Telecommunications company Digicel is seeking to clear the air on the manner in which the company will disburse funds collected towards Haiti relief.
According to Digicel Acting Country Manager Patrick Flinter, Haitians residing in Dominica have questioned why funds are not being made available to them to try to make their way home to help Haiti.
Flinter told a press conference at the Digicel office this morning that this would not be a practical approach.
“It is felt that it is more appropriate to send the money down to the island to the NGO’s to work, rather than facilitate individuals from the Haitian community to try and make their way down to the island,” he said.
“We don’t believe this will make good use of the money. Purely from the position that people going down there they are not going to be in the position to fend for themselves or assist with what is going down there,” the manager explained.
According to Flinter, all funds collected by the company will be put in a central fund, along with other Digicel counterparts in the Caribbean, to be dispersed to the NGO’s on site in Haiti.
“To date, Digicel has contributed US $5 million from the initial fund set up, and any monies that we collect today …… it’s going to a central fund rather than to the Red Cross.
“This is something that has been decided by Digicel at a group level that we will collect all the money, both in Dominica and all the other islands within the EC and send the money en masse down to the NGO’s on the island. Because they are going to be in a better position to facilitate the requirements down there in terms of getting the correct aid, be it food, water and shelter to the Haitian community down there,” the country manager explained.
Meanwhile, President of the Dominica Haiti Association, Roland Desir, reiterated that despite rumors no individual has handled the funds and no Haitians here are going to be given money.
“The money is in the bank. It is in LIME/ Cable and Wireless account /Digicel account and they are the ones that deciding what they going to do with it, where they sending it … No individual… none of us have or have any right to touch that money. And I just wanted to be clear that the money was raised for the Haitian down back in Haiti,” Desir said.
“The main thing…I am talking here as a Haitian, the problem that rise right now is not about you all Haitians in Dominica…” Desir told this morning’s press conference.
Meanwhile, one of the persons assisting in relief efforts, Mc Carthy Marie, supported Desir’s point by stating, “The intention was never to give a Haitian any money to go to Haiti or to do any such thing.”
He added, “There is no point for a person who is not skilled in the whole business of search and rescue and disaster management who is going as part of an organization to simply go there and show up as a tourist basically… he is just simply going to be adding to the problem. We personally…are not assisting anybody to go to Haiti now for that reason.”
I thank God that the Digicel President have a Brain. What on earth are the haitians thinking. need free ticket to go back home. Are they going just to take picture or come back and give beth. i dont see the point. maybe they need closure.
then they will need pocket money too, then call and say they are hungry and thirsty and need more assisstance. stay put Haitians and enjoy DA while the rest of the world is taking care of Haiti.
Canada has your back and we also at church are keeping concerts to help Haiti. we love you guys , after all we are FAMILY.
Miss facts s If u were a human being u wouldn’t talk like that u are selfish u dnt know the facts if u don’t have anything positive to say about haiti and the people keep ur mouth shut now is not the time for that. Keeep it shut
How many Haitian people have Digicel employed in their company, does anybody know.
I think it would be totally foolish to give individuals any monies collected. There should be no fight over this either. Giving it to the Red Cross for distribution is the right thing to do. They are the ones who really know where it is most needed. Most of the Haitians here work for good enough pay so they can go back on their own (they do sometimes anyway) in as much as I sympathise with what happened in their country.
The Haitians have been given permission to reside in Dominica now want money collected by Dominicans to be made available for, what can only be described, as their own personal use.
If they want to return to Haiti to help in whatever way, why do they not pay their own way, or collect and send back goods for their people.
What the Haitians in Dominica, and elsewhere, should be looking to do is return to Haiti and help rebuild their country, and in doing so help get some kind of infrastructure, politically and otherwise in place.
If they want a ticket back, then they should remain there!
But how those haitians can think the money is to send them to haiti nuh. se moun sa la pa feb. Is that same kinda attitude that have haiti as it is today. i have never heard of such crap papa. So they want ticket to go home. they trying to get people out of haiti and take refuge other places while them haitians looking for a free ticket to go home and come back. mi sottt.
Well all i have to say is that i am happy that Dominicans want to help, I am a dominican living in st martin and there are so many haitians i find the world around us has to many haitians that can be able to help n build back dere country so why do we especially have to strain our selves ,when their own people not making a way. We more killing our selves worrying about them when they living life sweet!!
All u know something, the fact that all u bring haitians dominica is already alot of help . so all allu can do right now is help financially
aa all u working and takinople husband and man where deh money send money for them in haiti allu too good for allu self
Men We have enough haitians In DA and they are the ones now giving our police the most problems. haitians stealing, haitians hitting other haitiioans with plates of food haitiains fleeing the country after bail and the list goes on and on. Now you telling me you want ticket to go back to haiti to bring back the balance of your family? i have a US visa and can’t buy a one way ticket to the US. now Haitians in DA want two way ticket to go to haiti and to come back to DA. Boss haitians go back to haiti and build your country and to fend with your family. Me as a born Dominican living in Dominica i wish i could go to haiti and help but you haitinas living here don’t wanna go back to hait and build your country.
Dem Aitians “zo ne toupe zest”. Man i have some friends that are Haitian, and Thank God they are strait up. Because if they had” zest” I would Bounce there Azz Back to Haiti in a Brooklyn New York Minute…
We ahve to pledge to send Haitians back home? What nonesense is that? The people in haiti needs the money collected not those in Dominica. So Dominicans have to work and pay their air fare for them to go for a ride? Well they good. let them wait . If this ever happen they will never get one dime from me every for any effort.
@ Mary: Never mind that. The point you are making about they not patronising your snackette is just mean-spirited and petty. Let freedom of choice reign in d.a.
But Mr. Desir and Mr. Marie as well as Digicel are quite right. Even if you are anxious about your relatives, going back now is just going to put additional strain on the rescue efforts going on now.
them haitians have too much tricks lol lol nice try
i congratulate digicel on their efforts. the money is for haiti and not for haitians seeking a free ride
The Haitians has been here for a while do not tell me that they were not saving. Some of them go back how do they pay for their tickets to go home to see thier relative before the earthquake. The hailtian are people who do not petronize any of our snackette in roseau . they always go to their own