The Cost of Human Life in Haiti

03 February 2010
By Yulia Latynina

Haitian police have detained 10 Baptists from the United States who had planned to evacuate 33 orphans to a shelter in the Dominican Republic. The Haitian authorities claim that the group took the children illegally and hinted that the Yankees were involved in an illegal adoption scheme, child trafficking or even organ trafficking.

I asked Moskovsky Komsomolets journalist Alexander Kots, who had been on assignment with Russian rescue workers in Haiti, why it took 15 days to find the last survivors. “They were found long before that, but nobody pulled them out,” Kots answered.

That is, a person is lying in the ruins, crying out for help — he is even visible through a hole to the outside — but he is left to suffer in horrid conditions. Sometimes workers bring him food and water, but they report that all survivors have been pulled out of the wreckage.

Except for the 48 hours immediately after the earthquake hit, rescuers never worked at night in Haiti. The streets became very dangerous. There were armed bandits roaming the streets, not to mention cannibals looking for prey. Even the police stayed home. But there was one area where law enforcement officials showed amazing diligence: detaining U.S. citizens for taking orphans without the proper documents.

I have two main questions. First, is it even possible to obtain the proper documents in a country where the president still doesn’t know how many people have died? Second, considering that Haiti had the highest infant mortality rate in the Western Hemisphere even before the earthquake, why are they suddenly so concerned about the fate of these, or any other, children?

The United States has collected more aid for Haiti than any other country. And in return for their generous assistance, the Americans have received an avalanche of criticism from the international community and even from the very people whom they are rescuing. The Haitian Internet is full of comments saying U.S. aid — above all, military personnel on the ground — is just a pretext for yet another invasion.

In reality, the United States has reacted to the 200,000 deaths in Haiti as if its own people had suffered. But the Haitian authorities do not view the deaths of their own citizens in the same way. Human life in Haiti has a very different value. It cannot have a high value in a country where voodoo is the official religion.

Moreover, the authorities for so many years ignored the fact that 99 percent of Haitians lived in homes made from substandard concrete. It is no surprise that they collapsed like a house of cards by an earthquake with a magnitude of only 7.1, which would never be catastrophic in other countries where homes are built from normal materials.

There is nothing unusual in looters sacking Haitian stores after the disaster. Looting would have happened in any country under these circumstances. I can also understand why the Haitian police don’t dare go on the streets at night.

But what I can’t understand for the life of me is why police detain Baptists for wanting to save orphans from hell. Instead of thanking the Baptists, they hint that they are involved in organ trafficking.

Yulia Latynina hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/the-cost-of-human-life-in-haiti/398881.html

Thank you for that idiotic article. I will be contacting the newspaper and forwarding to every haitian organization to read this idiotic slanderous article. I will see to it we hire an attorney to stop these types of lies and misinformation.
The people in Haiti were happy they received help from the USA, DR, international community. These half truths that's put on paper and distributed as truths is slanderous and libel. Someone who knowingly spreads false information, slanderous comments to villify a person or group of people is just as guilty in a court of law.

Oh please cry me a river! The article has some truth to it.

Some truth. 1/4 maybe 1/2. please. I see you live in a bubble. Don't address me if you think people in that kind of misery is upset the US is in haiti bringing food water and medicine. Don't address me if you think cannibals are roaming the streets at nights. I see you're one of those.
MAybe you should move to Russia they would love you there. Maybe you could replace the eastern europeans or Siberians. IDIOT!!!!

It's people like you that's dangerous in this world. Sheep, follower, wanna be.


Get an education.

Platanos_pelaos why would you complain about the 10 Americans being stopped and detained for trafficking the Haitian children to the next side when you don't want Haitians illegally crossing the border?

The border rules need to be followed even in times like these.

The truth hurts!

Talia, when did I said that?

Why are you quoting me on something I didn't said?

I hope you are suffering from some sort of dyslexic disorder. Otherwise I would have to catalog you as a short sighted nutcase.

BTW
There was a Russian woman who said that Santo Domingo was a hell-hole filled with all kinds of diseases, she said Russian tourist should not go to the DR because the Island was ravished by hurricanes that killed millions. That Dominicans were murders and rapist, ect ect.

I think our friends from the former soviet union are too eager to put their
relative new right to freedom of speech to less than honorable use.

You're gloating when 200k people died and over 1 million displaced. Your reaction says alot about you. Truth hurts. You proved my point youre an idiot. Like I said it's people like you that will show this to your kids and tell them it's true.

YES BE HAPPY AND PROUD!!!!!

GET AN EDUCATION. YOU LIVE IN LALA LAND!!!

Okay so the name-calling is a bit gauche and passe. And when you post an article without commenting your own thoughts one is only left to deduce from the contents of the article what the poster wanted to say. IOW, see, if you commented on the article I'd know where your position was- that's what prompted the question in the first place.

Again, you are reacting to this article like a person is a dissmal education level. Like I said there is some truth to this article, I never said I was gloating because of the tragedy! Be more open to different points of views and be willing to backup your thoughts with real arguments not attacks. But I guess community college does not teach that.