The press is telling us that the Haitians are primitives to be feared, hence the slowness in distributing food. But I was looking at this picture when it dawned on me what I was seeing.
I'm looking at the photograph of 15 year-old Fabienne Geismar shot dead by police for stealing three pictures. See the flowers in the framed picture. Note the colour of her clothes. Was this her favourite colour? Was she attracted by the pretty flowers?
Is this the picture of an anonymous stranger halfway across the world shot down like a dog by the police? An image we can gawp at and forget almost immediately? Some might dismiss her as a looter who got what she deserved, but who among us wouldn't steal to survive if we were in her position? How can you value property above human life and still lay claim to being civilised?
Perhaps there is more: a young girl simply seeking a glimpse of something beautiful in her shattered life when the world fell apart. She may not have a wall to hang them on but they are something cheering to look at nevertheless. We see her taste right there — such a big human quality in the detail. There's a world of connection between us and Fabienne, reminding us that these are our brothers and sisters, and not the monsters painted by the media.
The press is telling us that the Haitians are primitives to be feared, hence the slowness in distributing food. But I was looking at this picture when it dawned on me what I was seeing.
I'm looking at the photograph of 15 year-old Fabienne Geismar shot dead by police for stealing three pictures. See the flowers in the framed picture. Note the colour of her clothes. Was this her favourite colour? Was she attracted by the pretty flowers?
Is this the picture of an anonymous stranger halfway across the world shot down like a dog by the police? An image we can gawp at and forget almost immediately? Some might dismiss her as a looter who got what she deserved, but who among us wouldn't steal to survive if we were in her position? How can you value property above human life and still lay claim to being civilised?
Perhaps there is more: a young girl simply seeking a glimpse of something beautiful in her shattered life when the world fell apart. She may not have a wall to hang them on but they are something cheering to look at nevertheless. We see her taste right there — such a big human quality in the detail. There's a world of connection between us and Fabienne, reminding us that these are our brothers and sisters, and not the monsters painted by the media.
The Haiti earthquake disaster relief effort has turned into a scandal. While the desperate survivors wait to be dug out of the rubble, the media depicts them as savages, aid piles up undistributed at the airport, an army of bureaucrats fill in forms when they venture out of their safe zones, and an army of soldiers ensures that the public unrest won't turn into full-scale revolution. After all, if the black slaves could rise up in the 18th century and kick out their white masters, they could do the same now.
The US airport in Haiti has only just opened to aid, although it was serviceable enough to accommodate Hillary Clinton's flight and the thousands of American soldiers brought in to contain dissent. If you had no water, no food, were surrounded by the rotting corpses of the dead, wouldn't you feel a little mad?
Reports that Rush Limbaugh told people not to contribute to the relief effort because they've already given "tax dollars" turn out to be a distortion in this instance. Far be it from me to defend this repellent wing-nut but he was saying that you should give, but to one of the other charities and not the government's funds. After all, the American Red Cross diverted several million dollars earmarked for 911 to Bush's war effort, and failed to help the Hurricane Katrina victims.
Read Andy Kershaw's angry article in today's Independent. He knows the place and its people and he has a bloody excellent analysis of what's going on:
The alarmingly unanimous priorities of the spokesmen and women of aid organisations and the military, have been with "issues" (for they love that word) of "security", "procedures", and "logistics" (what we used to call "transport" or "trucks"). These obsessions indicate not only a self-serving and self-important careerist culture among some, though not all, aid workers (although wide experience of the profession in Haiti and across Africa tells me it is more common than donors would like to think), but that the magnitude of the crisis has paralysed them into a gibbering strike force of box-tickers. Most worryingly, it reveals that many – even selfless – NGO workers on the ground haven't a clue about the country and its people.
The picture that sums up the horror most tragically for me is the one above of 15 year-old schoolgirl Fabienne Geismar, shot by police for taking three framed pictures. Was her life really that cheap? Who is the bigger thief: Fabienne or the world's powers who have kept Haiti in poverty for so long and are even now planning its carve-up?
