Clinton Global Initiative: Build It Back Better

“Build It Back Better,” this is the motto coined by Bill Clinton as he visited Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

His foundation the Clinton Global Initiative(CGI) has pledged to help Haiti and its people recover from this natural disaster. Haiti has a special place in the heart of Clinton who has been going to the country since 1975.

During this time of recovery and with a heavy hurricane season projected he tells the world that Haiti cannot be ignored and the situation is dire. People need to be moved out of tent cites and into permanent structures before the start of the hurricane season. Sanitation and clean water lines need to be repaired and restored as soon as possible which is at the brink of becoming a health risk for the populations, especially children and the elderly.

CGI says that the reestablishment of the educational system is its next push, with reopening and reconstruction of primary, secondary and university education facilitates. Clinton wants to focus on getting educators back into the system and getting the youth off the street and back in the classroom.

In order to get Haiti on its feet again, the world needs to respond quickly. Funds need to be placed in the right hands and go to the proper organization so that aid can get to the people. More work needs to be done with search and rescue, and on meeting people's basic human needs. Clinton and his foundation say that Haiti is not out of the game, the earthquake did cause massive damage but only in a small portion of the island. He believes that with proper organization and cooperation, development can be moved to other parts of the island temporarily, which will alleviate the strain off of Port-au-Prince, and once the city become stable industry can be restored in the city.

Clinton and CGI's goals is to bring dignity back to Haiti and its people by rebuilding on a foundation of hope and rich heritage of the Haitian people. CGI has made it a personal mission to not let the world push this country in the background, people still need help and the are still suffering months after the earthquake, they are in need of food, water and shelter; something people all over the world can identify with this on a very human level.

Clinton Global Initiative: What Haiti Needs

What Haiti Needs


Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
Time.com
What Haiti Needs
By Bill Clinton
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1953379_1953494_1953521,00.html

Hillary and I went to Haiti for the first time in December 1975. A banker friend of ours had some business down there. He had built up a lot of frequent-flyer miles and called and said he was giving us a delayed honeymoon. We were married in October, and we went down there in December. Both of us just kind of fell in love with the country, and I have kept up with it ever since.

Why is Haiti so special to me? Haiti is completely unique in our hemisphere because of its history and culture. There are other French Caribbean islands, but none of them have Haiti's particular Creole influence. None of them feature Haiti's distinctive mix of West African religious and cultural influences, the most visible of which is the persistence of the voodoo faith, which is practiced alongside Christianity. Unfortunately, ever since the first slave revolt by Haitians in 1791, the country has been beset by abuses caused from within and without. It has never been able to fulfill its potential as a nation. (See pictures of the Haiti quake's aftermath.)

But I think it can. Haitian immigrants do very well when they come to America or France or Canada. I've always thought that given the right organization and support, Haiti could become a self-sustaining and very successful country. I still believe that.

In order to stave off a disaster and get Haiti on its feet again, the world needs to respond in rapid and coordinated fashion. The focus first must be on search and rescue, and on meeting people's basic human needs. After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, where just one building was bombed and we had all the help in the world, it still took several days before all the living and dead had been recovered. There were survivors who were recovered many hours later in the rubble.

We need to get as much equipment as we can into Haiti. The military is sending in helicopters, and there will probably be a need for it to supply some logistics and communications support. The U.S. is going to have to carry a lot of the load there early on. But it's very important that the U.S., which is so pivotal to this emergency period, work very closely with the U.N. peacekeeping mission stationed in Haiti, which is very well organized and is operating well. In fact, the U.N. system has already swung into action: it has offered $10 million in immediate emergency relief and organized food relief through the World Food Programme. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are going to be coming out of there alive that have to be cared for; the World Health Organization is trying to meet the health care needs.(Hear Bill Clinton, U.N. special envoy to Haiti, talk about the earthquake.)

The international relief effort that followed the Asian tsunami of 2004 offers some lessons that can be applied in Haiti. First of all, there has to be national buy-in by the U.S. There has to be a national vision, and I think we have that. Secondly, coordination is really important both within the U.N. and among all the donor countries and nongovernmental groups. There are 10,000 nongovernmental organizations working in Haiti, the highest number per capita in the world except for India. We've got to all work together toward a common goal. We have to relentlessly focus on trying to build a model that will be sustainable, so we don't plant a bunch of trees and then revert to deforestation, or adopt a program to bring power to the country that can't be sustained, or adopt an economic strategy that is going to wither away in two years. (See TIME's photo-essay on the 2004 tsunami in Asia.)

