From BBC news today.
"The US has pledged $10m (£5.7m) in aid to Haiti, where the UN estimates 800,000 people are in temporary shelters.
Washington also offered $100,000 (£57,000) in initial aid to Cuba, whose government has been subject to a US trade embargo for four decades.
Cuba turned the offer down, asking instead that the US sells it supplies on credit."
The US' pledge for aid to Haiti is truly laudable. ($10m is still 1/10 of the needed emergency money, but still is a great sum of money.)
The $100,000 they are offering to Cuba are a joke though. An insult, really. The message is simple: if you don't play nice, we'll fucking let your refugees die from malaria in makeshift camps.
Seriously! $100,000? I feel that holding the meeting where this decision was taken cost close to that much, with the experts and meteorologists and what have you they had to bring over... I'm sure they had a good laugh when some prankster suggested that amount.
I believe that, when faced with an emergency of the sort, with a humanitarian disaster, political considerations should take the backseat, and only humane motivations should guide us.
The State department doesn't believe that, obviously, and if a foe has the head underwater, it's just a better opportunity for them to step on it and keep pushing.
Shame on you, US State Department!
3 comments:
I see your point but wouldn't the same should be ask of Cuba?
Not sure i understand, Vertigo - what do we want to ask of Cuba? to put humanitarian concerns ahead of political ones?
I would ask the same of Cuba but right now they're having trouble dealing with their own refugee population...
I mean, seriously. Offering $100,000 - which is what, the price of a couple of houses? - is somewhere between a joke and an insult..
I understand that Cuba can't, at this moment, have free presidential/legislative elections, free political prisoners, promote freedom of speech, assembly, religion, press..etc. However, I feel that if Cuba was totally destroyed by a hurricane and the US would say 'we would give you all the aid you need to rebuild only with the reassurance that Cuba moves towards true democratization', Cuba wouldn't do it. When I mean Cuba, I mean the government whom I am sure is not affected by hurricanes since government officials have the best houses. There are many rich and powerful Cuban-Americans in Florida who would travel to Cuban in a heart beat to rebuild it.
So, basically, the Cuban people are screw by both the US gov and the Cuban gov. Its always the people who suffer. :(
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