NewsWhore
01-26-2010, 05:00 PM
During the Haiti donor conference held in Montreal yesterday, a 10-year commitment for building in Haiti was reached. The "Friends of Haiti" agreed that Haitians would direct the construction, with international support in the coordination and transparency of the aid. The meeting was held both to discuss immediate relief and long-term assistance to building in Haiti.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said at the conference.
"The international community must be prepared for a sustained, significant effort in Haiti, relying on the leadership of the government of Haiti and in line with its priorities," he said.
"The difficulty we face is not one of concern but co-ordination," said Harper.
As reported in the Toronto Globe & Mail, foreign states, multilateral organizations, armies and aid agencies are trying to co-ordinate now, but ultimately, addressing the larger problems will require a national response led by the Haitians themselves. Haiti has an elected government, but many Haitians had already rightly dismissed the state apparatus, now in ruins, as corrupt or ineffective. Haiti had become a republic of NGOs. A newly reconstituted state needs to incorporate civil society and take full advantage of Diaspora communities if it is to succeed.
Participants said they hoped the conference would lay the groundwork for sustained international help.
President Leonel Fernandez has estimated that to put Haiti back on its feet would take US$10 billion.
As reported in the Toronto Globe and Mail, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sir John Holmes told reporters that operations in Haiti must continue long after the TV crews have gone home and the troops have returned to their regular duties.
"We are now planning on at least 12 months," he said. "But the reality is we may be engaged in a very large scale operation for much longer than that, in parallel with the enormous reconstruction and redevelopment effort."
Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said questions should be asked about why Haiti remains so poor after 30 to 40 years of international aid. But he also repeatedly asserted that more involvement by Haitians is needed in the development and reconstruction efforts.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited the group to a follow-up conference in New York in March.
"We intend to support the [Haitian] government so that this is truly a Haitian-led effort, one that responds to the aspirations and the needs of the Haitian people," Clinton said. "It is important that we see ourselves as partners with Haiti, not patrons."
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/world-leaders-commit-to... (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/world-leaders-commit-to-10-years-of-hard-work-for-haiti/article1442947/)
www.montrealgazette.com/business/Conference+sidesteps+Haiti+... (http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Conference+sidesteps+Haiti+hidden+crises/2482836/story.html)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
"It is not an exaggeration to say that 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said at the conference.
"The international community must be prepared for a sustained, significant effort in Haiti, relying on the leadership of the government of Haiti and in line with its priorities," he said.
"The difficulty we face is not one of concern but co-ordination," said Harper.
As reported in the Toronto Globe & Mail, foreign states, multilateral organizations, armies and aid agencies are trying to co-ordinate now, but ultimately, addressing the larger problems will require a national response led by the Haitians themselves. Haiti has an elected government, but many Haitians had already rightly dismissed the state apparatus, now in ruins, as corrupt or ineffective. Haiti had become a republic of NGOs. A newly reconstituted state needs to incorporate civil society and take full advantage of Diaspora communities if it is to succeed.
Participants said they hoped the conference would lay the groundwork for sustained international help.
President Leonel Fernandez has estimated that to put Haiti back on its feet would take US$10 billion.
As reported in the Toronto Globe and Mail, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Sir John Holmes told reporters that operations in Haiti must continue long after the TV crews have gone home and the troops have returned to their regular duties.
"We are now planning on at least 12 months," he said. "But the reality is we may be engaged in a very large scale operation for much longer than that, in parallel with the enormous reconstruction and redevelopment effort."
Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said questions should be asked about why Haiti remains so poor after 30 to 40 years of international aid. But he also repeatedly asserted that more involvement by Haitians is needed in the development and reconstruction efforts.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invited the group to a follow-up conference in New York in March.
"We intend to support the [Haitian] government so that this is truly a Haitian-led effort, one that responds to the aspirations and the needs of the Haitian people," Clinton said. "It is important that we see ourselves as partners with Haiti, not patrons."
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/world-leaders-commit-to... (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/world-leaders-commit-to-10-years-of-hard-work-for-haiti/article1442947/)
www.montrealgazette.com/business/Conference+sidesteps+Haiti+... (http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Conference+sidesteps+Haiti+hidden+crises/2482836/story.html)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)