In a letter organized by the TransAfrica Forum and sent to members of Congress today, activists and academic leaders are urging the U.S. to de-emphasize the military's role in the response to the Jan. 12 earthquake and to shift focus to improving the relief efforts on the ground. The letter notes that "an over-emphasis on security has meant costly delays in distributing aid that have cost lives and led to otherwise unnecessary amputations in some cases." The letter was signed by TransAfrica Forum's Harry Belafonte, actor Danny Glover, Jesse Jackson and BHR columnist Brian Concannon, Jr., who leads the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti — along with many other signatories from colleges and NGOs. The full text of the letter follows: January 27, 2010 Dear Members of Congress, The outpouring of aid from U.S. citizens and their government to Haiti in the wake of this immense catastrophe has been important and welcome. However, it is also clear that there have been serious mistakes that have unnecessarily delayed the delivery of medical supplies, water, and other life-saving materials. Currently, there are major shortages reported of food, tents, and water. The most costly unnecessary delays had until recently been in the area of medical supplies. A team of volunteer surgeons including the incoming president of the New York State Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, whose deployment was delayed for days by the U.S. military, reported that "untold numbers are dying of untreated, preventable infections [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904575025091656446622.html]." Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the world-renowned humanitarian group is one of the organizations who had tons of medical supplies re-routed because of decisions made by the U.S. government. "We lost three days," Francoise Saulnier, the head of MSF's legal department told Reuters Television in an interview. "And these three days have created a massive problem with infection, with gangrene, with amputations that are needed now, while we could have really spared this to those people." Jarry Emmanuel, air logistics officer for the UN's World Food Programme, noted on January 16 that "most flights are for the US military." Perhaps the biggest mistake has been an overemphasis on security, and the deployment of 20,000 troops, to the detriment of delivery of life-saving supplies. This was especially true during the first 10-12 days after the earthquake hit. Although the situation with regard to medical supplies has recently improved, there are now other shortages, including food, water, and tents. To avoid more unnecessary loss of life in the coming weeks, we call upon the Administration to guarantee the following: * A daily public accounting of the shipments of materials and personnel that pass through the Port-au-Prince airport or any other ports under control of the U.S. military * A public commitment to prioritize the distribution of vital aid and supplies and personnel, including water, medical supplies, food, medical personnel, and shelter. This means that these supplies and personnel must be given priority over the deployment of any more military personnel or equipment. * A public announcement as to what measures our government will take going forward to make sure that the mistakes of the first two weeks are not repeated. * A public commitment to deliver, water, food, and other urgently needed supplies to rural areas and other population centers that have seen little, no, or greatly delayed aid * A public commitment to ensuring that all survivors in Haiti receive the necessities: clean water, food, shelter, and medical care, and that all resources received will be immediately deployed for this purpose * A public commitment to work with all governments and Civil Society Organizations that are delivering these needed goods and services While security can help to ensure a better distribution of aid, the actual distribution of aid is most important. While it is true that there have been some supplies lost to looting, this is not nearly so terrible as the loss of life and limb that has occurred due to unnecessary delays. The over-emphasis on security has been costly, and must not be repeated - from now on the top priority must be the delivery and distribution of the basic survival needs of the population. The Administration must publicly reassure the world that this will indeed be the priority going forward. Sincere regards, Harry Belafonte, Board of Directors Emeritus, TransAfrica Forum Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Founder and President, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Danny Glover Chair of the Board, TransAfrica Forum Brian Concannon Jr., Esq. Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti Mark Weisbrot Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach Director, Mennonite Central Committee, U.S. Washington Office Melinda Miles Founder and Director, Konbit pou Ayiti (Haiti) Fritz Gutwein Co-Director and Haiti Reborn Coordinator The Quixote Center Sasha Kramer Co-founder, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (Haiti) Veerle Opgenhaffen Sr. Program Director Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law Anne McConnell-Wisskirchen Co-ordinator, Haiti Advocacy Platform-UK Briggs Bomba, Michael Stulman and Gerald LeMelle Africa Action Larry Birns Director, Council on Hemispheric Affairs Mark C. Johnson, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation John Feffer Co-Director, Foreign Policy In Focus Institute for Policy Studies Emira Woods Co-Director, Foreign Policy in Focus Institute for Policy