The Tragedy of Haiti

Haiti's humanitarian situation is expected to grow even more dire in the coming year due to what the Miami Herald is calling a "perfect storm" of unfortunate events, but what might be better labeled an outright shit-storm of tragedy and calamity.

A series of hurricanes this summer left nearly 800 Haitians dead and thousands homeless, wrecked farms and washed away millions of dollars worth of crops and livestock, increasing poverty and malnutrition.  

And if it can be said that the poverty in Haiti could possibly be worse than it is, rising poverty is expected to meet the global financial downturn head on this year, making matters worse. 

All the while, donor fatigue is setting in as less money is available for aid and little economic or social progress have been seen in Haiti in the past few years -- any of which was entirely wiped out by the hurricanes.  

The world financial catastrophe, says the Miami Herald, has largely stolen the spotlight from the tragedy of the 2008 hurricanes in Haiti, the nation's worst humanitarian disaster in 100 years.  

Meanwhile, the nation is struggling with an extremely fragile political system in a staggered process of reform.  

Read about the struggle at the Miami Herald link above.  

Denied!

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has told Haitian President Rene Preval that the situation in Haiti, after a series of deadly storms this summer, does not warrant the temporary protected status (TPS) he requested earlier this fall.

Preval asked that the tens of thousands of undocumented Haitians living in the United States be allowed to stay until Haiti can recover, which the Bush administration has refused.

After a three month reprieve, 28 Haitians have been deported this past month.

Four back-to-back storms this summer left Haiti with "800 dead, tens of thousands of homeless and caused $1 billion in damage," reports the Miami Herald.

Check out these quotes from Randy McGrorty of the Catholic Legal Services;

"They are not basing it on the reality of the situation on the ground but other considerations when applying the law to Haiti. But frankly, after eight years of dealing with this administration and their policy toward Haiti, one of those considerations is racism.''

''According to independent reports, the successive storms destroyed 15 percent of Haiti's GDP. That's the equivalent of eight to 10 hurricane Katrinas hitting the United States in a month's period of time."

Haitian advocates plan to push for TPS with the incoming Obama administration.