On one hand, Haiti had an disaster and hundreds of thousands need help… On the other, vacaitioners have the rights to live their lives and local Haitians need whatever business they can get. What do you guys think?
In before MattLikesAnalysis says that Hatians don’t need business because it wont cure their building code/AIDS.
My initial reaction was that it is ridiculous for cruise ships to be going to Haiti again already, but upon further thought I like the idea. The ships are bringing aid items with them and providing much needed business to the country. Imagine if everyone stopped going to Disney World for a month because a hurricane devastated south Florida.
How do you enjoy yourself though when everyone so nearby is suffering. I get that the boat is dropping off supplies but as a paasenger, I think I would rather spend the day donating my time depending how feasible that is as opposed to having a cocktail on a beach.
accountant23 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How do you enjoy yourself though when everyone so > nearby is suffering. I get that the boat is > dropping off supplies but as a paasenger, I think > I would rather spend the day donating my time > depending how feasible that is as opposed to > having a cocktail on a beach. My understanding is that the area where the cruise ships dock was relatively unharmed and is quite removed from the devastated areas, so really not much different than docking in Dominican Republic and enjoying your cocktail on the beach there. So if you can sit in Puerto Plata enjoy yourself, you should be able to do it in Labadie comfortable in the fact that your money is helping an economy greatly in need of it. If there is a safe way to donate your time, even better.
Frankly, I think it would be a pretty educational experience if people got off the cruise ship to see the devastation and tried to help in any way possible. Would be the perfect opportunity to see a country in its real color and also perform some good deeds for people that need the help. Personally, I think it can be quite humbling to spend time in areas of great poverty and an experience like that sometimes gives us the reality check that we need and an appreciation for the great luxuries we have by living in a first-world country, as many of us do. Personally, that’s why I’m interested in spending time volunteering in Peru, Ecuador and Thailand this summer…
Do you think that people displaced from the earthquake will go over to the resort areas to try to get food? I imagine if I were in that situation and I knew that there were people coming to my island to live in luxury while my family and friends were all either dead or dying I’d resent them. I don’t think that a resort in Haiti would be a safe place right now. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if I sat on a beach drinking while a few miles down the road people were dying by the thousands.
CzarHC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do you think that people displaced from the > earthquake will go over to the resort areas to try > to get food? I imagine if I were in that > situation and I knew that there were people coming > to my island to live in luxury while my family and > friends were all either dead or dying I’d resent > them. I don’t think that a resort in Haiti would > be a safe place right now. I don’t think I’d be > able to live with myself if I sat on a beach > drinking while a few miles down the road people > were dying by the thousands. Labadie / Cap haitien is 260 kms (not 85 miles…) away from Port-au-Prince. This area has not been affected by the earthquake, so there is no reason why cruise ships should not keep coming.
100% the cruise should continue. Perhaps a stretch, but: - should tourists visit China if there are human rights activists who are languishing in prisons? - should tourists visit some country in Africa or Southeast Asia even though there is poverty in many places there? - should tourists visit Las Vegas if there are drug addicts in a living hell just a few blocks from where they are? If the tourists are directly harming the people, obviously they should stop. But in this case it’s neutral, with a even a slight tilt towards helping the Haitian government in terms of the amount it has to pay for docking there.
Any one who thinks proceeding with the Cruise to Haiti is even remotely okay is a moron.
^reasoning?
Yeah, come on JOE2010. This is a site for people with at least some brains. Will you explain your argument?
There is a distinct difference between visiting an impoverished country and visiting a natural disaster area. If you visit an impoverished country for vacation you are supporting their economy and effectively helping them. Right now, money alone won’t help Haiti.
^ Exactly. It’s not like people were going to New Orleans to party a week after Katrina. Also, imagine the liability/media uproar if even a hair was displaced on the head of an American tourist in Haiti.
What’s the difference between partying in the US and partying in some place closer to Haiti? Why should you feel more or less guilty either way?
nuppal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ > Exactly. > > It’s not like people were going to New Orleans to > party a week after Katrina. > > Also, imagine the liability/media uproar if even a > hair was displaced on the head of an American > tourist in Haiti. Had Labadie, where the cruise ships dock, been wiped out by the earthquake, I would agree with this logic. Labadie, however, was virtually untouched. Should people in Shreveport also had their livelihoods taken away after Katrina?
I hate myself that when I saw what you wrote I immediately thought of the Miley Cyrus song… The difference is that you are actively going to a place where people are suffering and dying while you have a good time and enjoy yourself. I’d have a tough time doing that. That being said, as long as the cruise ship is delivering supplies and the people going to Haiti are not in any way taking away from the rescue efforts I think they have a right to go there. I guess the best way to recover from a disaster like this is to rebuild the economy, infastructure, and government of Haiti and going there on vacation is a good way to kickstart the economy.
Well maybe a good portion of the cruise passengers were not happy. It’s not like a cab where you can stop the driver and leave.