The weekend's events reaped in thousands of dollars, but what did they say about us?
One week ago, in a letter to NBN, Weinberg senior and Globemed member Peter Luckow cried out for Northwestern to step up in response to the disaster in Haiti and “dig into our pockets to support the ongoing relief efforts.” Judging by this past weekend, he got his wish.
Support has emanated across the board. ASG hurriedly passed emergency legislation, an unofficial group of students bought booze for a “(keg)Stand with Haiti” soiree, and buses raced towards “NU Cares at The Keg” Saturday night for both drunken revelry and humanitarian awareness.
The Red Cross raised $3.21 billion for tsunami relief. Five years later, they have only used 83% of those funds, leaving over half a billion dollars sitting in their accounts, earmarked so they can’t be used elsewhere.
But with millions already raised through celebrity telethons, Red Cross texting initiatives, and government contributions, NU’s assistance is just a drop in the ocean. Money given to Haiti might be better spent at local charities or otherwise overlooked organizations. What more, the funds raised at NU-planned events, be they yoga benefits or drinking binges, could inadvertently end up frozen in a bank account or, if used, could ruin Haiti’s chances for building a stable society in the future.
In the article “Philanthrocapitalism and the Heart Strings” authors Matthew Bishop and Michael Green explain the marketing strategies of generosity. “We are all better at responding to human suffering caused by dramatic, telegenic emergencies,” write the authors. “Charity fundraisers know that they need to grab the public’s heart with powerful images, so they tend to exploit these emergencies to raise more money.” Essentially, images speak more strongly than words. Think back to Luckow’s letter. The images he evokes exemplify this concept: “a bulldozer scooping away piles of bodies, a dead child being tossed out the back door of a hospital, a foot poking out of a mountain of concrete.”
“We’ve learned from trying to rebuild failed states elsewhere in the world that throwing money at the issue is very likely to backfire,” the noted finance blogger Felix Salmons writes.
Dramatic images such as these are what open our wallets and purses. In contrast, images depicting soup kitchens, homelessness, and poverty tend to be accepted as unpleasant realities. These are the instances of tragedy we encounter everyday: the man asking for change outside CVS, one of Evanston’s many homeless sleeping in University Library.
Bishop and Green go on to suggest that donors should match “what you have given to Haiti with a gift to someone suffering just as much, but less dramatically, elsewhere in the world.” This way, funds for potential disasters in the future could start being raised now.
“One of the things that was heartbreaking was that Haiti’s been suffering incredibly for decades,” said Weinberg junior Tracey Fuad, the organizer of “(keg)Stand for Haiti.” “This is the first time anybody really talked about it or said something.” Fuad is a longtime Haiti advocate, having been involved in GlobeMed and several other humanitarian organizations. Her house party raised $1,410 for the organization Partners in Health. “I collected money at the door, and I was amazed at how sincere people were,” Fuad said. “I think people have really heard a lot about Haiti, it really has been a popular issue.” What Fuad does regret is that the movement behind helping Haiti will fade with time. “In a couple of weeks, it’s going to be out of vogue and people will care less. That’s the real tragedy.”
Furthermore, the money that has already been given to ASG or organizers at the Keg may eventually be tied up in bureaucratic tape, helping no one. Many major philanthropies, such as the Red Cross, earmark the funds they assume have been given for Haiti specifically for earthquake relief. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which received the funds raised at the Keg Saturday night, says its mission is to “work to provide immediate relief and long-term support to earthquake survivors.”
This may seem all well and good, but oftentimes funding raised after disasters exceed the amount needed. Felix Salmon, American financial journalist and blogger for Reuters, says that sadly, funds earmarked for Haiti or specifically raised for Haiti can’t be used elsewhere in the world after reconstruction and life-saving efforts have ceased.
Salmon takes a comparable disaster as an example. Five years ago, after the tsunami that devastated parts of Asia, the Red Cross raised $3.21 billion dollars specifically for relief in that region. To this day, they have only used 83% of those funds, leaving over half a billion dollars sitting in their accounts, earmarked so they can’t be used elsewhere.
