The unprecedented amount of aid money flooding Haiti has led people to wryly conclude that the earthquake was both the best and worst thing to happen to this nation. However, the phrase “foreign aid”, to any development student worth her salt, should raise a red flag.
Don’t get me wrong, Haiti needs the cash. But the fact is that foreign NGOs and aid agencies answer to their bosses in D.C., London, and Copenhagen, and not to Haitians in the communities where their programs are implemented. To get the most bang for their buck, and to obtain evidence of economic growth to report home within strict program time frames, foreign aid is often distributed to rich Haitians who already have sufficient means and the framework to produce, carry on with their businesses, and raise measures of economic growth in their country. And while investing in the elite class is not, in itself, a bad thing, the root problems of Haiti’s poverty are neglected. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are often denied the capital, supplies, and infrastructure to compete with the Haitian elite. The rich and poor classes in Haiti remain polarized and earning a living wage is impossible for most of the population. While the GDP may be increasing, indicators of equitable wealth are not. Moreover, small farmers have little incentive to plant seeds when they are competing against foreign aid organizations who flood the market with free food (this topic is for a different post on a different day.. after a natural disaster, when should we stop giving free food and clothes so that local business can take over?!).
In Act I of this week’s episode of “This American Life”, journalists Adam Davidson and Chana Joffe-Walt follow a Haitian mango farmer as she embarks on what turns out to be a harrowing journey road-marked with red tape, to simply purchase plastic fruit crates. By the end of the journey, the aid agency leaves the farmer crate-less.. and then leaves Haiti altogether due to a decision from USAID’s Washington office. In Act II, we meet an American doctor who is implementing a development method called “Capacity Building” at a completely Haitian-run hospital. Capacity Building focuses on human resource development– equipping individuals with the skills and authority to do the job themselves. Doctors from his clinic were the first to offer medical assistance after the earthquake.
Lesson learned: Although American “fix-it” culture preaches differently, when it comes to lasting development, it’s best to choose sustainability over immediate results. However, the trade-offs are real and difficult.
** Haiti is the second oldest republic in the Western Hemisphere and the only nation whose slave population defeated a colonial power to become free. I remain hopeful that a nation with such a rich history will have more triumphant stories to add to the list.