The Haiti earthquake disaster relief effort has turned into a scandal. While the desperate survivors wait to be dug out of the rubble, the media depicts them as savages, aid piles up undistributed at the airport, an army of bureaucrats fill in forms when they venture out of their safe zones, and an army of soldiers ensures that the public unrest won't turn into full-scale revolution. After all, if the black slaves could rise up in the 18th century and kick out their white masters, they could do the same now.
The US airport in Haiti has only just opened to aid, although it was serviceable enough to accommodate Hillary Clinton's flight and the thousands of American soldiers brought in to contain dissent. If you had no water, no food, were surrounded by the rotting corpses of the dead, wouldn't you feel a little mad?
Reports that Rush Limbaugh told people not to contribute to the relief effort because they've already given "tax dollars" turn out to be a distortion in this instance. Far be it from me to defend this repellent wing-nut but he was saying that you should give, but to one of the other charities and not the government's funds. After all, the American Red Cross diverted several million dollars earmarked for 911 to Bush's war effort, and failed to help the Hurricane Katrina victims.
Read Andy Kershaw's angry article in today's Independent. He knows the place and its people and he has a bloody excellent analysis of what's going on:
The alarmingly unanimous priorities of the spokesmen and women of aid organisations and the military, have been with "issues" (for they love that word) of "security", "procedures", and "logistics" (what we used to call "transport" or "trucks"). These obsessions indicate not only a self-serving and self-important careerist culture among some, though not all, aid workers (although wide experience of the profession in Haiti and across Africa tells me it is more common than donors would like to think), but that the magnitude of the crisis has paralysed them into a gibbering strike force of box-tickers. Most worryingly, it reveals that many – even selfless – NGO workers on the ground haven't a clue about the country and its people.
The picture that sums up the horror most tragically for me is the one above of 15 year-old schoolgirl Fabienne Geismar, shot by police for taking three framed pictures. Was her life really that cheap? Who is the bigger thief: Fabienne or the world's powers who have kept Haiti in poverty for so long and are even now planning its carve-up?
A cursory glance at my blog might give the impression that we're all going to hell in a handcart (copyright Richard Littlejohn, Jeremy Clarkson, Rod Liddle and other great minds of our times).
Elsewhere the war's cheerleaders are saying, yeah, it was all about getting rid of Saddam, so what? This person is being considered for the post of editor for The Independent newspaper and still writes for The Times and the Spectator. Religious fundies of all stripes are falling over each other to get their moment in the spotlight. The milk of human kindness is all dried up as this DJ wanker plays "Jump" as a woman leaps off a bridge and then says, "I'd do it again".
As I can't hibernate or escape to an exotic island, I thought I'd jolly it up and grace my space with some art.
Not sure I can keep up with online poets like Bill Greenwell who posts a good one every week, but I'll try for a monthly. Here's a poem I wrote the other day.
All aboard 10th January 2010
What’s that creaking? Is it metal ripped And rivets popped As the vessel sinks another notch?
Who’s that speaking? Is it posts all pipped, And plans all stopped, Cries curtailed by the water slopped
Into upturned mouths while the great hulk drops Into the darkest yet but I’m safe on top
What’s that skidding? Is it deckchairs slipped From ranks half-cocked While the orchestra plays its final spot?
Who’s that kidding? Has reason kipped, Is fraternity mocked, Are human bonds tied in a fancy slipknot
That each lurch loosens with a sly little sigh Unheard by those who are warm and dry?
I’ll stay a while with my little pile Of salvage glittering under a harvest moon My precious, my ghostly crop. For soon No food no gas no salt no grit, just slops Last night I dined in style on ribs and chops Tomorrow I might suck at straws As the wind sucks now at my chilling bones Better that than freezing currents drawing me down Don’t look down, look up. Up at those climbed highest to the helm A realm ruled by flunkies and fops Who feign and fulminate, feast and grasp Above the stalking waterline where these last hours I too have dwelled Til in my turn a desperate hand outheld Finding no firm clasp in this wintry hell I lose my footing and like all good men, women, babes and beasts I drown
Hmm. Wasn't that cheery after all. Sorry about that. Will do better next time.
A cursory glance at my blog might give the impression that we're all going to hell in a handcart (copyright Richard Littlejohn, Jeremy Clarkson, Rod Liddle and other great minds of our times).
