Some booked on ships scheduled to stop at Labadee [in Haiti] are afraid that desperate people might breach the resort's 12ft high fences to get food and drink, but others seemed determined to enjoy their holiday."I'll be there on Tuesday and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," said one.
Damn it, they paid good money for that vacation!
10 comments:
It's hard to believe people are really that stupid. And insensitive. And clueless...
May I point out that cruise ships are income for Haiti? If the ships stop coming then what are people going to do for work?
Yes, Dymphna, but not at this time. If these coves are big enough to accommodate cruise ships, then they can also be used to bring in ships that cannot get into the harbor at Port-au-Prince.
In the article, it states:
Forty pallets of rice, beans, powdered milk, water, and canned foods were delivered on Friday, and a further 80 are due and 16 on two subsequent ships. When supplies arrive in Labadee, they are distributed by Food for the Poor, a longtime partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti.
Royal Caribbean has also pledged $1m to the relief effort and will spend part of that helping 200 Haitian crew members.
That is a paltry amount, especially given the load capacity of a cruise ship.
These cruise ships do bring in income - but desperate situations require temporary accommodations. What are the people going to do for work? It would be interesting to see how much they are paid - perhaps Royal Caribbean could consider paying them on a temporary basis to offload relief ships.
Because a bigger question right now is what are the people going to do for food?
Was there a ship with more supplies available to stop at that particular cove at that time? If not, what is the problem? That they are enjoying themselves in physical proximity to suffering? What's the limit of how close they can get before they are insensitive? 10 miles? 100 miles? We need to know these things, I wouldn't want to accidentally enjoy myself in the wrong place.
Would it have been stupid, insensitive, and clueless to stop in the Dominican Replublic, for instance? What about vacationers in Cuba? What about Florida?
I don't know, Kevin - I guess that depends on your own comfort level. But an hour or so drive from this cove would have brought food and supplies to Port-au-Prince, some 60 miles away. Too close for my comfort. You deal with yours.
Kevin, sounds to me like you can justify any lack of action with your logic.
Hey, if it helps you sleep at night, more power to you!
actuarystud: There is a difference between justifying someone's conduct and disagreeing with their condemnation. They probably have internet access on the cruise ship. How do you know these same people didn't already give tons of money to the aid organizations working in Haiti. Would knowing that change your opinion of them?
The Digital Hairshirt: I don't see how you get from "Hm, if I were in their place, doing this would make to me uncomfortable." to "These terrible people don't care about human suffering and deserve to be mocked on my blog!"
Kevin,
For a comment like "I plan on enjoying my zip line," yeah, I am okay with mocking him on my blog. You can go ahead and defend him on yours, 'kay?
Enjoy your five minute hate.
Incidentally, I was enjoying myself playing nintendo with my son on Saturday, while people in Haiti were dying. And frankly after arriving by boat 60 miles away from the city, without a vehicle, the man quoted had no more way to assist them than I did.
Absent the real possibility of his having helped someone, I don't think it's the physical proximity in itself that sets people like you off. Instead it's that he is insufficiently pietistic in how he expresses himself. He is too self-assured.
In other words it's that he isn't afraid of your disapproval.
Because honestly what other fault could we really pin on him? But maybe I've just read a little too much Rand.
Post a Comment