Too many barriers hinder aid to Haiti

A 1992 graduate of Elk Grove High School, I was proud to read Jamie Sotonoff’s “Elk Grove mom’s ‘little project’ saves thousands in Haiti” (Dec. 19). Now a professor at the City University of New York, where I teach about Haiti, I have worked in Haiti since 2001.

Grass-roots initiatives like Lisa Ballantine’s certainly make an impact. And the cholera situation is dire; 2,500 people reportedly have died from the disease.

In addition to individual acts of entrepreneurship and generosity that deserve support, we all have voices as citizens that we must use. At a March U.N. conference, donors pledged $5.3 billion for the next year and a half. The U.S. pledged $1.2 billion.

Unfortunately, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tied up a bill that would have released this lifesaving aid, called “HEAR.” This lack of aid has consequences: I released a six-week study in October, finding that 40 percent of camps for Haiti’s 1.5 million homeless did not have water, and 30 percent did not have any toilet. So Haiti’s poorest were completely unprepared for cholera As Haiti’s recent elections have shown, holding up aid until then was a bankrupt strategy; people needlessly suffered — and died — while international agencies looked the other way, ignoring multiple warning signs such as excluding Haiti’s majority political party from the elections.

It’s not enough to be thankful for what we have during the holiday season; we need to be using our blessings and our voices to keep promises to our oldest neighbor in the Americas. There is no excuse for this disease to kill 2,500 in this century. A cholera epidemic was entirely avoidable. Thankfully, it’s not too late to make amends and save countless lives.

Mark Schuller

Jamaica, N.Y.