Help for Haiti (From Northwich Guardian)

Help for Haiti

9:22am Thursday 11th February 2010

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THERE is nothing funny about the tragedy which has happened in Haiti.

We have seen many natural and man made disasters over the years and to be fair, the usual joke machine doesn’t work at these times.

There are no texts with tasteless punch lines, no emails with sick cartoons. Respect kicks in.

There will be the usual international organisations working tirelessly and quietly to help to ease the situation and restore some sort of order.

There are various figures quoted for the overseas aid the UK contributes but it looks as though it could be between £6 and £9 billion, some of which should find its way there.

What is amusing is how we suddenly see the race of ‘celebs’ struggling to step up to the plate and demonstrate their benevolence as publicly as possible.

Here is a good example. Jonathan Ross has revealed he is selling some of his vast toy collection to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal.

The BBC presenter took to Twitter to say he was donating items from his haul of Japanese toys to charity to clear some space in his north London home.

He wrote: “I need to sell off some of my old toys – have completely run out of space! You guys interested in selling them for me?”

He later added: “Have spoken to my toy dealer and he’s selling (some) of my toys off for me, proceeds going to Haiti.

“Will let you know what we raise!”

How big of him. Here is a man who has been paid £6million a year to talk tosh and he makes a big deal of giving a few old toys away to ‘make space in his home’.

Bearing in mind we paid his wages through a perverse licence fee. I believe he is another individual who doesn’t understand the faux pas.

No doubt concerts will take place and re-launch the careers of the ‘has beens’.

A record will probably be released giving all who participate a ‘number one’ to add to their CV.

Of course there will be a queue of celebrities round the block to adopt the poor children.

While this is admirable. we must not forget that we have around 4,000 children needing to be adopted in the UK.

The big-hearted business moguls will already be bidding for the contracts to rebuild the infrastructure and the banks will be throwing debt their way quicker than confetti at a shotgun wedding.

Google says this: ‘in the past two decades, U.S. interventions have done much more harm than good to the Haitian economy.

In the early 1990s, Washington thought it did Haiti a favour by imposing a crushing trade embargo to bring about democratisation – specifically, the reinstatement of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

‘The embargo destroyed Haiti’s fragile manufacturing industries’ There is no doubt that President Obama will be pontificating on the world stage how the United States intend to stand up and be counted.

To the good and the kind of this world who will be working to ease the pain and grief of their fellow human beings, Haiti provides an opportunity to demonstrate heartfelt love, concern, and kindness.

To others Haiti provides a photo opportunity.

Some will capitalise from the dirty trail of disaster left in the earthquake’s wake. Where there’s muck there’s money.

We are the same when it comes to personal heartache and pain. Consider the John Terry fiasco.

I was going to say affair but it sounded too salacious. OK then I will.

Let’s spice it up a bit. Affair! That feels better.

I have always thought that any man who gets paid a king’s ransom for kicking a ball about must have another hidden talent.

His is obviously flattening sheets with a mate’s ex, who happened to be his wife’s best friend, allegedly.

His wife and kids are consoling them selves in a luxury hotel in Dubai, I believe, but guess who has jumped in to help the poor unfortunate mistress.

None other than Max Clifford. The hapless girl will probably make a fortune now because she couldn’t keep her hands off her mate’s husband.

It happens all the time. Where there’s money there’s muck.