Of course the rest of the world has to do what it can. I have to admit that I haven't made any contributions yet myself, but I hope to do so soon, after I decide where it will do the most good. This is a tricky question, as there are lots of organizations taking donations, but it's hard to be sure which will make the most efficient use of them. This is is especially important in a place like Haiti, where all sorts of difficulties stand in the way of using money efficiently. A good local organization might be best, or else an international one with a long-time presence in the country, as they will have a clearer idea of what people need.
Unfortunately, a few people on the lunatic fringe have already managed to make absurd, insensitive and downright warped comments on the disaster. Of course I'm referring here to Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. If we are going to drag history into things, Pat, why not talk about how when the slaves revolted in Haiti and actually succeeded (the Haitian Revolution is often cited as the only successful slave rebellion in history), the US reacted by restricting trade with the new nation, partly because of racism and a fear among Southerners that their slaves might try to emulate the Haitians, thus helping ensure that Haiti got off to a bad start from which it never really recovered? Of course it had many other problems ("a pact with the devil", despite Robertson's absurd claims, was not one of them), but an unfriendly US certainly did not help, so the US has in some ways a special obligation to help. As for Limbaugh, his cynicism and insensitivity is just disgusting. What does he expect Obama to do, ignore the Haitians because he's afraid he might be seen as trying to score political points? He certainly can't do anything that's likely to please Limbaugh and his ilk. The suggestion (made either by Limbaugh or some other nutcase) that there was something wrong with Obama immediately holding a press conference about Haiti (where tens of thousands may have died, and hundreds of thousands will be in need of help) when he waited a few days to make a statement on the failed terrorist attack (which killed nobody) is absurd and shows a completely lack of any sense of proportion, or indeed any sense at all (and it's worth mentioning that it took Bush several days to comment on the shoe bomber whose failed attack was quite similar to this one). Even worse than his own politicization of the disaster, Limbaugh seemed to discourage donations to Haiti with his comment that Americans already gave money to Haiti by means of their income tax (presumably referring to US foreign aid to Haiti, which in fact is a tiny part of the federal budget). Fortunately, the only people likely to actually listen to Limbaugh are the selfish, xenophobic and racist types who wouldn't be willing to do anything for the Haitians anyway.
Another interesting piece of news recently was Google's threat to quit China. While some have pointed out that they should have stood up against Chinese censorship a long time ago, I'd say it's better late than never. Of course now they've got to follow through on the threat (unless the Chinese government backs down -- a very unlikely scenario). It is unfortunate for the Chinese that if Google pulls out they will be even more completely at the mercy of the government censors, but given the degree to which companies like Google were being forced to compromise in order to operate in China, I don't think their presence was really doing much good. It remains to be seen if other companies with more complicated investments in China will follow Google's lead (Yahoo issued a statement indicating support for Google's position without actually committing to act in the same way, and even that was criticized by their Chinese partner Alibaba).
Update - Here's a recent article that talks about France's historical responsibility for Haiti's poverty and also mentions the US's role in making Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100216/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_earthquake
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