Dr. Chand after being pulled from the Hotel Montana.
Original post: My friend’s mother is somewhere in Haiti right now. Her name is Dr. Sarla Chand, and she was there for work when the earthquake happened (she is not a medical doctor). We have third-hand information that she is alright, but her specific location is unknown. Please take a moment to read this statement by her employer, IMA World Health. Here are the photographs of Dr. Chand and her fellow missing coworkers:
Sarla Chand - FOUND SAFE!
Rick Santos - FOUND SAFE!
Giannie Jean Baptiste - SAFE WITH FAMILY!
Franck Monestime
Execkiel Milar
Ann Varghese - FOUND SAFE!
Ambroise Jean Sylvain
Abdel Direny - FOUND SAFE!
If you have any information about the whereabouts of any of the above, please contact the IMA at the following numbers:
This New York Times article was sent to me by Virginia, my #1, and possibly only, reader (just kidding, Mom). It’s about Michael Hicks, an 8 year old whose name is on a TSA watch list. (Hey, TSA: Good job on improving the way that travelers’ names are checked against government watch lists.) He is scrutinized and subject to extra searches when he flies. Not his parents. Just him. They patted him down when he was 2 years old. Who could do that? How does that make any sense?
I laughed when I read the article, because it is ridiculous to think that any rational person could look at an 8 year old and suspect him of plotting some sort of aviation-related terrorism. But then I got serious; it’s awful when you think of what this child and his family have gone through. It’s even worse when you think that he’s been getting this treatment since the age of 2. I know what toddlers practice their own special brand of terror (my nephew’s nickname isn’t Satanski for nothing), but seriously? This just illustrates the complete lack of logic behind TSA policies, and shows why the TSA justifiably gets such a bad rap.
Also, I was terrified by the story of Mario Labbé, an adult male with the same problem of having his name on a watch list. He was always questioned when he flew, and they always asked him the same thing. He got sick of it, and was able to fix the entire solution by changing his name. To François Mario Labbé. That’s it? That’s all it took? He changed his name just a little, and all the hassles ended? Although he shouldn’t have been on the list in the first place, I’d feel better knowing that it would take more than a trip to the municipal building for people whose travel plans raise justifiable concerns to evade heightened scrutiny. Where’s the followup? The intergovernmental agency cooperation?
The TSA was created in a hurry to allay people’s fears after 9/11, not out of careful strategy. I’m sure that a lot of TSA workers do want to help make air travel safe, but the system also seems to involve a worrying amount of pseduo-science (Only people with something to hide don’t look you in the eyes), racial profiling (Hey, you there, in the brown skin…), and plain retardedness (What were you planning to do with 101 ml of liquid, comrade??? The limit is 100!). For all that some justified people are pulled out of line or questioned further, it is inarguable that a lot falls through the cracks.
The TSA is probably not a good organization to work for. Their mission is vague, scary as all get out, and potentially dangerous. The Transportation Security Officer, which is the main point of TSA contact for many air travelers, is the poorest paying position in the organization. These factors naturally limit the pool of applicants, and thinking for a moment about who that leaves to work for the TSA explains a lot about people’s perceptions of TSA officers. Kip Hawley, a former head of the TSA, famously called airport screening positions a dead end job. Yeah, no kidding.
Reading and thinking about the TSA is depressing the crap out of me, so I’ll stop now.
Haitian Earthquake | Nicole | 
January 14, 2010 8:12 pm | 
Comments Off on Good thoughts/prayers/positive vibes appreciated 
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