The Curse of Charity in Haiti

Tragedy has hit Haiti—again. Local officials put the death toll from Hurricane Matthew above 1,000, and a cholera epidemic is likely to drive that number higher. At the center of the devastation, in the rural western part of the country, homes have been shredded by fierce winds and crops have been wiped out. Residents, who are among the poorest people in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, have lost the little they had.

It’s an all-too-familiar scene. So too are the planeloads and shiploads of humanitarian aid now arriving in the country. The desperate plight of so many helpless souls—whose only mistake was being born in Haiti—has spurred a new surge of charitable giving. It is sorely needed.

Yet this is also an opportune time for introspection on the part of the aid community.