Japan Tsunami Appeal

I have been pondering over donating, and I have decided to give some more money to Haiti.
The Japanese people are in my thoughts and prayers right now, but it isn't money they need.
My money will be better valued by my favourite Haitian charity who I have been supporting for a while now.
But good on you all for doing your bit. This is one truly staggering disaster

There have been numerous mentions about giving charitable donations to Haiti, and though the sentiment is noble, the end product may not be what was wished for. I'm telling anyone not to, but Haiti has only one main product, and it is NGO/Charities provision and accomodation. Haiti no longer is a going concern, much like Somalia, but without the armed conflict. The Haitian people have had it badly, and they have no way of recovering for themselves, as they have no industries, nor any infrastructure that allows them to build. All they have is the presence of international charities, which provide for almost all their basic needs.

I speak as a person that has lived and gone to school in 3 Caribbean countries, and each of those has had its fair share of natural disasters. Grenada, where my father is from, last had a Category 5 hurricane that ripped through the country, damaging or destroying 95% of homes and agriculture. People then shared rooms with strangers as work began to rebuild houses. Whole families lived in one room, as there was nowhere else....and Grenadians rebuilt the country. There was no large scale NGO action, as Grenadians just knuckled down to getting things right. Its a skill and a will, now forgotten in Haiti, due to too much external influence.

There are documentaries that have exposed this, and it is easily found all over the internet. In my view, giving to Haiti is only a good thing, if it somehow encourages work, and private enterprises. Anything else just feeds a system which has hurt, when it has meant to help.

Please read if you have time, and judge for yourselves:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/16/haiti-aid-ngo
http://www.ezilidanto.com/zili/2011/01/one-year-after-the-earthquake-foreign-help-is-actually-hurting-haiti/
http://www.eurasiareview.com/opinion/opinion-opinion/haiti-prisoners-on-their-own-island-28012011/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023804575566743115456322.html

When the Haitian disaster happened, I urged caution in the thread that sought to encourage aid. By coincidence, my aunt wrote what is considered the de facto reference document on Caribbean economy, in regards to the effect of the NAFTA. Having lived in various Caribbean countries, I have seen what can work, and what can hurt. Yes, I'm born in Surrey and am a Londoner, I guess, but I am also a Caribbean person, so I see these phenomena in more than one light. Please give, as generousity has its own reward, but please give wisely.

As adroit says, it is truly staggering. Apart from the government ‘lies’ over the condition of the nuclear facility, which seems to be the opinion of the Japanese people I’ve seen interviewed on TV, which we can take for granted anyway and par for the course, I think the behaviour in the aftermath of those directly affected is equally staggering. To see these people quietly and patiently queuing for what little remains in shops, still respectful of their neighbours and those around them, is a spectacle in itself. Chaos brings more chaos, but the orderly nature of their attempts to carry on with things is really quite humbling. I hope I don’t sound patronising, but I’m not sure I’ve got the head myself for that sort of restraint. No sign of the ‘me first’ culture now. Shame that a tragedy has such an ability to be a leveller, but the people of these villages are conducting themselves in a way no devious officialdom could ever hope to emulate, or inspire in others.

My faith in humanity has almost been restored ;)

GA2G
Thanks for your insight.
I have been contributing to a small and specific Haitian project for a while, but I do acknowledge that this might make people aid / NGO dependent. As you say, this is all that they have!
But a quarter of million people died and a million were without homes and then cholera struck.
I have to give a little to help!
Japan has just bankrolled it's economy to a level greater than that estimated to rebuild the stricken areas (estimated at £111 billion), I can't see my paltry contribution really helping.
But I agree with TheorySwine, the calmness of the people is astonishing.
I guess that the response of the people of Japan to this disaster will be a lesson to us all.

Armageddon may well be stretching it (assuming you're talking about the reactor situation), but yes, people are dying and that's rarely a good thing (it isn't in this case).

As someone on Facebook (I think it was) said when they saw all those quotes, "With that attitude, what on earth are they expecting in return for HIroshima and Nagasaki?". The world will always have narrow-minded xenophobes and the nature of the internet will always make it easy for them to troll away.

Just one side of human nature, unfortunately.

As it is, I haven't heard from my ex wife (who may still be in Japan - I don't know) and her family. Nor have I heard from the other guy I know in Japan who lives on the east coast somewhere near Hitachi I believe with his wife and child. He lives in a mountain cottage though I think, so presumably was safe from the waters.

interestingly, I got an email from MSF summarising their response of a small medical team, the scale of the government response, and saying

The MSF response is tiny in comparison and at present we are not appealing for funds for our work in Japan.

It seems the immediate danger to life now for hundreds of thousands is lack of food, water and warmth. First google hit for "japan food aid" is an article in a Nepalese newspaper, dated today, about the food aid Japan is providing to Nepal. Crazy. Don't know where to turn, Red Cross looks like the main deal. Does the EU still have food mountains? Do we have to wait for mass starvation before we start air drops?

Songs For Japan - 38 track album

http://www.nme.com/news/john-lennon/55720