“Aid” and the Political Scramble: India vs China in the Nepal Disaster-Capitalist Rush

[Frontlines:  Defensive about the appearance of an “aid” scramble in Nepal for power, influence and control, former Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Zhang Chunxiang said, “We do not have competition with India and other countries. There is no competition in humanitarian assistance.” But, not to miss an opportunity….]

“In post-quake aid rush, Nepal neighbors jockey for position”

By DIDI TANG Associated Press,  April 27, 2015

Nepalese volunteers unload relief material brought in an Indian air force helicopter for victims of Saturday’s earthquake at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal, Monday, April 27, 2015.  (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) The Associated Press

Wedged between the two rising Asian powers of China and India, landlocked Nepal watched rescuers and offers of help pour in from both sides within hours of an earthquake that killed more than 4,000 people.

India, the traditional power in the region, launched Operation Friendship soon after the quake Saturday. It has sent the most help so far, deploying 13 aircraft and more than 500 rescuers as well as water, food, equipment and medical supplies.

China, increasingly making inroads in Nepal through everything from infrastructure investment to increased tourism, also pledged all-out assistance within hours of the disaster. It has sent 62 rescuers plus blankets, tents and generators and announced plans to send four planes and an additional 170 soldiers.

India’s rival, Pakistan, also has sent four cargo planes full of supplies, including concrete cutters and sniffer dogs.

The largesse of recent days is a microcosm of something much larger. It represents a subtle brand of disaster politics, a curious but understandable focus on strategically located Nepal, one of the poorest nations in its region but — clearly — a pocket of regional importance for powerful neighbors jockeying for position.

Turkey: When prisoners were kept in harm’s way

Turkey ‘prison riot’ after earthquake caused inmate panic

AlJazeeraEnglish on Oct 25, 2011

Violence was reported at the Van prison in earthquake-hit southeastern Turkey.
Witnesses reported hearing gunfire from within the prison walls, and parts of the facility were seen to be on fire on Tuesday evening.
Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught reports from outside the prison in Van, Turkey.
Prisoners reportedly set fire to the jail because guards refused to move them to a safer spot
(Al Jazeera Youtube channel)

Haiti cholera death toll passes 250 – Al Jazeera

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Haiti cholera death toll passes 250 – Americas …

UN condemned over ‘appalling’ Haiti earthquake camps

The report says camps for displaced Haitians are squalid and close to anarchy

BBC,  7 October 2010

UN agencies in charge of refugee camps for victims of Haiti’s earthquake are inexperienced and dysfunctional, the US charity Refugees International says.

The groups say reports of gang rapes are common, and a lack of translators means UN police cannot do their job.

A UN spokeswoman told the BBC that the organisation was doing its best, but said the scale of the disaster made their job very difficult.  More than a million people were left homeless by the quake.

Former US President Bill Clinton, who has been visiting a camp, has vowed that US aid long promised to Haiti but yet to materialise will soon be released.

No protection

Refugees International, in its report titled Haiti: Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase, said the people of Haiti were “still living in a state of emergency, with a humanitarian response that appears paralysed”.  “Living in squalid, overcrowded camps for a prolonged period has led to aggravated levels of violence and appalling standards of living,” the report says.

Haiti’s Earthquake Victims: “We Have Been Forgotten”

IJDH – Boston, MA – Eight months after Haiti’s devastating earthquake, more than 1.3 million Haitians continue to live in makeshift tent camps without adequate shelter, food or sanitation, according to a report released today by the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). The report, titled “We Have Been Forgotten”: Conditions in Haiti’s Displacement Camps Eight Months After the Earthquake, documents continuing desperation in Haiti’s camps and recommends a rights-based approach to relief and reconstruction. Despite the international community’s historic generosity following the January 12, 2010 earthquake, the support has not been translated into effective assistance for the residents of approximately 1,300 makeshift tent camps, where conditions for some are getting worse, not better.

“The basic needs of residents must be prioritized immediately. While the Government of Haiti bears the primary duty to protect the economic and social rights of its citizens, donor states and relief agencies must also meet certain standards in carrying out assistance to Haiti. This obligation arises from international law but also from the significant role the international community assumed in providing relief services in Haiti,” said Nicole Phillips, Esq., IJDH Staff Attorney and the lead editor and coordinator of the report.

Western imperialists still undermining Haiti

“ by Yves Engler Six months ago a devastating earthquake killed more than 230,000 Haitians. About 100,000 homes were completely destroyed, alongside 1,000 schools and many other buildings. The scenes of devastation filled TV screens around the world. Half a year later the picture is eerily familiar. Destroyed during the earthquake, the presidential palace remains rubble and a symbol of the vast destruction. Port-au-Prince is still covered in debris. About 1.3 million people live in 1,200 makeshift tent camps in and around the capital. According to one estimate, less than 5 per cent of the earthquake debris has been removed. Of course, with 20 million cubic metres of rubble in Port-Au-Prince alone, removing the debris is a massive challenge. If 1,000 trucks were working daily it would take three to five years to remove all this material. Yet, there are fewer than 300 trucks hauling debris. Political roadblocks The technical obstacles to reconstruction are immense. But the political roadblocks are larger.