blog post Today on Lanarama: Haiti, Artists & Awareness

Thom Yorke of Radiohead is a huge environmental warrior, and though I already am passionate about the environment he made me even more passionate. After reading his thoughts on the failed Copenhagen summit I felt like I was sharing his frustration.

this was something I posted in grant's thread earlier, but it was at the end of his show, so most people will have migrated to this post, so I am reposting. Was in response to the top music stories of the day, particularly Wyclef Jean coming under fire for his Haiti Charity Yelle. The smoking gun apparently has posted financial statements from the group showing large fees paid to Jean for charity benefit performances...I said:

yikes. I always wonder about these personal 'charities'. What can they do that the Red Cross/MSF/Salvation Army cannot? Same thing crossed my mind when I saw a FB last night about donations to Ben Stiller's charity..

Regine's article sounds like it's bang on (she would know) and NA as a whole has plenty to make up for it's treatment of Haiti over the years, Canada included (even though it's somewhat better than the US)

here's an interesting take from the Atlantic re: should people searching for sustenance be called 'looters'?

Tagish concured, saying:

agreed, it seems every celebrity must start their own charity/foundation when there are already many in place.  It seems to serve more to spread the money thinner and not get it to where it is needed most.  A very inefficient way of doing things.

and has been complicate in keeping Haiti poor and in political upheavel. 

We owe Haiti much, the optimum would be to eliminate the debt that cripples them.  However, since powerful countries often use disaster to impliment change that would otherwise cause rebelion, I don't hold much hope for Haiti's future.

Required reading on Canada's role in Haiti is "Canada in Haiti, Waging War on the Poor Majority" by Yves Engler and Anthony Fenton.

I still haven't gotten around to reading that book itself, but have read some excerpts from it. I imagine it does a good job of highlighting history, but it's already a few years out of date.

You'd think that a countries capital being completely destroyed, along with how many deaths, plus the complete unraveling of any semblance of governance would be impetus enough for us rich folks to forgive their debt, but I'm bracing for arguments how we can't do that, because confidence will be lost, if we do it for Haiti then it would have to follow for other impoverished countries and so on. One can still hope that disaster capitalism won't have total free reign. Integral to that is having voices in Haiti reporting back. Not just the next few days, but the coming weeks, months and years as well.

Neil Macdonald has a good synopsis of US policy towards Haiti. It's crazy how they treat Cubans who land on the shores different than anyone else. Of course the US's Cuban policy is a whole other mess...

if you follow the link to the letter Regine wrote to the Observer, in the comments section, there is an interesting post by a "MoveAnyMountain".  The author of this is very critical of many points that she is making. 

I'm not a Haiti expert by any means so I don't know who's right or wrong or both, but it's interesting to see other sides of the story. 

this music is making me so happy. I just painted two more walls, am exhausted and shaky from lack of sleep and food, yet I still want to dance around my room.

I've been super bummed out about everything that is happening in Haiti lately...and even MORE worried because one of my best friends is down there shooting photos for the Wall Street Journal... I've spoken to him once since. I asked where he was sleeping and he said the first night was in a car, but now its on a mattress on a driveway!

He pops into my head all day.

If you want to see his photos, here is the link.

Lana, if you can play Jasper by Aidan Knight you'll make me even happier.

If you read more of the comments at The Guardian, the other commenters disagree with many of MoveAnyMountain's points.

Personally, I find that most arguments about how it's people's own fault they are impoverished or oppressed generally involve ignoring outside influences.  I don't know much about Haiti, but looking at the other Guardian comments, it looks like that is what MoveAnyMountain is doing.

I'm not a Haiti expert either. It is interesting to see where people take a stance. Why one would take a stance against specific aid to what is far and away the poorest nation in the American hemisphere is beyond me, but there you have it. The economic argument the commenter makes seems nonsensical to me (that so much time has passed that whatever money they paid france would be valueless today..this seems backwards to me).

How aid from rich countries gets dispersed is a tricky moral tight rope to walk. I can agree with the commenter on that much at least.

I think reasonable can argue about the level of western involvement in the country and to what extent TheRadioHeads assertion that Canada "has been complicate in keeping Haiti poor" is true, but to go as far to say that Haiti has been left to it's own ends and it's endemic poverty is their own fault is stretching and dismissive of history.

Perhaps Lana can provide her insight into the history of Haiti, being that she has been on the ground there multiple times.

Jared Diamond talks about Haiti in his book, Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed. 

A good read in general, the book talks about numerous factors that have led to the downfall of societies in the past and that may lead to the collapse of societies today.

Double thanks for the link...Jared Diamond! I really enjoyed Guns, Germs and Steel. A comedian (Stephen Colbert) is the reason I own that book..

I don't have an intelligent question, just a shout out to Adaline. She played at the first show I ever saw after moving to Vancouver (and the only show I saw at old Richards on Richards location :(  ) She's great herself, but will always have a place in my heart because of that (along with bend sinister).

Really looking forward to the piano showcase at the Rio

Of course I was listening!! She didn't tell me she was going to be on (I like to think we're close...haha), so I'm glad I spotted it before I left work! I do love her so. And she may not have won the PPP, but I won a concert in Swift Current in May! Super excited!

That's where you are at (Swift Current)..I couldn't remember exactly...that's so cool. And major props to you for getting behind her so much.

@124th Street Beat - I enjoyed Guns, Germs and Steel but did find that the same things were being pointed out again and again..which is partly the point, but could have used a bit more editing IMHO...still excellent info/insight

I didn't find Guns, Germs and Steel as bad as Collapse. That one could have used a lot of editing. Again, good points, but gets a bit frustrating.

i've been trying to listen while getting ready to head downtown, and haven't been following on the blog. i'm really sorry, this may have been already talked about (i think boders may have touched on the subject)

..but when you are donating money, please please make sure you know where that money will end up and what it will be used for. there are a lot of charities that, while i'm sure do important work, don't pass along 100% of your money.

for me, donating to the red cross or doctors without borders are the default. i used to say the salvation army, but for personal reasons i am keeping it to the first two.

lana, i applaud you for traveling to haiti to help. this thought is continuously at the back of my head, but i rarely speak it: i would drop everything to go to places like this to help. i have no idea how (without being involved in a religious group) and feel i don't really have a skill that would allow me to be of any great benefit. (except being good with a camera, and having a lot of passion for whatever i do.)

any insight?

You might know a bunch of my family there... I also lived there for a short time.

I was raised in Wasa Lake and went to school and graduated from Selkirk Secondary. Small world!!

It's the Burning hell - they go over there regularly!  8D

My guess would be Broken Social Scene, but maybe Hidden Cameras?

I'm also a Selkirk Alum, and technically I grew up in Marysville.   Very small world. 

Something I wondered about when I first heard about the earthquake in Haiti was how the servers and networks of aid agencies would respond...it seems they always inevitably crash from overload. I wonder if these groups have a plan in place to accommodate extra server load from increased donations.

I can't even begin to imagine the communications nightmare in Haiti itself right now...