22768: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-True aid for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Jul. 21, 2004


The Readers' Forum


True aid for Haiti

Michael Ottey's July 14 article Report: $1.3 billion needed to completely
rebuild Haiti reported that a House vote occurred on July 15 on a bill that
would ``nearly double the $54 million pledged by the Bush administration for
food, clean water, housing and job-creation.''

After researching this bill, we found that it was a line-item for Haiti in a
foreign-appropriations bill. The line-item did not indicate any humanitarian
assistance and instead referred to the ``purchase of defense articles and
services under the Arms Export Control Act . . .''

Given the dire circumstances in Haiti, where people are struggling
economically, it is important for the allocation of U.S. funds to Haiti to
be as transparent as possible.

MARY C. SMITH FAWZI, epidemiologist, Harvard Medical School, Department of
Social Medicine, Boston

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