• Posted on Monday, July 19, 2010
  • Bookmark and Share
  • email
  • |
  • print
  • |
  • rss

tool name

close
tool goes here

Commentary: Haiti needs better coordination, more money to fully recover

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Follow us on your iPhone
Follow us on your Android device Sign up for email newsletters RSS

Haiti was fragile before the earthquake hit last January. Six months later, it's shattered still.

Putting the country back together will take organization, effort and money. But the longer it takes to rebuild, the easier it is to become desensitized to the suffering.

It's also easier to let progress stall, which is what's happened.

The plight of the Haitian people touched hearts around the world immediately after the earthquake. Millions of dollars were pledged and donated. Doctors and medical supplies were sent to help the injured. Food and water were distributed. Tents were handed out.

For the most part, the emergency aid was a success. Mass starvation was avoided and epidemics were averted.

But now what?

The people wait while their government tries to rebuild the country.

And they wait and they wait.

In the rubble.

Progress has been painfully slow. It doesn't help that international donors have given only 10 percent of what they promised.

To read the complete editorial, visit www.tri-cityherald.com.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.

FEATURED COLUMNIST

leonard pitts jr.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is the author of the Novel, Before I Forget. Read his latest commentary here.

COMMENTARY AROUND MCCLATCHY

FEATURED COLUMNIST

joe galloway

McClatchy's veteran war correspondent, Joseph L. Galloway, retired in January 2010 after half a century in the newspaper business. Read his farewell column, and an archive of his take-no-prisoners commentary. Here's one of his most-requested columns, "Fridays at the Pentagon."