I'm trying now to get organized to make sure not only that we get the emergency aid that Haiti needs but also that donors come through on their pre-existing commitments. We need to keep the private sector involved. Once we deal with the immediate crisis, the development plans the world was already pursuing have to be implemented more quickly and on a broader scale. I'm interested in just pressing ahead with it.

Haiti isn't doomed. Let's not forget, the damage from the earthquake is largely concentrated in the Port-au-Prince area. That has meant a tragic loss of life, but it also means there are opportunities to rebuild in other parts of the island. So all the development projects, the agriculture, the reforestation, the tourism, the airport that needs to be built in the northern part of Haiti — everything else should stay on schedule. Then we should simply redouble our efforts once the emergency passes to do the right sort of construction in Port-au-Prince and use it to continue to build back better.

Before this disaster, Haiti had the best chance in my lifetime to fulfill its potential as a country, to basically escape the chains of the past 200 years. I still believe that if we rally around them now and support them in the right way, the Haitian people can reclaim their destiny.

Clinton is the U.N. special envoy for Haiti.

See how to help the Haiti earthquake victims.

See more about Haiti.

Sub Channel Radio, and Radyo Pa Nou

Sub Channel Radio, and Radyo Pa Nou.

Regulations work – when they regulate the other guy.

Toward the end of the 20th century, the FCC played with the idea of licensing very low powered radio stations to serve small town governments and local organizations as a way in which to encourage community participation and access to public issues.

Mainstream media (radio in particular) did not like the idea at all. They imagined that advertisers might support these efforts in ways that could threaten their own license monopolies – and they successfully quashed its growth through a strong lobbying effort designed to impose both complicated rules for access, and highly restrictive legislative regulations.

Years went by without much of a fight. But as ‘Pirate Radio’ (full power – illegal stations) began to appear and proliferate – and as the government had more and more trouble trying to find and eliminate such stations, Big Media decided it might be better to deal with the ‘controlled’ threat of local (what would become sub-channel radio), rather than the all out assault of full power – pirate - competition.

In other words, if you can’t beat them – and you can’t kill them – then control (and regulate) them.

The 21st Century advent (and explosion) of digital technology made this possible. And sub-channel radio (not to be confused with low power radio) came into existence as a way for very local radio to be made available to a very local community, while allowing mainstream media to control it – and to profit from it as well.

Today’s sub-channel stations are higher in power, but controlled by the owners of broadcast radio stations already holding FCC analog station licenses. In this way they are able to make money by sub-leasing the digital sub-spectrum to community radio stations, and at the same time limit the number of sub-channel broadcasters allowed.

But even though it now costs money to start such a station, sub-channel radio stations are turning up at an increasing rate, and are making money by serving very local (and targeted) markets, along with their attendant advertisers.

Radyo Pa Nou falls into this category of being a sub licensed, sub channel radio station. It has been serving the Haitian community living in the neighborhood of Flatbush, in Brooklyn, since 2006.

Sub channel radio is not available however, to the general public through conventional radios. It requires a special radio receiver in order to get its signal. This is because the signal is a digital division of an existing frequency, and requires a specially designed digital receiver to decode the technology.

Radio Pa Nou’s strategy has been to pretty much ‘give away’ (at almost no cost) these radios to any and all customers requesting them. These radios receive not only Radyo Pa Nu’s signal – but all digital sub channels (including competitor stations like Radio Tropical, and Radio Soliel) in the region.

While people may have been initially interested in listening to only one or another of the Haitian stations in their local area, by purchasing a radio from Pa Nu, they are now able to listen to them all. This makes the radios very attractive to residents throughout the entire New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area – where a large concentration of Haitian immigrants now live - and has had the added benefit of attracting additional revenue from regional advertisers, as opposed to advertisers located only in one of the local communities.

It is also true that small operations in general - like Radyo Pa Nou - are extremely flexible and quick to react to changing situations (unlike large corporate run operations), and are therefore also able to change their programming quickly to meet such changing situations. They become - if not the first source of information - certainly the continuing source of information for a local community. In fact, it might be said, that they are the local community.

Since its inception, Radyo Pa Nou has paid close attention to the needs of its community, as evidenced by its coverage and service to the community during the earthquake of 2010. Joseph Geffard (founder and CEO of the station) recognized right away that by building a large, local, and loyal audience, it could also build its revenue - and it has been very successful in doing both.

