Red Cross: Plans to bring 45000 Haiti refugees to Florida

As a Floridian this pisses me off! Im sorry, I feel bad for the people in Haiti but we DO NOT need ANYMORE refugees in our state. We have people here without jobs who are homeless that need help. We need to help our own people first! This is absolutely ridiculous! I am a Floridian and I am tired of everyone who has problems coming here and taking from the citizens of this state who have a RIGHT to be here and have assistance. I dont want any Haitians coming here. I am sorry for what they went through but it is NOT our responsibility to bail everyone out!

I've been avoiding this thread all day because I had nothing but negative to say. I think I'll post anyway.

First the Red Cross. I was a contributor for multiple decades and fully supported them until I started to pay attention. A number of direct experiences with them changed my mind.

First episode is when a single Mom in the town I lived in during the early nineties, had her home burn down. She was out in the cold with her 3 children, no clothes, no anything in fact. They stepped in to help so I went to their office and asked if I could direct a donation to her. I was told no, it all went to a general fund. Then I asked for details about how they allocated aid to people like her.

They got her a donated Hotel Room; meaning the Hotel owner covered that part. Never saw a single mention of thanks to the Hotel owner in the media. They directed her to a Food Bank. Again no money involved and she could have done it herself. Clothing was from clothes donated by people like me, so they did nothing there either.

I then asked what money they were collecting went to her. They told me they gave her no money, they did however pay a couple of her bills, amounting to a couple of hundred dollars. I said she has small children, what does she use for pocket money for her and their needs. The woman said we never help with cash. I actually had to wait for 3 other people writing checks and calculated they had been taking in checks from people who thought they were helping her all day long. They were simply using her tragedy to trick people into thinking the money went to her, to pull in way more money than they spent on her which was damn little.

The employee at the Red Cross office was completely on my side but told me that is the way the Red Cross works. I asked how often people asked these questions, she said "never". They would not give me the address so I asked is there a way I can get an envelope with a check or cash to her, without it going through the Red Cross. She personally took it too her for me.

Then a few months later the fact the Red Cross won't let you direct your money to specific cases came out in the media and some of you might remember they got hammered for it.

A couple of years go by and in the same area we had floods north of us in an area that had never flooded before. Lot's of people watched their homes float down the river in pieces. The victims were all lower income working folks, in fact one worked for me as an Office Assistant on a temp job. She walked in to my office one day and said you are not going to believe this! She showed me a bill from the Red Cross for provided services.

They did a huge fund raising campaign and everyone who gave, including me, thought we were paying for the services with our donations. Not true! That was the last straw and I stopped giving to them at all.

Fast forward to Katrina. I'm sitting watching live coverage on the news. They run a short piece on how the Red Cross workers are still sitting in Hotel Rooms because it was too dangerous. Then they go to a live video of one of their reporters who is in the middle of things. Right there on the screen is a small trailer and Salvation Army people handing out food and water in the middle of the most dangerous time.

That did it for me. I wrote a large check to Salvation Army and never looked back. No more Red Cross for this kid. With Salvation Army you just write on the check where you want it to go and that's where it goes.

The Red Cross is the government or may as well be.

This surprises me not at all. It is insane in fact. I'm betting they cleared this with the current Administration and the DNC before it was even suggested. 45,000 buy-able votes, just before the mid-terms.

As they love to say, never let an emergency go to waste. Use it to buy votes, even if they are not citizens.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Star for you! .. I hate it when "not for profit" organizations get so big they literally act just like a government does! The reason we donate to organizations like the Red Cross is it's a way to directly use our dollars to truly help someone, usually specifically ... I have never donated to the Red Cross. There was a lot of controversy over the Red Cross throwing away good blood donations after 9/11 too, I remember that, among many other incidents where they showed neglect, stupidity, lack of passion and had their eyes fixed on the all mighty dollar.

After Katrina the only organization I donated to was a group of churches got together, took some volunteer firefighters and EMT trained people, nurses etc, took food donations and cash donations for the effort. That, imo, was a direct way of helping.. people grouping together and consolidating resources to assist people they don't even know. I see people writing checks for thousands of dollars and sending them to mega televangelist "churches", the Red Cross, these obscure aid relief programs on facebook and twitter, through texting .. it's just absurd. If you can't see where your dollar goes, are you really helping?

reply to post by Rockpuck


That is one of the few items I agreed with Bush on. Faith Based Charities get the job done and get the money to the right place.

I won't give through the UN either. Don't want my money going to their relatives and friends. I don't trust the UN for even a second with one thin dime.

Lets hope a public outcry stops this nonsense in Florida. Help them rebuild their community's with up to code construction and I'll keep sending money. For years if it helps. If they won't, a Faith Based group will I'm sure. Teach them how to build their own homes correctly. Teach them how to build their own infrastructure and maintain it. If we do, the old Haiti would be gone forever. Don't open the damn border though.

