US Aid to Haiti

[Moxon]

OK, let's just get it over with, OK, you win America, you win again, here have this gold medal, cue the anthem, in your face rest of the world, you killed them again, left them all for dead, U S A ! U S A ! U S A !

Erm, is nobody else donating? One would expect the US to be one of the better donors as its in their backyard. If you want to go by government aid then thankyou Canada, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg... all of whom donted more per person than the US (by GDP the list expands further).

As for private donations I have no comparative figures, but thankyou to all the individuals of the world who donated and yes, erm, it's not enough.

Its not the first time that the US has turned a colossal tragedy into a breast beating nationalistic exercise, its just a little weird for those of us who come from other countries that just donate money.

 

[nikad]

Yes, I think most of the critics are Americans.
My experience, though, has been that there is a lot of prejudice among Argentines and an unwillingness to keep an open mind. Because I don't conform to the negative Argentine image of an American, people here often feel uncomfortable when they want to criticize the US and they discover that I have informed views that contradict their own. It's not easy to assimilate here because of all these prejudices.

You also have to think that as much as some Argentine might have prejudice against the Us, they also have it against Spain ( yes! ask any of your friends ), Bolivia, China, England, Brazil, Chile, Italy...and the list goes on. They typically are spend too much time finding others´flaws and do not see their own...

 

[French jurist]

I am not Argentinean but I was married to an Argentinean and live here since 2003, I've lived too two years in the US.

Of course there is envy/jealousy, this is the subjective aspect.
Objective reasons are :
- Like Nikad said, the US aid to the UK during the Malvinas : against the International treaty the US have with Argentina, US promising the use of an aircraft carrier in case the UK would lose theirs, ...
- CIA direct support to the far-rightist juntas during the 70s (France acted badly too, sending military instructors to teach torture to Argies)
- Bush Jr devastating acts (no need to compile the list but 1.2 millions civilian casualties in Iraq = wow ! The Florida episode of the presidential election, ...)
- Emergency (maybe) of a Latin American identity with all the left governments in place, Morales elected the first indian in Latin America, the failed putsch against Chavez a few years ago, Neocons foreign policy that focused on "new Europe" rather than on Latin America, ...
- Normal reaction to imperialist countries
- Junk food, junk TV, junk economy are too bad aspects of the US way of living

Nevertheless, US influence is great in Argentina : just look at all those signs written in english.

IMHO, US are no better, no worse than others, and like any culture they have good/bad sides. Maybe the US way of asking "why do people don't like us with everything we do ?" participates too to the critics.

I wonder if anything can come positive from threads like Pros/Cons USA.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Let's just see how long it takes for Xe/Blackwater and other private U.S. companies to setup shop in Haiti.

The U.S. is not as altruistic as (some) people like to think.

 

[SaraSara]

Anti-American feeling in Argentina did not originate with the Malvinas war, but goes way back. I used to argue with my friends about the US, but now keep quiet. They don't have valid arguments, or a real knowledge of the US - they just repeat what they see on TV or in the papers.

It's hard to reason with a slogan.

 

[malbec]

Not again all this "we poor victims" again!
Argentines don't generally dislike the USA, most of us don't even care!
Of course, as is usual in a group of people, there would be different opinions. Name any country, any political figure and there is always going to be people for and against them. But saying there is a generalised hate or dislike towards the US is plain rubbish.

And: if you donate money or do a favour to someone, you do it silently because you want and because you'll feel well for doing so...not expecting to become a hero or have a moument built in the middle of Avenida Libertador!

 

[SaraSara]

I've found that about half of Argentines are fervid American admirers, while the other half hate it with equal passion.

One way or another, they all care about the US.

 

[Moxon]

I can't believe the very harsh anti Ghanaian streak on these forums. The government of Ghana donated 0.0186 % of their GDP to help in the Haitian relief effort, more than 10 times the miserable contribution of the US and nobody on this forum has come out and praised them. I also find in private conversation in Argentina that Ghana is rarely ever praised or appreciated, and you should try finding a Spanish - Twi dictionary here - not one, not to mention the complete absence of fufu pounders, sure signs of a Ghana-phobic society. Enough of this hatred, I raise my glass of akpeteshie... to Ghana!

 

[Moonwitch]

I can't believe the very harsh anti Ghanaian streak on these forums. The government of Ghana donated 0.0186 % of their GDP to help in the Haitian relief effort, more than 10 times the miserable contribution of the US and nobody on this forum has come out and praised them. I also find in private conversation in Argentina that Ghana is rarely ever praised or appreciated, and you should try finding a Spanish - Twi dictionary here - not one, not to mention the complete absence of fufu pounders, sure signs of a Ghana-phobic society. Enough of this hatred, I raise my glass of akpeteshie... to Ghana!

That is pretty good of tha Ghanian gov, considering how little money they do have.

Is there a large Ghanian community in Buenos Aires?

 

[Moonwitch]

Let's just see how long it takes for Xe/Blackwater and other private U.S. companies to setup shop in Haiti.

The U.S. is not as altruistic as (some) people like to think.

Well many USA companies already have outsourced to Haiti, keeping prices low. That is why so many people live in poverty.