Ushahidi in Haiti

The organization, Ushahidi (originally based on a form of citizen journalism), has developed to become a web platform for collecting and disseminating information while including interactive visuals in the form of maps and timelines. Ushahidi is the Swahili word for "testimony," and was created as a result of post-election violence in Kenya in the early part of 2008. Although its roots stem from the crisis in Kenya, the model is now being employed all around the world. Part of its appeal is the simplified technology, which allows anyone to use it since it was designed to be a community collaboration. It utilizes free software, which serves as a broadcasting hub to receive information via email and text. Basically, an SMS (Short Service Message) is sent from a conflict zone; the message is synched to Ushahidi’s software; outreach is then enabled after information has been verified; finally the report is posted on the site with the time of occurrence and linked to Google Map to indicate the divergence area.

One of Ushahidi’s latest activities has focused on the unfolding crisis of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In order to get immediate attention and assistance to those affected by the disaster, they have mobilized efforts for relief by tracking victims, coordinating requests for help, and organizing volunteers. Known as the Crisis Map of Haiti, a number of volunteers took on the task of translating Creole SMSs, pinpointing GPS coordinates, and labeling the reports in near real-time. The site also displays photos, asking viewers to tag and identify people in the hopes of locating missing persons, as well as providing training documents and user tutorials. Areas of emergencies, vital lines, public health, security threats, infrastructure damage, natural hazards, and available services are all plotted on the online map and labeled in both French and English. Ushahidi represents a tremendously comprehensive and up-to-date platform and continues to use technological advancements to disseminate information and deploy assistance in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake.

Ushahidi’s strength lies in its ability to customize their platform for various locations and needs through an uncomplicated means of aggregating information from the public. As a result of combining technology, media, and globalization, they have succeeded in implementing a system, which utilizes all these factors to their advantage. Equally as important, they have brought awareness to emergency situations and other conditions within a local space while simultaneously directing the information to an open source, allowing for a larger global participation. Finally, the integral asset of Ushahidi is the subsequent partnership of local media with other international organizations. For example, since radio is one of the most popular forms of news media in Haiti, radio deejays working with Ushahidi began broadcasting text messages and emails throughout the country. In Haiti, this is one of the methods that has revolutionized humanitarian response efforts and seems to be working in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

http://haiti.ushahidi.com/

The Agronomist (2003) - Trailer

The Agronomist is a 2003 documentary, which illustrates the continued significance of radio as a form of news media in Haiti. The film follows the life of Jean Leopold Dominique as the host of Radio Haiti-Inter, Haiti's first independent radio station. Through live interviews and archival footage, this documentary portrays Dominique's radio broadcasts as a platform for free expression, where he advocates for reform and disseminates information during Haiti's three regimes.

http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004/issue2/0204p30.asp

The Second Migration Peak: Immigrating to the US

The second major migration of Haitian people arriving to the US began in 1991 and extended until 1993 and was the result of a military coup to dethrone the first democratically elected Haitian President, Jean Bertrand Aristide. Because the US government strongly condemned this military coup, the George W. Bush administration saw these migrants as in need of a safe haven and granted them paroled asylum in the US. According to this chart, the number of Haitian immigrants in the United States peaked at almost 50,000 in 1991 but went down in mid-1990 when the US government required the coast guard to intercept and send back Haitians attempting to arrive to the US by boat.

The First Migration Peak: Immigrating to the US

The flow of migration of Haitians to the US has always been dependent on the political conditions in Haiti at the time. In the late 1970’s the first substantial spike in Haitian “Boat People” arriving to the US took place as a result of the desperate plight of the Haitian population under the rule of the dictator, Francois Duvalier (or “Papa Doc”). Despite the US’s disinterest in accepting these refugees seeking asylum, crude sailboats continued to arrive overflowing with Haitians looking for safety. Even after Papa Doc’s death, his son, Jean-Claude (or “Baby Doc”) continued his violent reign until 1986 when he was finally overthrown. As a result, immigration to the US went down until the next wave of political chaos that came only a few years later.