I notice they also gave the Haitians an 18 month amnesty if they are already here. Full citizens benefits. Saw that this morning.

Blaine91555,
Thanks for sharing your story. Very eye opening. I do have something to say about this, though......

Originally posted by Blaine91555
That did it for me. I wrote a large check to Salvation Army and never looked back. No more Red Cross for this kid. With Salvation Army you just write on the check where you want it to go and that's where it goes.

If you dare to look into it, I think you will find everyone of these charities have corruption. Check the outrageous salaries at the top of that pyramid as well.

[edit on 17-1-2010 by Alethea]

didn't the country where all those haitians were enslaved and brought to the west already offer to take them back, give them land and animals etc? instead of going to florida, why not back to africa?

I too have avoided a post in this thread for many reasons...

However the ridiculous gathering/propaganda I saw on TV last night(until I clicked it off in disgust) with Clinton,George W, and Obama all joined at the hip and asking for "donations" really fried my bacon.
George W said "I know y'all want to send blankets and shoes over there but what they (translate "we") really need you to send is your CASH!"

More than a little transparent as to what the long-term "goals" are?

Yet another way to connect and cash in,simply reverting to the "emotions" of the good American people yet again in order to gain resources.We are good and generous people for the most part and they see it as a way to profit obviously.

You can BET that a LOT of what is donated will be used for "administrative costs",especially if the US stays in control as has been suggested and that there WILL be uses for the cash other than blankets and shoes,LOL!

reply to post by sunny_2008ny
I will let the statistics speak for themselves.

The population of Haiti today is about 8,300,000 people. 75% of the population live in rural areas, concentrated on small family plots in the few areas suitable for agriculture. In these areas, the population density is very high, increasing the problems of disease exposure and spread. Although the official language is French, the principal spoken language is Creole, used by about 90% of the people. About 50% of the population is illiterate.

Over 80% of Haiti's people live in abject poverty. Haiti is one of the most impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere. The unemployment rate is estimated to be around 60 percent; and the literacy rate is approximately 45 percent. Eighty percent of the population lives in abject poverty and the unemployment rate is estimated to be nearly 90 percent. Half the population of Haiti earns $60 or less per year. The total expenditure on health per person is $54 (compared to $4,499 in the USA and $483 in Mexico).

Less than 45 percent of all Haitians have access to potable water. The life expectancy rate in Haiti is only 53 years. Seventy-six percent of Haiti's children under the age of five are underweight, or suffer from stunted growth and 63 percent of Haitians are undernourished. Ninety percent of all HIV and AIDS infections in the Caribbean are in Haiti: over 300,000 infected people have been identified and deaths from HIV/AIDS have left 163,000 children orphaned. Tuberculosis remains a major cause of adult mortality; rates are thought to be the highest in the hemisphere. Cases of TB in Haiti are more than ten times as high as those in other Latin American countries. Haiti's infant mortality rate is staggering: 74 deaths per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate is approximately 1400 deaths for every 100,000. Only 1 in every 10,000 Haitians has access to a physician.

Most Haitians are Christian but have woven elements of the traditional African religions into their current religious practices. This is the practice of "Voodoo." The term "voodoo" which Americans have come to think of as something dangerous or secret, merely refers to an Important and open part of Haitian religious life.

Source of quote: www.globalsecurity.org...

While I feel for and am donating stuff to the Haitian Tradegy, I say charity begins at home.

Make sure your own house is in order before trying to fix somone elses........

We do not need more HIV and TB carriers, more illiterate adults, more people who will simply be a bigger drain on our system.

I've been to Haiti and was not impressed with the people. While they are friendly, many are con artists and lazy.

Sorry that was my general impression.

Bringing these people over here is not going to enrich America, but will simply drain us more than we are already drained.

Why not send them to China or India, that is where American jobs are going anyway.

BTW - I work in a soup kitchen one day a month now and believe me, America has enough homeless people.

We do not need more - I speak from experience, this will only be a bigger drain on the soon disappearing middle class.

[edit on 17-1-2010 by ofhumandescent]

People, people, remember between 40 to 45,000 of this Haitians refugees are actually American citizens that live in Haiti or Haitians with dual residency we are forgetting that most of the this people will be coming to the US anyway

Can earthquakes be created by man as well as nature? Was DynCorp

International affiliated with the the major player for the U.S. and U.N. in

creating a military base before the Earthquake took place? Did the U.N. need

a base of operations in Haiti and this country was the least path of resistance

before and after the Earthquake? Be sure to check out who is really behind

DynCorp International.


