Back in 2010 I helped get tents for 300 people down to Haiti (see “Personal Haitian Relief Operation”). This was about 10 days after the earthquake hit Port-au-Prince.
At the time I questioned the people running the tent city: “How can you guys possible make a difference when the Red Cross is here in full force?”
“How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti and Built Six Homes” provides an answer.
An interesting angle is the intense publicity around a crisis and the need for donations and then a long delay before anyone can find out how money was spent or what was accomplished.
Related:
- New Yorker piece on post-9/11 dissatisfaction with the Red Cross
- New York Times article on the Red Cross’s release of World War II-era documents (50 years later)
I’m shocked, shocked to hear that Haiti is dysfunctional and corrupt and that a bunch of white people from outside were unable to get anything done there. Next thing you will tell us that the US has squandered billions in Iraq and Afghanistan no matter how many damn cups of tea they drank. Say it ain’t so, Joe.