Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Journalists struggle to describe the scenes of misery, death, and despair in language befitting of its tragedy in Haiti. Over 100 countries mobilized for aid. Even Israel has mobilized its usual contingent of Israeli doctors and the mass Zionist media to show how humanitarian it can be (but tiny Qatar sent far more actual aid). What is little discussed is that the natural disaster would have claimed far fewer lives had Haiti been allowed to develop without Western Interference over the past few decades. There is a tragic history that stretches from the slave rebellion against the French "owners" to the US direct occupation of Haiti 1915 to 1934, to the US support for puppet dictators, to the latest 2004 coup engineered by elements in the neoconservative movement under the Presidency of George Bush. The last government installed was and continues to be corrupt, inept, and unaccountable. I was shocked that the "President of Haiti" could not even put sentences together let alone deal with disasters. It is no surprise that many people in Haiti have come to believe that anarchy is better. Meanwhile, Western companies, whose motto is always maximum profits/minimum costs, strip billions worth of Haitian natural resources.
Gaza was a calamity of incredible proportion. 1.5 million people in a small strip of largely desert land, most of them refugees or displaced people. Over a period of three weeks, Israeli shelling destroyed over 10,000 homes, schools, hospitals, food warehouses, and shops. Over 400 children and hundreds of other civilians were massacred. This man-made disaster was accomplished with the blessing of the US and its direct support (military equipment, shielding Israel from International law etc). But our spirit will not be broken just like the spirit of Haiti will not be broken (see video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU5Wi2jhnW0 )
Hardly any Western reporters bothered to cover the story of the man-made tragedy in Gaza. If they did mention it, it was in passing while assigning blame to Hamas for the home made projectiles the people of Gaza tried to produce in response to the incessant slaughter. More importantly, no flotillas of emergency aid were to arrive in Gaza from any governmental sources. Only a few activists managed to bring food and medicines in spite of official governments positions. In fact the siege intensified over Gaza and one year later, there has been no or very little reconstruction.
The US foreign policy, hijacked by a group of wealthy and powerful individuals utilizing lobbyists as their tools and brainwashing some individuals to think it is "good for the Jews" have ensured hypocrisy. It is hypocrisy to name a fund for helping (Bush Clinton Haiti Fund) run by the two war criminals that engineered and/or supported calamities in places like Iraq (1 million killed), Gaza, Afghanistan, Sudan and elsewhere. It is hypocrisy to send Hilary Clinton who supported the slaughter in Gaza for photo opportunities in Haiti. It s hypocrisy to pressure the puppet regime in Egypt to erect a wall to prevent Gaza population from importing foods and medicine while spending our taxpayer money for USAID with stings attached (most to guide countries to create policies of oppression in the guise of humanitarian aid) AND let corporations gain billions from exploitation of those same countries (e.g. Haliburton, Mobil, Motorolla). A colleague wrote in Arabic that Jamal Abdel Nasser as a person of high stature built the Aswan high Dam while Mubarak is building the metal underground low dam!
US interests do not lie in creating more hypocrisy Is it not time to thoroughly reevaluate the calamitous policies that led us to this? These policies, while profiting a few individuals in positions of power (Corporate and Zionist lobbies*), directly harm average citizens in Haiti, the US, Israel/Palestine and elsewhere. It was hoped that the year 2000 would usher in a new era of peace and prosperity on humanity. Is it not time to investigate why Latin America, Asia and much of Europe is moving in that direction while the US and Israeli policies have created mayhem and destruction? Is it not time for the events of September 11, 2001 to receive full investigation instead of the cover-up in the report issued? Would we see 2010 as a year of change or would we wait for yet another calamity to expose more hypocrisy?
ACTION: 1) Donate to Haiti relief through the International Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam, or other non-governmental organizations (see for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv2JzWfD9r0 ); 2) Act for Gaza (see for example this new good website http://www.gazaonmymind.org/ )
* See the book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins about the corporate elites. I think he downplays what the Zionist lobbies have done which sometimes even won over corporate interests like the military industries but he makes some very cogent observations from someone who was on the inside as an economic hitman (and ofcourse many of these corporations are run by ardent Zionists who like to have a strong Israel as an insurance policy in case they need to run away from Western Countries). Here are videos of a lecture by Perkins:
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oARBdBtGenM
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAqG51uwzMI
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22O33KyWa4
BTW, Mary Rizzo found the video of the struggle of the Little Buffalo used in political message and posted this video with my article at
http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/01/14/mazin-qumsiyeh-little-buffalo-with-must-see-video/
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager (now back) at home
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Haaretz Article shows Gazan's themselves collecting aid for Haiti! - God Bless Them!
Gaza collects Haiti aid, says it was similarly shaken by Israel
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel News, Haiti Earthquake
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1143436.html
OMG, a simple search in good "Arab Aid to Haiti" Yields tons of results, here is a summary I copied from
Juan Cole sites.
The Reuters-carried report says:
'A Qatari C-17 aircraft, loaded with 50 tonnes of aid, left for the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, on 14 January. Qatar also sent a 26-member rescue team comprising soldiers, police and medics to set up a field hospital and provide assistance wherever they can. . .
A Jordan Royal Air Force plane carrying the components for a military field hospital and six tonnes of food, relief items, medicine and clothing from the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation went to Haiti on 14 January. The field hospital includes five physicians specialised in orthopaedics, general surgery and anaesthesia, according to local media. . .
Lebanon will send a plane loaded with 25 tonnes of tents and three tonnes of medicines, vaccines and other medical supplies on 19 January.
Iran's Red Crescent society dispatched by plane about 30 tonnes of humanitarian aid - including food, tents and medicine - on 16 January.'
http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/haiti-arab-aid-making-its-way.html
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD writes, extremely grugingly, that "Even Israel has mobilized its usual contingent of Israeli doctors", and that over 100 countries mobilized for aid. What does he mean, "even" Israel ? Israel has always sent relief teams and aid to disaster areas; unfortunately, the Israeli medical community has a lot of experience in extricating people from buildings that have been damaged, whether by natural or unnatural events.
So that's Israel's contribution. Where is any contribution from any Muslim country? Saudi Arabia - the richest country in the region. Iran - billions in oil revenues. Are they too mean to allocate even a fraction of one percent of their GNP to assist in humanitarian aid? Or do the hardline clerics not believe in aid to anyone who doesn't share their twisted theology?
