Haiti's in trouble, but how do we help?

Much of the Haiti earthquake discussion in the media has been focused on solving problems rather than placing blame – a nice change considering the divisive name-calling that has broken out in each of the decade’s past crises.

Al-Qaeda didn’t start the earthquake, and it’s not George Bush’s fault that it happened, either.

No blame can be pinned on one person or group in this incident, but that hasn’t stopped some people from trying.

Televangelist Pat Robertson said the earthquake was a result of the Haitians making a secret deal with the devil. That’s about as crazy a thing someone could possibly say. But that didn’t deter Venezuelan university professor Vladimir Acosta from trying to out-crazy him. Acosta blamed the U.S. Military for creating the earthquake in order to gain leverage to make Haiti a protectorate. We’ll call this battle of the crazies a tie.

But those are the nuts speaking.  

The slightly less nutty news networks, columnists and political think tanks have avoided such radical assertions and instead have focused on ways to help Haiti through this crisis.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that the U.S. should use the crisis, “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.”

The article was taken down shortly after it was posted after criticism that it was exploiting the crisis to push an agenda.

It may seem insensitive to use the crisis in this way, but after food, water, shelter and medical aid are considered a bigger question looms: What long-term action should the U.S. take to help Haiti rebuild? And any way the question is answered; a new debate will emerge.

Bill O’Reilly has argued for a strong-arm strategy.

“We have to take the country over in the short-term,” O’Reilly said on his show Monday. 

O’Reilly and others are concerned that if the U.S. doesn’t watch the situation closely, corruption could seep in, and all the effort will have gone to waste.

It’s not a ridiculous concern. Haiti has a long history of corruption. In an evaluation of The World Bank on control of corruption, Haiti scored 7 out of 100. The U.S., in comparison, scored 92.

More liberal institutions like The Brookings Institute, which is a think tank, acknowledge corruption but prefer a less controlling approach. The institute outlined three keys to success for Haiti relief – strengthen Haiti’s government, support Haiti’s community groups and let the United Nations take the lead.

Whatever large-scale decisions are made, each one of us must make the small-scale decision of whether to donate, how much to give and who to give the money to.

Donating is less work than it’s ever been before. No need to call into a telethon, write a check or scan the credit card. Many people have donated by just sending a text message – something most of us do on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

But just because it’s easier than ever to donate, doesn’t mean that questions don’t remain. Some worry how much they can afford to give. Others may be skeptical of the difference the donation will make. And others still may decide their money is better spent on a charity that supports a completely different cause.

 Whether you decide to donate, the people of Haiti are in a great deal of suffering, and it’s worth a moment of reflection at the very least.

Go to AlachuaCountyToday.com to cast your vote on poll questions about Haiti relief.