a path that had the interests of the poor in mind.

    Minustah has no patriotism. They have that confused with prostitution.

    Both of the Clintons are demonstrating a pathetic display of compassion and consideration.

    It is all really pathetic. I understand why Arisitide removed the Army. They would never allow things to get this dirty and corrupt, where a nation’s people are forced to live in squalor.

    At least there are schools in place in most of the camps.

  3. I don’t believe you people. No body is responsible for Haiti but Haitians. Other nations can make an attempt to help. The responsibility lies solely on Haitian shoulders. Don’t you people get that?
    We have nobody to blame but ourselves.
    I wish we stop asking people for money as if they owe it to us.
    Where is our pride?
    Where are our leaders?

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