Elsewhere the war's cheerleaders are saying, yeah, it was all about getting rid of Saddam, so what? This person is being considered for the post of editor for The Independent newspaper and still writes for The Times and the Spectator. Religious fundies of all stripes are falling over each other to get their moment in the spotlight. The milk of human kindness is all dried up as this DJ wanker plays "Jump" as a woman leaps off a bridge and then says, "I'd do it again".
As I can't hibernate or escape to an exotic island, I thought I'd jolly it up and grace my space with some art.
Not sure I can keep up with online poets like Bill Greenwell who posts a good one every week, but I'll try for a monthly. Here's a poem I wrote the other day.
All aboard 10th January 2010
What’s that creaking? Is it metal ripped And rivets popped As the vessel sinks another notch?
Who’s that speaking? Is it posts all pipped, And plans all stopped, Cries curtailed by the water slopped
Into upturned mouths while the great hulk drops Into the darkest yet but I’m safe on top
What’s that skidding? Is it deckchairs slipped From ranks half-cocked While the orchestra plays its final spot?
Who’s that kidding? Has reason kipped, Is fraternity mocked, Are human bonds tied in a fancy slipknot
That each lurch loosens with a sly little sigh Unheard by those who are warm and dry?
I’ll stay a while with my little pile Of salvage glittering under a harvest moon My precious, my ghostly crop. For soon No food no gas no salt no grit, just slops Last night I dined in style on ribs and chops Tomorrow I might suck at straws As the wind sucks now at my chilling bones Better that than freezing currents drawing me down Don’t look down, look up. Up at those climbed highest to the helm A realm ruled by flunkies and fops Who feign and fulminate, feast and grasp Above the stalking waterline where these last hours I too have dwelled Til in my turn a desperate hand outheld Finding no firm clasp in this wintry hell I lose my footing and like all good men, women, babes and beasts I drown
Hmm. Wasn't that cheery after all. Sorry about that. Will do better next time.
The first shocking thing about the huge Haiti earthquake which has killed up to 500,000 people is that one of the poorest countries in the world should have to bear even more horror than its permanent poverty. Look at the maps and you'll see how close the epicentre of this 7 magnitude quake is to the capital of Port-Au-Prince. Only ten miles. And because it's only six miles deep, the ground shakes were all the more violent and their impact devastating.
The shoddily built structures have collapsed. Even the presidential palace is down. The head of the UN mission in Haiti is dead, the Archbishop of Haiti is dead, along with hundreds of thousands of others. Privilege and status offer no protection.
The second thing that is shocking, if not surprising, is Pat Robinson and his relentless pursuit of publicity. He says the disaster is a punishment from God due to a pact the Haitians made with the devil when they liberated themselves as slaves from the French in the 1700s.
The Haitian Ambassador to the US, Raymond Joseph, makes a dignified response and points out this this "pact with the devil" gave Louisiana to the US for $15 million and helped make America what it is today.
Pat Robertson on the Satanic pact: "It's a true story." Ha!
What is it with pious Christian fundies of late? I can't help noticing that Iris Robinson attacks gays as being an abomination because the bible says so while she indulges in the biblical sin of adultery, not to mention exploitation of a vulnerable bereaved teenage family friend, and the very human sin of graft and kickbacks. From the not-so-sublime to the ridiculous Bible-basher and right-wing shock jock Stephen Baldwin who's whipping up a hate frenzy around nice but dim Nicola T on Celebrity Big Brother. Dim as she might be, Nichola's not so stupid as to meekly accept his cowardly mendacity, where he's shifting his guilt over breaking CBB rules to her, without putting up a challenge. But he's taking revenge and saying forgiveness is not an option. Trivial yes, but the devil is in the detail.
These examples may be a world away from each other but they are united in their warping of stated core Christian values.
And then there's the Pope. With so many human souls gone, including a fair number of his own Catholic constituents, what's his prime concern? Pope says gay marriage a threat to creation.
