Monday, January 25, 2010
(One day from "A Chronology of Haitian Protest and Resistance since the Earthquake")
A resource produced by Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade

"Quake has rendered Haiti's government powerless"

Anna Mehler Paperny,
Globe and Mail, Saturday, January 30, 2010

Source

...a disagreement over tents and a couple of awkward moments at the Haitian government's daily press briefings last week [January 25] highlighted what's going to become, increasingly, a bone of contention as recovery efforts continue in the wake of the biggest quake to hit Haiti in centuries.

Tents, President René Préval told the assembled crowd, are the single thing the country needs most now – 200,000 of them, to be exact. And quickly.

But the man who spoke directly after him wasn't so sure.

"In our opinion, we should look at other solutions," said Lewis Lucke, the head of the United States' aid mission

And although the government has expressed gratitude for the cash pouring in from international donors – more than $470-million so far – it's clear they're less than comfortable with how patently obvious it is they're unable to call the development shots in their own country.

That point was driven home by a protest outside: A small but loud and angry group of public-service workers with signs, calling for everything from compensation to an outright coup.

“The government has no power,” one man said. “It's completely incapable of helping us.”
 

[Note: The press conference (with "protest outside") referred to above by the Globe and Mail, occurred on January 25, 2010. This date is confirmed in the AP article "Haiti’s homeless plead for tents after quake" from January 26, 2010, which says: "Preval issued an urgent appeal Monday [January 25, 2010] calling for 200000 tents" Source]

Monday, January 25, 2010
(One day from "A Chronology of Haitian Protest and Resistance since the Earthquake")
A resource produced by Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade