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Old 13-12-2010, 19:44   #16
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Thank you for all of the support and information! It is throughly appreciated.
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Old 14-12-2010, 05:15   #17
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I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about comments you received concerning obeying the law. Some people have a comic book mentality about Law and Order of our beloved first responders.
I was educated by Quakers (Friends Seminary, NYC) who smuggled runaway slaves up to Canada when the law said slaves were property and bounty hunters chased them right up to the border. Sometimes the law has it's head up it's
It can be difficult sometimes doing the right thing. I had a friend in SF whose job i was to received and distribute aid as it landed on an airstrip in Sudan. He didn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy things to say about the human race.
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Old 14-12-2010, 05:44   #18
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Originally Posted by swelldaddyo View Post
. . . From all reports in the field, the ports are not an option.
. . . My simplistic thoughts were we could just sail down, avoid the problematic ports, and unload at a friends house on the beach. I now realize that this is actually smuggling. I am not asking people to break any laws, sorry for giving that impression. I am simply looking for solutions to a problem.
. . .Does anybody have experience with shipping goods into Haiti, or the Dominican Republic lately? Any creative solutions to this problem?
. . . There is no such thing as a legitimate, "honest" way to ship to Haiti.
In other words you were, in fact, asking people to engage in smuggling, clear and simple. And to risk their own boats and personal freedom to do it. Personally, I doubt you are naive about this subject since you say your live and work in Haiti and from your other comments above. But just maybe - in that case the suggestions from others above should give you some ideas of a better way of bringing in your material.
- - The suggestion to purchase your own boat - which can be done very inexpensively in Florida as there are a lot of small sailboats that are almost free for the asking would be the logical way for you to accomplish your objective without asking others to risk their lives and property. The US Navy, USCG, and DEA actively patrol the waters between Haiti and the Bahamas and the US out of their massive base on Great Inagua and Guantanamo.
- - I have lived in the Dominican Republic for awhile and am very familiar with the problems of importing anything. There are charities who bring materials and volunteers in to the country to assist the poor people, but it is done legally with appropriate fees and political "considerations" taken care of.
- - In 3rd World Countries the vast majority of the income of the government is obtained by Customs Duties on imported items. Since the governments have no real idea of who in their populations earns money and how much, the only taxes are from legitimate businesses, tourist operations and mainly Import Duties.
- - This is true in all the other islands/countries of the Caribbean Basin, except those associated or owned by a 1st World Country. What all that means is that anybody trying to circumvent the primary source of income for the government (politician's pockets) of the island is committing a crime - probably worse than murder - that will not be tolerated and severely punished.
- - In the Dominican Republic, which is marginally a 3rd World country import duties - although supposedly controlled by NAFTA-DR - and bribes to get the items out of Customs runs over 100% of the value of the shipment. Bribes are a way of life (in the US they are called "User Fees") in these countries as the officials are paid less than a living wage. Without the "gratuities" for service rendered by the official he would not be able to feed his family.
- - Ten years or so ago there was a family who pissed off a Caribbean Island head of government and spent over a year in a prison loosing over 50% of their body weight. If you have no friends to bring you food or cannot afford to pay for it you starve. At that time, beside loosing their boat, the going "fee" for getting out of prison was US$25,000 per person - this bought you passage to the airport from prison. I am sure the cost of "get out of jail" has risen significantly since then.
- - FACT OF LIFE for all world cruisers - your home government (USA, E.U.,whatever) does not have the power, ability or desire to get involved unless you are a major bigwig in your home country. You are on your own and although there are folks who do get away with illegal activities, they are normally very skilled at it and know who and how much to pay for protection. Everybody else is engaging in an activity like checking the gasoline level in your dinghy tank by using a cigarette lighter flame.
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Old 14-12-2010, 06:00   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lorenzo b View Post
I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about comments you received concerning obeying the law. Some people have a comic book mentality about Law and Order of our beloved first responders.
I was educated by Quakers (Friends Seminary, NYC) who smuggled runaway slaves up to Canada when the law said slaves were property and bounty hunters chased them right up to the border. Sometimes the law has it's head up it's
It can be difficult sometimes doing the right thing. I had a friend in SF whose job i was to received and distribute aid as it landed on an airstrip in Sudan. He didn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy things to say about the human race.
True.... the Law is not about Justice in its pure sense... its about who has the biggest gun and what serves 'THEIR' interests...
And the rest of us can just go
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Old 14-12-2010, 06:18   #20
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Originally Posted by lorenzo b View Post
I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about comments you received concerning obeying the law. Some people have a comic book mentality about Law and Order of our beloved first responders.
I was educated by Quakers (Friends Seminary, NYC) who smuggled runaway slaves up to Canada when the law said slaves were property and bounty hunters chased them right up to the border. Sometimes the law has it's head up it's
It can be difficult sometimes doing the right thing. I had a friend in SF whose job i was to received and distribute aid as it landed on an airstrip in Sudan. He didn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy things to say about the human race.
So when can he expect you to arrive offshore with the first shipment?
If you ain't volunteering, you have no right to cast aspersions on others.

BTW, while your knee was jerking, did you take the time to read this organization's blog? As of this moment, they apparently do not have a TRUCK to haul supplies with. It appears they are negotiating a purchase, but the vehicle needs work.Supplies on the beach do no good if you can't get them up into the hills.

Right now, for all intents and purposes, there is no law in haiti, except that which is administered 9 mm at a time, and the quakers weren't smuggling INTO unfriendly territory.
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Old 14-12-2010, 07:52   #21
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You guys are giving away your political affiliations.
We have the "Givers" and the "Screw Them's."
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Old 14-12-2010, 07:52   #22
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Before we get too far bashing the third world, let me tell you that from my experience in the restaurant and bar business in NYC and the construction business in California that bribery and corruption are alive and well in the USA.
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Old 14-12-2010, 07:53   #23
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You guys are giving away your political affiliations.
We have the "Givers" and the "Screw Them's."
And the "realists"... and at least one "pigeonholer."
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Old 14-12-2010, 09:16   #24
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Although this thread has had some very useful information, if it degenerates into name calling and rants it will be closed.

I am very interested in how charities get their supplies into Haiti. I have given free medical care throughout South and Central America, and we never had to pay duties for supplies that we were going to use for care of the local population. Is Haiti somehow different? Or is the government unable to police the ports?

Perhaps rather than lamenting on how the whole world is corrupt, we could look at ways to get good care to those that need it most.
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Old 14-12-2010, 10:11   #25
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The comments on this thread are amusing. How can one get so worked up over a question, especially if they aren't interested in being involved?

Back to the original reason for this post. The ports are problematic. Would like to get aid to the country. How can this happen?
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Old 14-12-2010, 10:27   #26
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Back to the original reason for this post. If you can put together a good sized shipment of aid supplies and arrange for their legal delivery to the DR, i will be happy to take them there for you.
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Old 14-12-2010, 11:38   #27
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Have you tried Airline Ambassadors?

My sister in law has made a number of trips to Haiti bringing supplies for orphanages under the Airline Ambassador program. You could contact them at Airline Ambassadors
I will email her to see if she has any ideas to help in this situation...
-Kevin
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Old 14-12-2010, 12:25   #28
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So, where were we? Oh yes; The logistics of actually shipping supplies to Haiti.
Here's a list of 307 other Haiti organizations and I'd guess more than a couple could help with your logistics and then you know where to come to find a ship and crew.
Best of luck.
Kenny
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Old 14-12-2010, 15:43   #29
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The comments on this thread are amusing. How can one get so worked up over a question, especially if they aren't interested in being involved?

Back to the original reason for this post. The ports are problematic. Would like to get aid to the country. How can this happen?
The ports are problematic but there are agencies that are expert at dealing with this. GAIN (Global Aid Network) has an excellent logistics network. I recommend that you contact them. I have seen them in action first hand in Haiti and they can do the job.
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Old 14-12-2010, 16:08   #30
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So, where were we? Oh yes; The logistics of actually shipping supplies to Haiti.
Here's a list of 307 other Haiti organizations and I'd guess more than a couple could help with your logistics and then you know where to come to find a ship and crew.
Best of luck.
Kenny
idealist.org=

307 organizations and all the millions and millions already there, and it is still such a ----hole.

Something is not working huh?

Don't get me wrong. I feel for the innocent but am having trouble with who that might be.
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