Voices

Voices from Haiti by Din Clarke

Music: Tete Bobeche by Amos Coulanges

A Political Recovery: Adopting Haitian Orphans

The question has been asked over and over again in news media, "Why do the people in Haiti have to suffer so much?", and nobody seems to have an answer. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, "It is biblical, the tragedy that continues to stalk Haiti and the Haitian people" and regardless of their religious views, Haiti's over populated nation would agree. Even as the international society races to the aid of Haiti in record-breaking amounts, the relief that has been supplied does not come close to what is needed for Haiti's recovery. Despite the impressive efforts of nations worldwide immediately after the earthquake, Haiti will not be anywhere near rebounded from this disaster once the donations dry up.

The degree of devastation Haiti endured as a result of the January 12th earthquake, is not due simply to the unfortunate luck of a geographical disaster. As Anne Applebaum writes for the Washington Post, "Disasters have no logic, and no political significance. But the recovery process that follows a disaster is always deeply political." If this earthquake is any indication, it is evident that the politics are not on Haiti's side. And they aren't. Saddled with deep debt, dealing with internal power struggles, and facing severe environmental adversity, Haiti does not have much to hope in.

In efforts to restore hope, many Americans have made attempts to identify where they can help in lasting ways. One such way that became popular in the months following the earthquake was the effort to adopt any of the estimated 1 million children who had been left orphaned by the earthquake. Capitalizing on this emotional cord and in efforts to keep the aftermath of the earthquake relevant, news media erupted with stories of Haitian babies who had been orphaned or left behind by dead or dying parents. Perhaps inspired by these media reports, a group of Christian missionaries took it upon themselves to "rescue" a number of these children. Arrested on their attempted escape with the children, these missionaries became the talk of international news media. What was highlighted in these news reports continued to inspire American activists to make rescue attempts for the orphans of Haiti. And, perhaps as a result, the issue of managing orphans and oversees adoption seemed to be one of the only focuses the Haitian government found interest in overseeing.

The Role of New Media in International Earthquake Recovery Efforts

While in the days, weeks and months following the earthquake in Haiti traditional news media worked to spread the news of the death and devastation faced by the people of Haiti, new news media outlets worked to spread a different message. Through social media outlets and the blogosphere, users became focused primarily on what could be done to help. International aid relief websites such as Doctors Without Boarders, The American Red Cross, and others set up Haiti earthquake relief donation links that were featured in numerous blogs, Twitter messages, and Facebook profile comments. In addition to the direct donation links, "Text to donate" numbers and text codes circulated like wild fire on these social networking sites, providing for the easiest and most immediate options to send direct donations. By January 27^th, over $29 million was donated for Haiti earthquake relief through text-donating alone which "shattered any record that [the Red Cross had] seen with mobile giving before."

As “links to donate” and “text to donate” messages sprang up all over Facebook and Twitter, competition between donation vehicles became an issue. The number of arguments regarding which donation vehicle was the most trustworthy and which of them spent donated money the most efficiently paralleled the number of donation promotions throughout these sites. In efforts to increase donations to the donation destinations that an individual Facebook and/or Twitter user supported, an astounding number of local event fundraisers were planned and executed in the months following the Haiti earthquake. The number of "Haiti Disaster Relief" events that took place at local bars, art galleries, restaurants, retail outlets and social clubs grew and grew as it became a trend. As more and more social network users got involved with planning and/or participating in these events, the more they wanted to know updates on relief activity. Soon, Facebook and Twitter updates were where many Americans went for their news on Haiti instead of the traditional news outlets. As exemplified by Anderson Cooper and CNN on their Twitter feed, social networking sites were managing the most up-to-date, real-time news on this topic.

Even Haitian Americans and Haitians in Haiti looked to Twitter and Facebook for updates on the health status of their loved ones in Haiti. While access to the internet was limited in Haiti, those who did have access looked to these social networking sites to confirm the whereabouts of their family and friends in Haiti and to post their own health conditions for their family and friends abroad. Inundated with these updates that included pictures, video, and descriptive reports, social network users were further moved to respond. And respond is what social networkers did for one of the most successful donation drives to U.S. non-profit groups in the name of a disaster in history.

Celebrities and Haiti:CNN: Anderson Cooper Carries Bloody Child Away From Haiti Looters

Video's of celebrity action in Haiti. This is a video of Andy Cooper saving a Haitian youth from a riot in Port au Prince.

Celebrities and Haiti: First Lady Michelle Obama Supports Survivors of Earthquake in Haiti

Being a celebrity in her own right our First Lady does a PSA to promote the urgent cause of Haiti and ways in which we can help bring Haiti back from destruction.

