..."If the UN is living on a cruise ship, it is the perfect metaphor for how they are viewed here in the country," said Richard Morse, the 52-year-old owner of Port-au-Prince's iconic Hotel Oloffson.
"If they think quake refugees should be living on cruise ships, then they should get cruise ships for the Haitian people, that's all I'm saying. Unless of course I am misinterpreting this and they really are better than Haitians."...
The Business Of Disaster: Where's The Haiti-Bound Money Going?
...Meanwhile, where are the billions in foreign aid money going?
Of the U.S. money, 40 cents on every dollar goes to the U.S. military, according to sources gathered from USAID and the U.N. and compiled by the Associated Press.[iii] Less than one cent goes to the Haitian government. U.S. government contracts, paid for by citizen's tax dollars, are being given out to private U.S. corporations for post-earthquake work including damage assessments, security guards, military "mission support," shipping of supplies, clean-up, construction, long-term planning, "monitoring food security," and much more...
With Haiti In Ruins, Some U.N. Relief Workers Live Large On 'Love Boat'
The U.N. is spending over $10 million to house some of its Haiti relief workers on a pair of chartered cruise ships -- one of which has been dubbed the "Love Boat" by U.N. staff -- and some of the funds are going to a company closely linked to the government of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.
International Shipping Partners
The lavish Harbor Lights Lounge aboard the Sea Voyager, a cruise ship chartered by the U.N.'s World Food Program to house some of its relief workers in Haiti.
For the United Nations World Food Program, it was a moment of satisfaction: the U.N.'s flagship relief agency announced on its Web site on March 19 that two gleaming passenger ships had docked in ravaged Port au Prince harbor.
What the Web site announcement did not disclose was that the vessels were intended to house not homeless Haitian refugees, but employees of the U.N. itself. Nor did it publicize the cost of leasing the ships: $112,500 a day. Nor did it mention that one of the vessels is owned by a company closely linked to the government of Venezuelan strongman President Hugo Chavez.
Another thing not mentioned: Even U.N. staffers regularly refer to one of the ships as "the Love Boat."...
U.N.'s 'Love Boat' Lets Relief Workers Handle Haiti (Slideshow)
Welcome to the "Love Boat," a chartered cruise ship where many U.N. relief workers are living while they stay in Haiti's ruined capital of Port au Prince, where most residents are homeless. The U.N. is paying over $10 million to rent a pair of ships, because "you have to be in good shape in order to help the Haitians," a senior U.N. official told Fox News.