There's much about the Christian religion that appeals to me: namely love, mercy and compassion. The notion of forgiveness is deeply touching. The protection of a woman against a stoning because she slept with someone who wasn't her husband must have been rare if not unheard of in ancient times. But what I learn from Christ's behaviour is that any system, whether religious or political, should serve human beings, not the other way around. When it devours its followers it's lost its humanity and its reason for being.
“Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSC” donations tax deductible send mail to: East Bay Sanctuary Covenant 2362 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 947 Please consider a tax-deductible donation to HERF/EBSC. EBSC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID# 94-3249753. We will acknowledge all donations.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is taking donations through a special phone line, 0370 60 60 900, and through its website www.dec.org.uk
"In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region."
They're also threatening to send George W Bush like the Haitians haven't suffered enough.
Greg Palast's trenchant criticism of the US aid effort ("in a few days") and history in Haiti:
There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF "austerity" plans. ... China deployed rescuers with sniffer dogs within 48 hours. China, Mr. President. China: 8,000 miles distant. Miami: 700 miles close. US bases in Puerto Rico: right there.
The first shocking thing about the huge Haiti earthquake which has killed up to 500,000 people is that one of the poorest countries in the world should have to bear even more horror than its permanent poverty. Look at the maps and you'll see how close the epicentre of this 7 magnitude quake is to the capital of Port-Au-Prince. Only ten miles. And because it's only six miles deep, the ground shakes were all the more violent and their impact devastating.
The shoddily built structures have collapsed. Even the presidential palace is down. The head of the UN mission in Haiti is dead, the Archbishop of Haiti is dead, along with hundreds of thousands of others. Privilege and status offer no protection.
The second thing that is shocking, if not surprising, is Pat Robinson and his relentless pursuit of publicity. He says the disaster is a punishment from God due to a pact the Haitians made with the devil when they liberated themselves as slaves from the French in the 1700s.
The Haitian Ambassador to the US, Raymond Joseph, makes a dignified response and points out this this "pact with the devil" gave Louisiana to the US for $15 million and helped make America what it is today.
Pat Robertson on the Satanic pact: "It's a true story." Ha!
What is it with pious Christian fundies of late? I can't help noticing that Iris Robinson attacks gays as being an abomination because the bible says so while she indulges in the biblical sin of adultery, not to mention exploitation of a vulnerable bereaved teenage family friend, and the very human sin of graft and kickbacks. From the not-so-sublime to the ridiculous Bible-basher and right-wing shock jock Stephen Baldwin who's whipping up a hate frenzy around nice but dim Nicola T on Celebrity Big Brother. Dim as she might be, Nichola's not so stupid as to meekly accept his cowardly mendacity, where he's shifting his guilt over breaking CBB rules to her, without putting up a challenge. But he's taking revenge and saying forgiveness is not an option. Trivial yes, but the devil is in the detail.
These examples may be a world away from each other but they are united in their warping of stated core Christian values.
And then there's the Pope. With so many human souls gone, including a fair number of his own Catholic constituents, what's his prime concern? Pope says gay marriage a threat to creation.
There's much about the Christian religion that appeals to me: namely love, mercy and compassion. The notion of forgiveness is deeply touching. The protection of a woman against a stoning because she slept with someone who wasn't her husband must have been rare if not unheard of in ancient times. But what I learn from Christ's behaviour is that any system, whether religious or political, should serve human beings, not the other way around. When it devours its followers it's lost its humanity and its reason for being.
“Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSC” donations tax deductible send mail to: East Bay Sanctuary Covenant 2362 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 947 Please consider a tax-deductible donation to HERF/EBSC. EBSC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID# 94-3249753. We will acknowledge all donations.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is taking donations through a special phone line, 0370 60 60 900, and through its website www.dec.org.uk
"In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region."
They're also threatening to send George W Bush like the Haitians haven't suffered enough.
Greg Palast's trenchant criticism of the US aid effort ("in a few days") and history in Haiti:
There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF "austerity" plans. ... China deployed rescuers with sniffer dogs within 48 hours. China, Mr. President. China: 8,000 miles distant. Miami: 700 miles close. US bases in Puerto Rico: right there.
The Haiti presidential palace destroyed. How must the rest of the nation's poorly constructed buildings have fared?