AT LEAST 4 KILLED BY TROPICAL STORM "EMILY" ON THE ISLAND OF HISPANIOLA HOUSING THE TWO STATES - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PLUS HAITI

 

7,000 were evacuated in the Dominican Republic where 3 men were killed. 1 man died in the south-western part of Haiti.

 

"Emily" is continuing towards FLORIDA and is once again developing into a tropical storm according to the US Hurricane Center.

 

Text-TV on German ZDF Text

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14514905

 

13 August 2011 Last updated at 06:27 GMT

 

Head of aid agency Oxfam in Haiti resigns amid inquiry

 

The director of Oxfam's operations in Haiti has resigned amid an inquiry into allegations of misconduct by staff.

 

The UK-based aid agency said Roland Van Hauwermeiren felt he needed to resign as he had been in charge at the time.

 

A small number of Oxfam workers in Haiti have been suspended, pending the outcome of an inquiry, it added.

 

The charity raised $98m (£60m) for relief operations after last year's massive earthquake but Oxfam said the allegations were not linked to fraud.

 

Oxfam has used the money to try to improve sanitation in the face of a cholera outbreak, said to have killed almost 6,000 people and made 420,000 ill.

 

The staff suspended are not thought to be British nationals.

 

Under Mr Van Hauwermeiren's direction, Oxfam was one of the few international aid agencies to openly criticise relief efforts.

 

On the anniversary of the quake in January, it said in a report that "the Haitian state, together with the international community, [was] making little progress in reconstruction".

 

"Too many donors from rich countries have pursued their own aid priorities and have not effectively co-ordinated amongst themselves or worked with the Haitian government," Mr Van Hauwermeiren said at the time.

 

Oxfam has been working in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, since 1978.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14195321

 

18 July 2011 Last updated at 21:53 GMT

 

A year and a half since an earthquake destroyed the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, it is estimated at least 600,000 people still live in settlement camps, many facing a daily struggle for survival.

 

Their story is one which Dr Paul Farmer - a US anthropologist and physician - tells in his new book Haiti: After the Earthquake.

 

For three decades Dr Farmer has worked to help the people of the island nation. In this interview with the BBC's Jane O'Brien, he says a cholera epidemic is still raging in Haiti, while most of the quake rubble has not been removed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14625665

 

23 August 2011 Last updated at 07:22 GMT

 

Hurricane Irene strengthens as it swirls over Caribbean

 

A strengthening Hurricane Irene has swept over the northern Dominican Republic, bringing strong winds and heavy downpours.

 

The storm, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, had maximum sustained winds of 160km (100 mph).

 

Forecasters say Irene is set to intensify further as it heads north-west towards the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas.

 

The storm is forecast to reach the south-eastern US by the weekend.

 

At 06:00GMT, Irene, now classed as a category two hurricane, was 110km (70 miles) east-north-east of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said.

 

The hurricane is expected to be near the Turks and Caicos Islands and the south-eastern Bahamas by Tuesday night, forecasters said.

 

Irene was likely to strengthen further and could become a major hurricane within the next 72 hours as it moves over the warm sea waters.

 

 

On Monday, Irene knocked out power to more than half the island of Puerto Rico and affected water supplies to more than 100,000 people.

 

The governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuno, said he had asked the US government to declare Puerto Rico a disaster area so it could gain access to emergency funds.

 

In the Dominican Republic, authorities closed schools and evacuated coastal communities ahead of the storm's arrival.

 

Emergency preparations were also stepped up in neighbouring HAITI by United Nations agencies operating there.

 

The country, which suffers from extensive deforestation and poor infrastructure, is particularly vulnerable to heavy rainfall.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people still live in makeshift camps after the January 2010 earthquake.

 

 

Hurricane Irene is on a projected path to reach the United States by the end of the week, possibly making landfall in Florida, Georgia or South Carolina.

38 HAITIAN REFUGEES DROWNED OFF CUBA - 21 men + 17 women

 

Cuba's coast guard found their ship half-sunk about 100m off Point Maisi on the eastern part of Cuba. 87 other refugees including 4 children and 7 women were rescued and brought to an international refugee camp where help was offered.

 

Danish text-TV on DR1

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16328342

 

25 December 2011 Last updated at 04:10 GMT

 

Haiti migrants found dead off Cuba's coast

 

At least 38 migrants from Haiti have been found dead after their boat sank just off the eastern tip of Cuba, officials in Havana say.

 

Another 87 people from the boat were rescued, Cuban TV reported quoting civil defence officials.

 

It said the boat was spotted only 100m off shore. A search for more possible survivors is now under way.

 

Fatal incidents involving migrants from Haiti - the Western hemisphere's poorest nation - are not uncommon.

 

In 2009, US Coast Guard officials called off their search for about 70 migrants from Haiti whose boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands.

 

In May 2007, at least 61 Haitian migrants died when a boat carrying 150 people sank off the Turks and Caicos, a British territory.

38 HAITIAN REFUGEES DROWNED OFF CUBA - 21 men + 17 women[/color]

 

Cuba's coast guard found their ship half-sunk about 100m off Point Maisi on the eastern part of Cuba. 87 other refugees including 4 children and 7 women were rescued and brought to an international refugee camp where help was offered.

