Cartoon: More on Women in Haiti...

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More on the risks for pregnant Haitian women from Women's eNews.

And MADRE has more on the unique needs of women and children in Haiti in the aftermath here. An excerpt:

All Haitians are suffering right now. But, women are often hardest hit when disaster strikes because they were at a deficit even before the catastrophe. In Haiti, and in every country, women are the poorest of the poor and often have no safety net, leaving them most exposed to violence, homelessness and hunger in the wake of disasters. Women are also overwhelmingly responsible for other vulnerable people, including infants, children, the elderly, and people who are ill or disabled.

Because of their role as care-takers and because of the discrimination they face, women have a disproportionate need for assistance. Yet, they are often overlooked in large-scale aid operations. In the chaos that follows disasters, aid too often reaches those who yell the loudest or push their way to the front of the line. When aid is distributed through the "head of household" approach, women-headed families may not be recognized, and women within male-headed families may be marginalized when aid is controlled by male relatives.

It is not enough to ensure that women receive aid. Women in communities must also be integral to designing and carrying out relief efforts...

Update: The New York Times has more on this issue.

Cartoon for Women's eNews: Relief for Haitian Women

Haiti already had the highest maternal, infant and under-five mortality in the Western Hemisphere and the earthquake (and the collapse of hospitals, including an obstetrics hospital) certainly hasn't helped. In addition to more broad-based relief groups, please also consider giving to women's relief groups such as Madre that are dealing with women and girls' unique needs in the aftermath.

Here's the cartoon at Women's eNews, and below is a permalink (the eNews link expires in a week or so):

(click here to view)

Mikhaela Reid Metro Times (Detroit) Jan 21, 2010 EditorialCartoonists.com

I will add that I received a really disturbing bit of pro-rape (seriously!?) email from a Mr. John Napolitano in response to this cartoon this morning. An excerpt (warning--this is really horrible, so please don't read if it will upset you... it certainly upset me):

But do you understand that the rapist could be another (male) earthquake victim. pushed over the edge from being denied the aid they need?

But most women's advocacy is full of this sort of narrow short sightedness, which does nothing but make another part of the people feel less than equal. I sometimes wonder if this isn't the real aim.

The end result is the furthering of the "Women's Agenda at the expense of Humanity.....

No comment. That really soured my morning.

Cartoons on Haiti from the Mikhaela Archives

I'll have a cartoon about maternal health in Haiti tomorrow for Women's eNews. I haven't drawn anything yet about the way the relief effort is going, or the political implications, or the history behind this "natural" disaster (earthquakes are natural disasters, but extreme vulnerability to earthquakes are not)... In the meantime, two from the archives:

For some reason (not sure why I didn't do any cartoons about the coup against Aristide?) I hadn't drawn any cartoons about Haiti since 2004. Here's one from 2004 and one from 2002. I was appalled to hear that the U.S. has told Haitians that even if they manage to get to the U.S. via dangerous boat journey, they will just be jailed. At least no one is being deported to Haiti at the moment.

Click image to see full-size for either.

Cartoon: Haitian Cruise

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Seriously? They seriously claim this is the BEST way to help, sunning in a fenced-in resort 60 miles from hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of immediate aid? Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders had difficulty getting their mobile hospital supplies into Port-Au-Prince...

Caption: Royal Caribbean cruise ships continue to dock in Haiti
Dialogue: Buying trinkets in a fenced-in resort is the LEAST we can do for those lovely unfortunate people! Absolutely! More champagne, darling?

Jay Smooth on Haiti: "Haiti is a Nation of Heroes"

Via Racialicious. Only caveat to this otherwise excellent piece--at the end he mentions several organizations to donate to, including Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health--but also Wyclef's Yele foundation. After recent revelations, I'd avoid the latter and stick with the former two.

Please Donate to Help Haiti Now!

The Nation has a list of reputable, trustworthy aid organizations that are on the ground doing emergency relief in Haiti. Please donate to help if you can--these next few days are especially critical! I have just given what I could to Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam America and MADRE.