Thursday, January 21, 2010

US Military Ordered to Stop Handing Out Food Aid in Haiti

In the wake of a large natural disaster, collecting supplies and aid often becomes less problematic then distributing it to those in need. With the infrastructure of an area broken down, it is hard to transport the supplies to the devastated areas. Why then would anyone think to order the US military to stop handing out food? The military has the advantage of using aircraft, especially helicopters, to fly over the chaotic, clogged, or destroyed roads to bring relief into areas not accessible in a reasonable time frame by ground transport. Instead of continuing their life saving mission, the soldiers have been restricted to handing out water; and the decision to keep distributing water seems as if it may be in violation of this order as well. Lets hope bureaucratic stupidity does not increase the already staggering death toll.

http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2010-01-20-haitifood20_ST_U.htm (via)

"Food handouts were shut off Tuesday to thousands of people at a tent city here when the main U.S. aid agency said the Army should not be distributing the packages.

It was not known whether the action reflected a high-level policy decision at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) or confusion in a city where dozens of entities are involved in aid efforts.
...
The food is flown by helicopter to points throughout the capital and distributed by paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division. At the tent city, set up at a golf course, more than 10,000 people displaced by the Haitian earthquake lay under makeshift tents. Each day, hundreds of people, many young children, line up for a meal.

Tuesday morning, the helicopters came only with water. Soldiers carried boxes of water in the hot sun and supervised Haitian volunteers who handed the supplies out.
"

Past related posts:
Berman Post: Haiti Smashed With Strongest Earthquake in Over Two Hundred Years
Berman Post: 500,000 People Could be Dead in Haiti From the 7.0 Earthquake
Berman Post: Twitter Helping Haiti
Berman Post: 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti Kills More UN Personal Then Any Other Single Incident Ever
Berman Post: Google And Facebook Join The Effort to Help Haiti
Berman Post: Chaos Reigns in Haiti
Berman Post: Obama to Write The Cover Story For Newsweek
Berman Post: Obama's Cover Story For Newsweek
Berman Post: Obama, Bush, And Clinton Join Forces to Help Haiti
Berman Post: ClintonBushHaitiFund.org
Berman Post: Bodies Line The Streets in Haiti (Video)
Berman Post: Women Survives Being Trapped For Six Days in Haiti
Berman Post: 6.1 Aftershock Rocks Haiti

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