America Red Cross told: 'Spend the money in Hait!'

By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer- | Last updated: May 6, 2010 - 9:53:21 PM

Demonstrators brave a cold, rainy New York afternoon because they are not satisfi ed with the American Red Cross’s accounting of their use of funds collected for victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. Photo: Omowale Clay

NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - “We vow to keep up the pressure on the American Red Cross until they spend all the money collected for the people in Haiti who are victims of the [Jan. 12] earthquake,” Vernon Verdree told The Final Call.

Mr. Verdree was one of five people from the Dec. 12 Movement-Friday Haiti Relief Coalition that camped out in tents for a 24-hour protest on April 26 in front of the Red Cross office in mid-town Manhattan. Ironically, the 26th was a cold, rainy day….

“The tents are symbolic of what is now happening in Haiti; what many of the people are enduring with the rainy season about to start,” Mr. Verdree said. He said the charity organization had collected millions for aid, and it wasn't getting to the people; nor was the Red Cross committed to spending all the money collected on the Haitian people.

“The American Red Cross will be in Haiti until the last dollar donated to Haiti is spent there. Donations that people entrusted to the American Red Cross to help the people of Haiti will be spent on that effort and nowhere else,” states the Red Cross on their Web site on April 28.

The charity agency posted on the Web site a statement of sorts called “American Red Cross Responds to Three Frequently Asked Questions”—the questions: “Why has the American Red Cross so far spent about a quarter of the money donated for Haiti? Will all the money donated to the American Red Cross for Haiti be spent on Haiti relief and recovery? Why do some news media and members of Congress who have been to Haiti say they don't see signs of the Red Cross on the ground there?”

“All of this is B.S. and the fundamental question is still being ignored by the Red Cross, which is what is the Haitian plan for aid funds collected after the Jan. 12 earthquake–not what is the American Red Cross plan,” stated Omowale Clay of the Dec. 12th Movement-Friday Haiti Relief Coalition. The coalition held its second demonstration in front of the Red Cross headquarters in mid-town Manhattan.

Mr. Clay explained to The Final Call, that the ARC said they had collected $396 million and spent $106.4 million for Haiti relief aid. “What are they waiting for, the rainy season and hurricane season are almost upon the people of Haiti; they need permanent housing,” states Mr. Clay.

The Red Cross said they are waiting for available land to build permanent housing, Mr. Clay said. “But, where is the heavy equipment needed to clear away the debris. The UN Deputy Secretary-General Ashe-Rose Migiro told reporters during her press conference on April 15 that many buildings in and around the capital “had been flattened” and they “are still just laying there.” Ms. Migiro had just returned from a two-day visit to the Caribbean island.

The Associated Press on April 30 reported that half of the 1.3 million left homeless after the earthquake are still living under tents, tarps and bed sheets. “The International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Society, with the lead in the shelter sector, has yet to build a transitional dwelling,” the AP reported.

“The Red Cross needs to come clean, and tell the public what they really are doing with the money,” Mr. Clay argues.

“Some would like the Red Cross to spend all of its money on relief as quickly as possible –what is called “dump and run aid” in the relief community. But we believe it is our responsibility to be in Haiti with short-term aid immediately after the disaster—and also with funding for long-term needs such as more permanent shelter, water and sanitation systems, and assistance with livelihood programs,” the organization stated in a four-paragraph response to an article in the April 27 edition of the Miami Herald. They have yet to respond to the coalition of activists.

The Florida newspaper quoted an observer who said he had spent time in Haiti, and that there was “no evidence” of the donations that were given to the Red Cross on the ground in Haiti.

“The Red Cross said, give it [donations] to us, and we will give it to Haiti,” observed Mr. Clay.

The Miami Herald article stated that the Red Cross planned to spend half of the money collected for Haiti this year; and use the rest for a three to five year long-term recovery plan for projects such as economic development, sanitation and cash grants. “Get money directly into the hands of Haitian citizens so that they can purchase goods and services from local vendors, as a means of getting the economy going again,” the Red Cross said in their statement on April 28.

“The people need that money now!” Mr. Clay said. “The Red Cross isn't holding that money for Haiti; they are using it to pay off their debt, and for executive salaries,” he said. The Red Cross began claiming financial hardship in 2005; and there were reports the agency needed a one billion dollar line of credit from seven banks to keep their doors open—despite having a three billion dollar budget.

Newspapers across the U.S. began publishing stories that the Red Cross was squandering on severance pay for top executives that left the organization. USA Today in 2006, said the Red Cross paid consultants $500,000 for public relations from 2002 to 2005; as another example of Red Cross waste.

“We demand that the Red Cross not use the money collected for Haiti to pay off their debts to the banks,” Mr. Vredree said.

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