Since the British Petroleum oil spill in Louisiana, the American press has focused much of its attention on how the spill has affected the wildlife, coastline, and oceans of the region and the issue is a pressing concern and it seems as if some other issues have been temporarily sidelined, including how the United States will continue to help Haiti and the Haitian people after the disaster.

Actor Sean Penn testified in front of the Haiti Relief Fund Hearing in the United States senate and listed quite a few concerns that he felt were necessary in order to assist the Haitian people.

According to Sean Penn, it is difficult for the Haitian people to prove that they own their houses and in the interim, there has been illegal rent gauging on many Haitian citizens. Like many other problems in Haiti, this is something that needs to be addressed by Haitians, and not just the international community.

The danger that Sean Penn sees is in outsiders trying to determine the best way to “empower Haiti”. He would prefer that Haitians themselves would have more of a role in determining how to recover their country.

That said, Sean Penn’s belief is that there Haiti really needs resources for water and other basic needs. In addition, the hospitals in Haiti need staffing- there aren’t staff at the hospital.

The three senators on the panel listened to the pleas of the witnesses and gave what was basically a non-answer by stating that the United States faces difficulty in assisting Haiti because Haiti is a sovereign nation and it is important to weigh the right way to help them. One senator suggested “cooperative sovereignty” as a way to help them in the right way, but that seems a little vague to me.

While I don’t feel that the United States should take over the disaster relief efforts there, I don’t feel that holding up resources or organizations from assisting the battered and poverty-stricken country is really the best way and we as a country should not forget Haiti just because we have our own problems.

I also find it interesting how much star power can focus attention on a particular issue if the star happens to be as knowledgeable and informed as Sean Penn is because some issues require much more specific information in order to present the case to a senator.
http://www.cnn.com/