Studies Jane Hamsher Publisher, Firedoglake.com Kevin Martin Executive Director, Peace Action Blase Bonpane Director, Office of the Americas Chuck Kaufman National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice Doug Henwood Editor, Left Business Observer James Jordan National Coordinator, Campaign for Labor Rights James G. Devine Professor of Economics Loyola Marymount University Greg Grandin Professor of History New York University Hope Lewis Professor of Law Northeastern University School of Law Carl G. Estabrook Professor Emeritus University of Illinois A. Belden Fields Professor Emeritus, Political Science University of Illinois T. M. Scruggs Professor of Anthropology University of Iowa Amy H. Gardner Professor of Medical Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Rosario Aguilar-Pariente Visiting Fellow, Center for US-Mexican Studies University of California, San Diego Hasan Johnson Assistant Professor California State University, Fresno Peter Hallward Professor of Modern European Philosophy Middlesex University Rosaura Sanchez Professor, Latin American Literature and Chicano Literature University of California, San Diego Millie Thayer Assistant Professor of Sociology University of Massachusetts, Amherst Kent Norsworthy Content Director, Latin American Network Information Center University of Texas, Austin Sheila R. Tully California State University, San Francisco Chris Chiappari Associate Professor Saint Olaf College Susanne Jonas Lecturer, Latin American and Latino Studies University of California, Santa Cruz Laura Enriquez Professor of Sociology University of California, Berkeley Edgar Ivan Gutierrez History Instructor Riverside City College Dana Frank Professor, Department of History University of California, Santa Cruz Vijay Prashad George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies Trinity College Martin Luis Cabrera Assistant Professor, Peninsular and Latin American Literature and Culture University of California, San Diego Steve Ellner Professor of History University of Oriente, Venezuela Miguel Tinker Salas Professor of Chicano and Latin American Studies Pomona College Sidney Lemelle Professor of History Pomona College Victor Silverman Associate Professor of History Pomona College Victor Rodríguez Professor of sociology of race and ethnicity, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies California State University, Long Beach Susana Chavez Silverman Professor of Romance Languages and Literature Pomona College Forrest Hylton Universidad de los Andes Sujatha Fernándes Assistant Professor of Sociology City University of New York Jose Vadi Professor Eeritus, Political Science California State University, Pomona Sonja Wolf Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM) Tanalis Padilla Associate Professor of History Dartmouth College Gilbert Gonzalez Professor University of California, Irvine Alma Martinez Associate Professor of Theater Arts Pomona College Ronald Chilcote Professor Emeritus University of California, Riverside Thomas W. Walker, Professor Emeritus, Political Science, Ohio University Eric Bindler Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Indiana University Dr. Clifford Andrew Welch UNIFESP - Universidade Federal do Estado de São Paulo Dr. Daniel Faber Director, Northeastern Environmental Justice Research Collaborative Jacob Rekedal University of California, Riverside Donald Bray California State University, Los Angeles Marjorie Bray California State University, Los Angeles Mayo C. Toruño Professor of Economics California State University, San Bernardino Carol Hendrickson Professor of Anthropology Marlboro College Michael Brun Department of Economics Illinois State University Estevan Azcona UH Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) Visiting Scholar University of Houston William I. Robinson Professor of Sociology, University of California-Santa Barbara Sydney Hutchinson, Ph.D. Humboldt Fellow Berlin Phonogram Archive Ethnological Museum, Berlin Royce Hutson, Ph.D Associate Professor School of Social Work Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Griselda Rodriguez, Syracuse University Gilbert Joseph, Ph.D Farnam Professor of History & International Studies Yale University Marc Becker Associate Professor of History Truman State University Linda Carty, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies Department of African American Studies Syracuse University Lynn Stephen Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies University of Oregon Sylvia Tesh, Ph.D Lecturer University of Arizona Alejandra Marchevsky Associate Professor of Liberal Studies Department of Liberal Studies California State University, Los Angeles Hector Perla Assistant Professor University of California, Santa Cruz Gilberto M.A.Rodrigues, Ph.D, Brazilian Professor Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Law School University of Notre Dame Ester Hernandez Dept. of Chicano Studies California State University, Los Angeles Leisy Abrego, Ph.D University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, Irvine Lee Furey Instructor of General Education Art Institute of Atlanta Nicole Weeks Assistant Professor of Psychology Pomona College Lauren Derby Associate Professor of History University of California, Los Angeles Jeanne M. Woods Henry F. Bonura, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law Loyola University College of Law Subscribe: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/967/t/9788/signUp.jsp?key=1013 Unsubscribe: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/cepr/unsubscribe.jsp Update Subscriptions: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/cepr/profile/login.jsp