Celebrities and Haiti: Celebrities and Red Cross Launch PSA in Support of ...

This is a perfect example of the celebrity machine. This PSA was sponsored by the American Red Cross and features a cornucopia of celebrities doing their part in the effort of Haitian relief.

Celebrities and Haiti: Celbrities Help Larry King for a Special Haiti Telethon.

Celebrities and Haiti: Stars React to Haiti Crisis

Celebrities and Haiti: We Are The World 25 For Haiti - Official Video

This remake involved 85 artist and musicians to support the Haitian Relief effort.

Celebrities and Haiti

Natural disasters are communality in the world today and when disaster strikes, relief organizations move into action providing food, aid, water and other necessary materials to help people survive the aftermath of that disaster. On January 12th 2010 at 4:53PM a 7.0 earthquake hit the country of Haiti. Houses slid down mountainsides, buildings crumbled, and thousands were injured and killed, leaving an already vulnerable and impoverished country in total chaos.
Within hours of the earthquake, musician Wyclef Jean put out a call to action. The Haitian-born singer took to the airwaves, asking the world and his celebrity friends to come forward and help.
Celebrities jump to take action during a time of crisis, whether it is in an act of charity or just to gain better publicity they rush to partner with an aid organization and encourage the world to raise funds for the afflicted area. After Wylcef's plea for help the Hollywood celebrity scene got on board; donating money, doing PSA's for Haiti and holding fundraisers- such as the ever popular telethon- Hope for Haiti- generated by George Clooney.


The influence of the celebrity and Haitian relief pushed fans and ordinary people to give any amount and utilizing new technology, such as using your cell phone, patrons could text their donations text HAITI to 50555 making a $5 donation to an organization.
Next celebrities took to the airwaves and remade a version of We are the World, with proceeds going to Haiti. In February 2010 "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" became a charity single recorded by the 85 Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recorded by USA for Africa to benefit famine relief in Africa.


In the wake of the disaster in Haiti celebrities have gotten on board and pushed to raise funds and awareness for Haiti. The momentum was strong, but five months after the earthquake the tide has settled and the celebrity effort has died down. Look at this trend or rise and fall I cannot help but wonder who wins and who loses in this dilemma. The people of Haiti still need help and if the celebrity machine that was driving loses focus then the people of Haiti are forgotten. The influence of the celebrity can be powerful and that strength of star power has the ability to raise funds and get money to Haiti. Even if the act for the cause is selfish, the act is still impactful and can make a difference and get people engaged in the issue. Haiti still needs help to rebuild and recover from the earthquake and the celebrity machine is a crucial part of keeping Haiti on our lips and in our minds.

Immigration and Haiti

There have been several major migrations from Haiti to the United States. One was during the late 1950s after Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier became president, another during the 1980s and a third during the early 1990s.

Many of the Haitians that emigrated during the first wave opposed Duvalier and were from middle and upper class families. Duvalier declared himself “president for life” in 1964 and reigned over Haiti with the help of Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (MVSN), a paramilitary force. The MVSN, or as they’re more widely known, Tonton Macoutes, terrorized Haitians who disagreed with Duvalier’s policies. Eventually people from every class began to emigrate en masse.

The second wave was during the late 1970’s to the early 1980s while Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier was president. The younger Duvalier was known to be more interested in parties and continuing his lavish lifestyle than governing the nation. He did effect a series of cosmetic changes, but also continued the suppression of the Haitian people. His neglect helped to send the Haitian economy into an even faster downward spiral. By 1981, approximately 4,000 refugees per month were leaving Haiti and trying to get to Florida on anything deemed remotely seaworthy.

In 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristede was elected president. Aristede, a former priest, was very popular, however his term was cut short. After seven months, the army overthrew the Aristede government. A U.S. embargo placed on the country for three years did even more damage to the economy. During the next two years, a mass exodus occurred. Approximately 35,000 Haitians were intercepted at sea. While 11,000 were brought to the U.S. and allowed to apply for political asylum, the remaining 24,000 were returned to Haiti.


People at risk of persecution in their home countries are eligible for political asylum in the U.S. However, Haitian refugees are routinely held in detention centers and returned to Haiti despite the near certainty that they will be imprisoned or worse. The U.S. government insisted that the Haitians that were migrating were seeking to better themselves economically, not fleeing for their lives. At one point, the Coast Guard was ordered to forcibly return any intercepted boats to Haiti. This is in marked contrast to the U.S.’ “wet foot, dry foot” policy with Cuba. That policy provides that any Cubans who reach U.S. soil are allowed to stay in the country.

