Relief Efforts

[Live Performance of “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” – performed live at the Hope For Haiti benefit by Jay-Z, Bono, Edge, & Rihanna]

Since the earthquake of January 12th, the international community has made considerable efforts to aid in disaster relief. With an estimated 200,000 killed and 1 million homeless in Port-au-Prince alone, Haiti will need a great deal of support to recover. If you are interested in helping the cause, please visit my donation page.

As shown above, last Friday’s Hope For Haiti telethon included a slew of celebrities pitching in to perform and drive donations. Organized by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean, the event was broadcast commercial-free on dozens of networks, reaching an estimated 83 million viewers and raising upwards of $61 million.

Apart from the benefit, many entertainers have come forward independently to make donations… Britney Spears is auctioning off a prized dress; Diddy’s son gave up his $10,000 Sweet 16 check; and Radiohead raised almost $600,000 auctioning tickets for a benefit show, to name just a few.

The United States government has sent nearly $184 million and more than 15,000 troops, but has faced considerable criticism for an inadequate response. A trauma surgeon named Soumitra Eachempati was among the first relief groups to travel to Haiti almost immediately after the quake. In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, she describes in an editorial how poorly coordinated the relief effort was upon her team’s arrival. Italy’s disaster chief also came forward yesterday, accusing aid groups of  “putting on a vanity show for the television cameras instead of rolling up their sleeves…”

I’m going to give our government the benefit of the doubt on this one. While the U.S. has historically been shady in their dealings with Haiti — with multiple military occupations and political interference — I think Obama has a chance to turn over a new leaf here. And from what I can tell, the administration seems to be doing the best they can.

The President will be delivering his first State of the Union address tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 9PM EST. After the broadcast, he will follow up by answering citizens’ questions via YouTube — marking the first time in history that U.S. citizens are able to respond directly to the address and have their follow-up questions answered. It remains to be seen if the situation in Haiti will be discussed in the address, but I would be surprised if it doesn’t at least see some coverage in the follow-up discussion.