Send money not food, Haitians say

from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

S. Florida activists say aid is not reaching needy

By Georgia East

POMPANO BEACH

South Florida activists are calling on the Haitian government to drastically reduce custom fees and curb corruption at the ports, so food shipments can reach those desperately in need.

Until then, local activists are recommending South Floridians send cash, rather than food, to the impoverished country.

"The quickest way to help is to provide cash to local organizations in the field that have credibility in terms of assisting the poor,'' said Jean-Robert LaFortune, president of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition, based in Miami.

The rising cost of food in Haiti sparked a week of riots that began in Les Cayes and spread throughout the country. In Port-au-Prince, the capital, businesses closed as looters ran through the streets, calling for top government officials to resign. While the streets have quieted and some businesses have reopened, Haitians struggle to feed their families as the price of such staples as rice and cornmeal rises above their means.

Many who live here and have loved ones in Haiti say they want to help, but high tariffs and horror stories of food rotting in containers waiting to clear customs at Haitian ports have deterred some South Floridians from sending goods.

"We stopped sending things because they charge so much,'' said Phito Thelot, president of the Haitian American Foundation International in Delray Beach, about the fees he paid to the Haitian government.

Thelot said he had to pay $125 in duty on 2,500 pounds of rice he brought last May to Haiti to give away to the poor.

"If they charged us less each one of us would bring more,'' he said. "But it's not enough for the government for us to feed the population; they want to make money off of us with the taxes.''

The price of rice has doubled in less than a year, said Angel Aloma, executive director of Food for the Poor, an international relief and development organization with headquarters in Coconut Creek.

"A bag of rice that six months ago was $25 is now $51 wholesale, so it has gone up 100 percent,'' said Aloma. "When you're dealing with a poverty situation, staples are usually what people depend on.''

About 275,170 Haitians live in South Florida, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The community could offer major assistance to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and South Florida's proximity to Haiti has prompted many, including non-Haitians to help with relief efforts in the past, experts said.

Although recent looting and protests drew international attention to Haiti's desperation, those familiar with the country say the economic conditions that led to the riots have been in place for years.

The rising cost of gasoline and corn, along with the country's dependence on imported goods, are partly to blame, said experts. Earnings average $2 a day and can't keep pace with inflation.

"For the past 10 to 15 years the international community has compelled the Haitian government to implement a policy to import goods rather than produce them,'' said Lafortune. "In time, the local production decreased so much that the country has become solely reliant on the international market for food staples.'' If the price of basic foods do not come down, Haitians here fear there will be more unrest.

"It's not just the poor, the middle class is getting affected and it's creeping its way up through different social strata,'' said Marvin DeJean, a Coral Springs resident and senior vice president of a public relations firm. "The people who are making ends meet are the people who have family members who are sending money.''

Keeping Haitians afloat during these rough times brought an alliance of Broward County Haitian ministers together Wednesday evening at the First Haitian Baptist Church of Pompano Beach.

The pastors want to start a food drive, and they sent an e-mail to Haitian government officials requesting a break on the fees.