Despite all the upheavals in Haiti, the U.S. continues to ignore the problems that force Haitians to migrate. Countless Haitians have lost their lives trying to make the perilous crossing to America, but still the U.S. government refuses to treat Haitian refugees in an even-handed manner. Haitian people have contributed just as much to this country as any other group so immigration policies, particularly the political asylum process, should at least be applied fairly.

Celebrities and Haiti: George Clooney on 'Hope for Haiti' Telethon

George Clooney talks about the Hope for Haiti telethon.

Celebrities and Haiti:Haiti telethon haul put at $57 million so far Celebrities unite in support of Haitian people with two hours of pleas

Haiti telethon haul put at $57 million so far

Celebrities unite in support of Haitian people with two hours of pleas

The Associated Press

updated 7:48 p.m. ET, Sat., Jan. 23, 2010

NEW YORK - Grim-faced celebrities and musicians with mournful tunes set the tone for the all-star, international "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon, which raised more than $57 million, preliminary figures showed.

The telethon featured two hours of desperate pleas for an even more-desperate nation, but it ended on a hopeful note, with a buoyant call for Haiti's revival by native son, Wyclef Jean.

"Enough of this moping man, let's rebuild Haiti, let's show 'em how we do it where we come from!" Jean shouted after singing the slow song "Rivers of Babylon," with a Haitian flag around his neck.

He segued into the joyful tune "Yele" with an island beat, as musicians danced around him, singing the refrain: "Earthquake, we see the earth shake, but the soul of the Haitian people will never break!"

It was a stark contrast from the opening of the telecast: no words, simply photos of Haiti's tragic citizens as a backdrop, as Alicia Keys called for the help of angels in somber tune.

“Can you send me an angel to guide me?” Keys sang from her song “Prelude to a Kiss.” There was no audience or applause, allowing the moment to sink in for the millions expected to watch.

"The Haitian people need our help," said George Clooney, who helped organize the two-hour telecast. "They need to know that they are not alone. They need to know that we still care."

Then, after an impassioned plea from Halle Berry, Bruce Springsteen dedicated a song for Haiti — "We Shall Overcome."

Since Haiti suffered the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12 that killed more than 200,000 people, the entertainment world has responded with an outpouring of charity, from million dollar donations to songs designed to raise money for relief.

On Friday night, those efforts became collective as the biggest celebrities from music, film, sports and even politics joined together for the telethon. Stars like Mel Gibson, Reese Witherspoon and Julia Roberts manned telephone lines while CNN's Anderson Cooper gave reports about the situation from Haiti. Heartbreaking video showed Haitians buried in rubble and badly injured, with tears and overwhelming sorrow etched on their faces.

The total of $57 million released Saturday includes money raised by phone, text and the Web. It does not include donations by corporations or via iTunes, where people are able to buy performances of the event for 99 cents each, or the entire album for $7.99. Those funds also go to Haiti relief.

"The public has set a new standard of giving for a relief telethon with 'Hope for Haiti Now,' and the donations continue to come in," Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, said in a statement released Saturday. The group is helping to oversee the funds gathered from the event.

The "Hope for Haiti Now" CD is the biggest one-day pre-order in the site's history and the new song "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge, debuted during the telethon, is the No. 1 single on iTunes.

People can donate via text, phone or through the "Hope for Haiti" Web site, www.hopeforhaitinow.org, for the next six months. Among the organizations who will receive funds from the telethon include Oxfam America, UNICEF, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.

On Friday night, most of the musical performances were downbeat, emotional songs. John Legend sang "I Feel Like A Motherless Child." Kid Rock, Keith Urban and Sheryl Crow sang "Lean On Me." Beyonce, with Coldplay's Chris Martin backing her on piano, revised her hit "Halo" with new lyrics: "Haiti we can see your halo, we pray you won't fade away."

Madonna provided one of the few upbeat moments with her choir-backed performance of "Like A Prayer," while Sting's "Driven To Tears" was also spirited.

Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2's Bono and The Edge debuted a new song, "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)," as Jay-Z rapped from London: "When the sky falls, and the earth quakes, we can gon' this back together, we won't break."

Mickelson Civil, a Haitian filmmaker, fought back tears as he talked about relatives who died and those who are barely surviving: "The survivors shouldn't have to go hungry or be afraid now," he said.

