It came as no surprise that within hours of the tragedy in Haiti our president was quick to offer enormous sums of money and resources to help. Unfortunately, my first thought was not for his nobleness, but rather, here we go again with another president throwing taxpayer money to a corrupt government. Before you get all huffy just understand who we are dealing with.
My intentions here are to not let people think I am this insensitive fool, but there must be a better way to help these people and their situation than throwing money around like a drunken sailor. The United States has been through this before with countries like Somalia and Ethiopia, but ultimately our charity ends up in the wrong hands. Haiti is no exception.
As I watched a video of the collapsed presidential palace in Haiti, one thing that came to mind was the opportunity for a fresh start and new leadership to help this struggling country. Instead of just handing Haiti a blank check, why not give them the supplies and experts to help them rebuild.
America has some of the most skilled and compassionate people on the planet looking for work during these tough times. Countless carpenters, teachers and tradesmen of all kinds would jump at the chance to help rebuild Haiti. Why not invoke these people who want to help, put them on the payroll, and make it a win-win for everyone.
Imagine 100,000 well-paid mentors flooding Port-au-Prince to teach the people how to become self-sufficient? If this sounds like a misguided thought, think again.
The worst thing we could do is throw money and resources at a government that doesn’t know what to do with them. This becomes a cesspool for corruption and the poor ultimately suffer as a result. Our policies of the past will haunt us once again if our government just fills the bank accounts of leaders who could care less about no one but themselves.
Arguably, most would bring up the security issue as the biggest obstacle for such an endeavor. I realize that, and I know there will be conflicts, but when a population has an opportunely to grow and learn I think the pros outweigh the cons.
Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. Illiteracy, poverty and corruption have crippled the population and the Haitian people are capable of more than that. Haitians have to be trained from the inside out to overcome this massive disaster. In other words, teach these people how to be productive, rebuild their nation, and revitalize their lives.
The end result would be a country that can take care of itself and is reborn. Most important, it would put some of the most intelligent American minds back to work and use our taxpayer money the way it should be used.
Our country has always been and will always be the leader in a time of need. Why can’t we learn from our mistakes of the past and use Haiti as an example for the future?
A good cause always leads to corruption. We have the right cause. Let’s try to get rid of the corruption once and for all.
Jerry Scott Maldonado is the author of the soon to be published “Columns, Quotes & The American Dream.” He is a featured columnist for The D.C.G Network of news sites: Sundaynewscape.com, Onequestionnews.com and Imperialvalleynews.com. Jerry’s work has also been featured internationally.