Some organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders, make a point of requesting unrestricted donations. This way, says DWB’s website, excess funds raised can be used to help “humanitarian crises all over the world, particularly neglected crises that remain outside the media spotlight.” Though it may take years, the devastation of the earthquake will eventually be cleared. Humanitarian workers will do their best to reunite families, and console mourners when this is not possible. After that, money will do little good. “One of the lessons we’ve learned from trying to rebuild failed states elsewhere in the world is that throwing money at the issue is very likely to backfire,” says Salmon. Eventually, Haiti will need political expertise and assistance in setting up a functioning government.
Any funds remaining from earthquake relief may only serve as a crutch to the people of Haiti, who so desperately need to stand up on their own. In a New York Times editorial, writer Tracy Kidder looks at past failures regarding the Haitian government, and stresses that “the ultimate goal of all aid to Haiti ought to be the strengthening of Haitian institutions, infrastructure and expertise.”
President Barack Obama has pledged $100 million, the celebrity telethon has raised more than $57 million, and the American Red Cross has reported $37 million raised—these are just a few examples that while Haiti may be in need of emergency donations, it has no shortage of donors. The best way to help is to prevent such a tragedy from happening again by making general donations to organizations that help in poverty-ridden areas throughout the world. The repercussions in Haiti could have been lessened by strengthening infrastructure decades ago. We couldn’t prevent the earthquake, but we could have lessened the tragedy.
Give to the ‘Brian Smith Goes To School’ Fund
This wrong on so many levels
Lets not give because a portion of money that was raised before did not get there. Instead, people should be apathetic and sit idly by as Haitians suffer because of a small chance the money doesn’t get there. If every person just saw there donation as a drop in the ocean (like voting in an election) no money would come to these efforts. Terribly flawed logic.
One of the organizations receiving the money from the school’s efforts is Partners in Health. No mention about them. Poorly researched.
Write a better article, research the people you are indicting, and realize that a collective effort to support and help people who need it is never a bad thing.
While I agree that recent fundraising events have been successful in part because of “trend” and “duty,” I think this article is making the wrong argument. In addition to the purely-fundraising focused events like the ones mentioned here, there are several upcoming events focusing on culture and history and awareness, like Wednesday’s Celebration of Culture (http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=haiti&init=quick#/event.php?eid=273749003733) and Thursday’s panel, History, Politics, and Culture of a Country in Crisis (http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=haiti&init=quick#/event.php?eid=273785326119&index=1). Furthermore, I’d like to reiterate the overwhelming sincerity of our campus’s motivation around Haiti Relief efforts. Yes, it is true that in general, interests wane over time following a calamitous disaster. But by focusing on the negative aspects of this I think you are missing the greater point.
Our student body is serious and motivated about raising money and awareness for Haiti. Your assertion that the money being raised could “eventually be tied up in bureaucratic tape, helping no one” is unfounded. Nearly every fundraiser on campus is raising money for Partners In Health, an organization founded on the philosophy of building sustainable, long-term partnerships with locals and local organizations, and an organization which has worked on the ground in Haiti for 20 years. Partners In Health is an organization that understands the long term nature of health care and disaster relief. Asserting that the money will be only a “crutch” to Haiti is also an uneducated claim. Yes, Haiti desperately needs to stand on its own– but even a cursory understanding of Haiti’s history will make it clear that Haiti not only needs the funding, but has not been helped by American political involvement in the past.
Beyond this, I believe that the mobilization surrounding this disaster can act not as a one time money-throw but as a starting point for a more educated and comprehensive understanding of social justice, human rights, and how we can play a role in all of this. What I heard over and over again from my housemates who helped organize this fundraiser and from the attendees was this: that we should do this kind of thing more often, not just when there is a horrific disaster on the television screen compelling us to do so, but on a regular basis.
In solidarity,
Tracy Fuad
[...] Ahmed, writing in NU Intel, fired back: In the article “Philanthrocapitalism and the Heart Strings” authors Matthew Bishop and Michael [...]