Eyewitness from Haiti: An Unnatural Disaster
Send food, not troops
JESSE HAGOPIAN, a UW alumni and Seattle International Socialist Organization member, was in Port-au-Prince with his 1-year-old son to visit his wife when the earthquake hit. His wife, an aid worker, works until the evening on most days, but by sheer luck, she came to the hotel where they were staying early on Tuesday–just minutes before the quake struck at 4:53 p.m. This spared Jesse and his family agonizing hours or days trying to find one another amid the chaos.
Within hours, the hotel where they were staying became known as a place where some medical help was available, because another hotel guest happened to be an emergency medical technician. Jesse got a crash course in treating severe injuries–broken bones, head wounds and more–as people desperate for help kept arriving. After five days Jesse and his family were evacuated and have returned to Seattle.
Laid-off Seattle teacher Jesse Hagopian lauded for aid to quake victims: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010815094_haitijh17m.htmlSeattle couple in Haiti suddenly become medical workers:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010798299_haititeacher15m.html
Come hear first hand about the situation in Haiti from Jesse.
Learn about what happened in the immediate aftermath of the quake, and why help hasn’t reached most of the victims of Haiti’s earthquake–because the priority of the U.S. government is on imposing its control. Most Haitians have seen little humanitarian aid so far. What they have seen is guns, and lots of them. Armored personnel carriers cruise the streets. UN soldiers aren’t there to help pull people out of the rubble. They’re there, they say, to enforce the law. Instead of sending ample food, water and rescue teams to help the victims of this devastating earth-quake, the Obama administration is essentially organizing an occupation of Haiti.
We will also be collecting donations for grassroots aid organizations in Haiti
Help get the word out! The Poster for the event can be downloaded here http://www.box.net/shared/b6m7b5my4k
An in depth reading packet can be download here NATURAL AND UNNATURAL DISASTERS: How U.S. policy has impoverished and devastated Haiti ( http://www.box.net/shared/3ccuujbehq)
News reports on Jesse in Haiti can be found here http://isoseattle.blogspot.com/2010/01/eyewitness-report-from-haiti.html
Sponsored by The Seattle International Socialist Organization
[email protected] or 206-612-6137
