one of the few developed nations that managed to keep its commitment to help Haiti, as it both publicly pledged and delivered $24M in aid to Haiti and an additional $1M to help the health officials battle the deadly cholera outbreak. That outbreak has come on top of efforts to rebuild the capital and other districts in the aftermath of the quake that claimed more than 300,000 lives and left more than a million homeless.
Baxter said Australians are aware that the global economic crisis has affected Europe and North American more than its own homeland, suggesting that the international community will get low marks for its performance in Haiti. It hopes that international media and celebrity attention that will be obviously focused on Haiti on the one-year anniversary in January will help to both push and shame offending countries into acting.
CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington, retiring as the year ends, also joined Australia in the bashing of Western nations, saying regional governments are also disappointed with the fact that only 10 percent of the billions pledged to Haiti after January 12 have been honored.
“We would deeply appreciate if Australia were to lend its voice to that of the Caribbean community, in urging the international donor community to make good on the pledges and promises made to Haiti for its recovery and reconstruction,” he said.
Haiti is CARICOM’s poorest, most populous nation and the last to join the family back in 2002.