Jean made one of the more personal celebrity appeals of the evening, speaking of his experience after witnessing the torment of the nation first hand.

"I carried bodies of my people in the cemetery. They should have been walking," he said. "Instead they were heavy in my arms. ... Right now we can see the second wave of the disaster coming ... We have to make sure that the second wave never makes it to Haiti."

Jean ended his comments with a message directly to the Haitian people, in Creole. Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation is one of the groups that will benefit from the evening's donations; Jean had come under criticism for the spending practices of the foundation, and before the telethon Friday announced a new accounting firm to handle the group's finances after acknowledging past mistakes.

The telethon was broadcast from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti, and was featured on all the major networks and channels. It was also streamed live on sites like YouTube and MySpace.

Leonardo DiCaprio was among those celebrities who urged viewers to donate; on Thursday, he joined the list of previous celebrities donors with a $1 million gift to The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, one of several organizations that will benefit from the telethon.

John Mayer called in a $500,000 donation before the telethon began, according to a representative for MTV.

People were able to start donating even before the telethon at a newly established Web site, and also through text or telephone. Viewers will also be able to purchase performances from the evening on Saturday by way of iTunes for 99 cents, with those proceeds going to relief aid as well.

The telethon won't be the last major celebrity effort for Haiti; BET plans to hold its own all-star telethon on Feb. 5, with Diddy and Queen Latifah as hosts. It will also be aired on MTV and VH1.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35023278/ns/entertainment-celebrities/

Haitian Community in Brooklyn

These photographs were taken in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. They portray aspects of the Haitian community; such as Churchs, Haitian businesses, and the radio station.

Why Debt Matters

One of the phrases I frequently heard during coverage of Haiti's earthquake is that Haiti is “the poorest country in the western hemisphere.” It was repeated so often that it became sonic wallpaper. I was surprised that no one seemed concerned about the statement’s inaccuracy (Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, not the entire hemisphere). I was less surprised that there was no attempt to put that statement into historical context. Haiti’s troubled economy did not happen in a vacuum but media portrays the country as though it is solely responsible for its economic problems. Most people were quick to look at the effects, but not the root causes. Between shots of shell-shocked survivors wandering the streets and correspondents breathlessly reporting about aid efforts, pundits pontificated about how government corruption is to blame for Haiti’s economy.

Immediately after the earthquake, media was focused on getting help to the people and rightfully so. However, during the subsequent four months there has still been no real effort to expose viewers to Haiti’s history or rich culture. Instead, there’s been a steady stream of reports about how tragic the Haitian people are. I thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for media to educate more Americans about Haiti and show that it is much more than a poverty-stricken country, but it never happened.

Perhaps media is reluctant to discuss the history of western countries’ relationship with Haiti because in doing so, it would also have to discuss issues such as France’s colonization and the U.S.’ occupation of Haiti. During the 18th century, Haiti was the largest sugar exporter in the world. Slaves toiled on the plantations until the Haitian Rebellion led by former slave Toussaint L’Ouverture. After defeating Napoleon’s troops, Haiti declared its independence in 1804. France demanded 150 million francs in gold from Haiti as reparations (read punishment) for the loss of one of its largest sources of income. Even though the amount was reduced to 60 million in the 1830s, the debt was, in effect, a crippling blow to the fledgling nation. Instead of building an infrastructure and institutions, Haiti teetered on the edge of bankruptcy while attempting to pay its debt. The U.S.’ relationship with Haiti also adversely affected its economy. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson sent marines to Haiti to remove $500,000 of the country’s reserves. The U.S. tried to force the Haitian legislature to adopt a new constitution designed to be advantageous to U.S. interests. When that was unsuccessful, the U.S. dissolved Haiti’s parliament and was the country’s de facto government until the end of the occupation in 1934. None of this excuses Haiti’s political instability (some of which was also fomented by the west) and corruption as contributing factors to the country’s present challenges. However these issues only compounded the problems that started with a country mired in the quicksand of overwhelming debt.

I can only hope that the next time a viewer hears “poorest country in the western hemisphere,” they will also know that Haiti did not become a poor nation solely because of malfeasance. That‘s an overly simplified argument presented by those invested in obfuscating the involvement of outside entities. The financial abuse of Haiti has been long-term and systemic. But I guess the media didn’t want to open that Pandora’s Box and ruin the U.S.’ “feel-good” moment.