Obama must assume leadership in Haiti

relief effort

January 19th, 2010

President Barack Obama has involved the United States deeply in the Haitian crisis. He should now go one giant step further and personally assume the leadership role in the relief effort.

That is the considered belief of GOAL’s CEO, John O’Shea, who says: “The earthquake was a massive natural disaster but the response of the International Community has, to date, been a massive man-made disaster and there is no excuse for that.

“Access and security remain the twin obstacles to the delivery of an appropriate relief response to this unprecedented tragedy. And until the campaign is led by one entity, one leader, it will continue to founder,” added Mr. O’Shea.

“Nor should President Obama be deflected from this course of action by the outlandish comment from a French Government Minister, Alain Joyandet, who claimed today that American soldiers were effectively ‘occupying Haiti’.

Mr. O’Shea also questioned why the United Nations can find the resources to place thousands of peacekeepers in a host of troubled spots around the globe – while apparently struggling to put personnel, in numbers, on the streets of lawless Port-au-Prince.

“This catastrophe is screaming out for leadership,” he said.

GOAL, who have collected in excess of €1 million from the Irish public for its relief effort, hope to commence distribution of supplies on the streets of the capital tomorrow (Wednesday) - security permitting.