Has the U.N. taken over without the consent of the leaders of Haiti? Yes the

U.N. is there in the name of helping restore the country and bring aid to

Haitians and yes Haiti was a mess before the earthquake. Of course

everything is not a conspiracy but it is not always what people say, it is what

people do on this Earth. ^Y^

[edit on 17-1-2010 by amari]

haiti hasn't had a leader for some time, they are running the country into the ground (llllliterally) - the U.S. has given them plenty of money over the years, now we're just gonna throw money at them to fix it - way to go.

oh and if the title was "red cross plans to bring 45,000 U.S. citizens to florida" it would have recieved a much different response.

reply to post by sunny_2008ny


They better not, We will not put up with that crap. Most of them are trouble. Crime is ridiculous in Miami thanks to them. I have no problem helping people out but this is stupid. How many times do we have to be the ones to bend over backward for these people, Let someone else take them in even though thats not necessary.

Make the donations and aid going to them rebuild their country with proper structures to withstand these storms and quakes.

My bet is some will go to the Miami area but most of them will be shipped off to FEMA-Private CAMPS to be slaves like the place out in Texas. Someone needs to stop this madness, Someone needs to keep track of them so they do not just disappear.

A lot of you dudes need to lay off the haterade. This mightn't be the greatest move ever, but c'mon. They're people and deserve a good standard of living.

If a disaster happens that affects the entire US population I hope some of you don't get a pleasant welcome into other countries. Some of you are so against the poverty stricken, well, let's just wait and see when you become the poverty stricken ones.

...And don't pull out the "I took survival classes for 5 years and lived out in the bush feeding on leaves for 8 months. I CAN AND WILL LOOK AFTER MYSELF!" crap, because you're not fooling anyone.

That is what the US need......very humain to do but a very stupid idea.....Good luck with 45.0000 unemployed unwanted people. Is not gonna happen if you'd ask me.

Could they be Obama's new soldiers? Under rouse of being injured masses?
Just a flag that popped up for me might be a bit far out.

We can't feed ourselves.
We can feed everyone else.
45,000 Wondering about the housing...
I don't have a number for homeless people In America.
meh

reply to post by spaz490


The number of homeless in America numbers in the millions. The number of poverty stricken children, that often have little to no clothes, food or housing numbers in the tens of millions. The number of unemployed Americans being foreclosed numbers in the tens of millions, 85,000 lost jobs in December alone (and that's only those reported).. the economic carnage in America is substantial.. Florida is one of the hardest hit places, particularly Orange County and Miami-Dade County. The Red Cross wants to drop 45,000 refugees in a city with just as many refugee Americans! I'm sorry.. if we wanted to be the World's holy saint, giving out money left and right and welcoming every poor refugee, we shouldn't have given what wealth we had to the banksters, and permitted the collapse of our economy.

We need to look after ourselves. Why is the Government rushing to aid, feed, cloth and move foreigners .. but we cannot give healthcare, food, clothes and shelter to our own impoverished children? Children BORN IN AMERICA?

Priorities. For once in our lives, let's let other countries pick up the slack, and allow private volunteers and organizations to do what they can. Government needs to stay out of it.

We're all against government waste in the U.S. but sending 3 billion to Hiait over the years is like a flea on a camel's ass- it makes no difference. The trickle of help now to the people in Haiti is Obama's Katrina.

Originally posted by ohsnaptruth
These are people. Men, women, children. I don't care if I have to sacrifice what little money I earn, these are people. As a human being, it's my right to help them.

PS. for those who call the Haitians ignorant 3rd worlders, you are ignorant alone just making that statement. Haitians are peaceful people that don't have the opportunities that we do. Before this earthquake they had little, now they have nothing.

Show some compassion for your own human species.



[edit on 1/16/10 by ohsnaptruth]

I guess you must not have seen any of the videos of the food drops. You must not have seen the adults taking food from the children, the fighting over food, the lack of appreciation for the food, etc.
Sorry man, but some stereotypes are accurate.

Just think the money that the govt. will pay to house these people.....The same people who made MILLIONS in profits from Katrina are already to step in and provide food, shelter, facilities to these people....I know for a fact there are companies READY to move in and PROFIT from this.....The contracts to provide for these people could cost as much as 150m....The massive profits that these companies make could go to rebuilding Haiti.....I suggest everyone start to e-mail their congressmen and start mass postings on places like Facebook and even the news outlets against moving these refugees to the U.S. ...Im not against helping these people they just need to stay in their own country......It takes only a few dollars a day to feed the refugees there.....The average private restoration and relief company receives about $60.00 per day per person to feed and house these people during disasters....I know of one company that was contracted for their service in New Orleans got 95.00 per pay to feed and house Fema ppl...The owners from that company made millions for 6 mos. work...The same company is in the process of doing the same thing right now as we speak....Let's stop these companies from taking advantage of the needy and making massive profits from these disasters....One last thought.....These people work together to make their services available immediately when the call goes out so no one else can get in on their disaster services....Thanks everyone for your time and let's stop this abuse of people profiting from others misfortune.....