By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/haiti2teasri012710.html
UNITED NATIONS, January 27 -- With both Brazilian and Uruguayan UN peacekeepers shooting rubber bullets and pepper spray at Haitians seeking food, in New York on Tuesday the UN's John Holmes and UNDP's Jordan Ryan were asked by Inner City Press about donations by Ghana and Sri Lanka of cocoa and tea, respectively.
The UN's humanitarian coordinator John Holmes said such donations are likely to "clog up distribution," and that cash is better. Video here, from Minute 35:05. Neither he nor UN spokesman Martin Nesirky, to whom Inner City Press directed the question the day previous, responded to the complaint by a Canadian who flew two helicopters down which have sat unused in the Dominican Republic for more than a week.
Inner City Press asked when schooling will recommence, and what the UN is doing about it. UNDP's Ryan said there had been a 15 day vacation, and to "get details from UNICEF." But although asked last week during a UN briefing, UNICEF has yet to provide basic information about how many staff it had in Haiti before the earthquake and since. We continue to wait for these requested disclosures.
Holmes referred to the January 25 statement by WFP's Josette Sheeran, that food aid for now is only for women, saying that this might change "in a few weeks." Many at the UN in the wake of that statement said maybe that explains some of the rioting: men are legally barred from WFP food distributions. What does UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay have to say about this?
Meanwhile, the UN has yet to provide information requested in televised briefings, about whether it is still paying $94,000 a month for the Christopher Hotel, whether the Hotel was MOSS compliant or cracked, and whether its benefits for international and national staff are the same. Watch this space.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/haiti2teasri012710.html
