Friday, January 22, 2010

disaster in Haiti - what's going on

I've read some perceptive articles on the disaster in Haiti. Here is one of the best.

From Michelle Chen at RaceWire
"As the unprecedented humanitarian relief effort in Haiti struggles through logistical chaos, triaging shipments of food, medicine, and personnel, making sure help is distributed efficiently, one entity seems to consistently dominate the hierarchy of needs: the Military.
... Sky News, under the headline “Clashes over aid rise,” describes outbreaks of violence as “Hundreds of scavengers swarmed over damaged stores around the capital, seizing goods and fighting among themselves.” But a few paragraphs into the piece, we get this quote from top military commander Ken Keen: "The level of violence we see now is below pre-earthquake levels."
At a press conference on Monday, Keen admitted that there was no massive threat of violence. In fact, military officers' fears may have been informed by alarming press accounts—demonstrating the media's influence on not only public perceptions but policy calculations as well." ...
Fantastic article that really made me think.

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