Ordinary Americans are already responding with their characteristic generosity to the earthquake in Haiti. Aside from reliable relief agencies like the American Red Cross and UNICEF, one of my favorites is Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders, whose work I have admired around the world.
In the end, though, much of the help will come from the 1.5 to 2 million Haitians themselves who live outside their country. Even in normal times, the Haitian diaspora sends home an astonishing amount of money — $1.83 billion in 2007 alone. The amount has dipped slightly since then, but it still works out to very roughly $1000 per person a year — even more if you consider that many of the 2 million overseas Haitians are children.
In other words, those hard-working hospital workers in Miami and Boston and taxi drivers in New York City and Montreal already send a considerable portion of their modest earnings to their relatives at home. I know they are already asking for extra shifts so they can help even more.