 

Danish text-TV on DR1

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16328342

 

25 December 2011 Last updated at 04:10 GMT

 

Haiti migrants found dead off Cuba's coast

 

At least 38 migrants from Haiti have been found dead after their boat sank just off the eastern tip of Cuba, officials in Havana say.

 

Another 87 people from the boat were rescued, Cuban TV reported quoting civil defence officials.

 

It said the boat was spotted only 100m off shore. A search for more possible survivors is now under way.

 

Fatal incidents involving migrants from Haiti - the Western hemisphere's poorest nation - are not uncommon.

 

In 2009, US Coast Guard officials called off their search for about 70 migrants from Haiti whose boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands.

 

In May 2007, at least 61 Haitian migrants died when a boat carrying 150 people sank off the Turks and Caicos, a British territory.

 

I know that the words I'm going to use is limited but I think it is "Sad": seeing that so many people try to escape from hard living conditions by every possible means even if it is very risky. :\ ...

:sunny:Here's what I've been thinking.:thinking2:

Be a lever puller. :bulb2: Ringo :elvis: was a born lever puller, and so should we. :bobby:

All the donations of aid are great, but this matter is larger than any one of us - it requires that we pull the right levers, to get a handle on power:elephant:. Often countries such as Haiti have been economically crushed via bad policies concocted in the dominant nations of the north, by those who have the most economic power (controllers of multi-national corporations, the big banks, and so forth). So to change the overall equation we need to regain control of our own governments, diversify the ownership of giant corporations and banks, move towards equitably owned and controlled banks and corporations, and demand limits on spending in elections, especially on maximum contributions to candidates - this will make candidates beholden again to our will, to a broad base of support at the bottom of the pyramid, not to the plutocrats. Which then allows us to shape policies that are fair and promote wellness in Haiti, so extreme poverty is ended, and there is continual improvement in all places - a global system of equity and harmony.

So be a lever puller - support amendments to reform the campaign financing system, regain control over corporate behemoths, and return government to it's role as the arbiter of fair play and promoter of human wellness. Because everyone deserves opportunity and improvement in life.:wink:

 

So be a born lever puller! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlxeWQX9Rw]Yellow Submarine part 2 - YouTube:mudkip::escaping:[/ame]

A TOTAL OF 7,000 PEOPLE HAVE DIED OF CHOLERA IN HAITI SINCE THE CHOLERA EPIDEMICS BROKE OUT IN OCTOBER 2010

 

Reports of 200 new cases of the disease every day.

 

Many have also died from the disease in the considerably richer/wealthier neighbouring country the Dominican Republic.

 

Health experts call the epidemics one of the worst hitting one single country for decades.

 

At the end of December 520,000 cases had been reported.

 

The source of the outbreak of cholera in October 2010 might be a camp inhabited by UN soldiers from Nepal.

 

Access to clean water is vital in fighting cholera.

 

Source: Danish text-TV on DR1 / Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende 9.1.12

2 YEARS AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI ON 12 JANUARY, 2010

 

 

On 12 January, 2010 Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake killing more than 300,000 in one of the worst natural disasters in modern times.

 

Haiti is still facing a huge challenge, but the future for Haiti's population and in particular the children seems brighter.

 

This can be read in a new UNICEF REPORT.

 

More than 200 schools have been built / completed.

 

More children go to school now than before the disaster.

 

In the worst hit area the vaccination rate among children has risen from only 6 percent before the earthquake to 85 per cent.

http://www.care2.com/causes/haiti-two-years-later-slow-progress-but-you-can-help.html

 

Haiti, Two Years Later: Slow Progress But You Can Help

 

by Judy Molland January 12, 2012 12:45 pm

 

Two years ago today, on January 12, 2010, the worst earthquake in 200 years – 7.0 in magnitude – struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0.

 

The quake killed more than 200,000 and left 1.5 million homeless.

 

Around the world, ordinary people and governments sought to help. So far, according to USA Today, these are the top givers:

 

* $3.3 billion – United States

* $940 million – Venezuela

* $634 million – European Commission

 

But What Is The Reality Of Life In Haiti Today?

 

It’s true that many nonprofits and other agencies have been on the ground, rebuilding, providing supplies, and helping to re-create the economy.

 

But meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Haitians still live in miserable conditions and nearly half of $4.5 billion pledged by governments for reconstruction has yet to be disbursed.

 

Slow Progress

 

From USA Today:

 

“There’s been a remarkable lack of progress,” says Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which has followed Haiti’s recovery.

 

As Haiti today observes the second anniversary of a disaster that leveled 300,000 buildings and left its economy and government in ruins, half a million people still live in tents, the United Nations reports.

 

Few have access to water, sanitation and other basic services, 60% are jobless and the world’s largest cholera outbreak has killed 7,000 people and infected 500,000 more, the U.N. and aid groups say.

 

Now, money is running short. “Funding is not coming in as before and that is becoming a challenge,” says Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans, UNICEF Haiti representative.

 

The slow progress comes despite promises by the international community that the chronically poor nation with tremendous needs before the disaster would be rebuilt better than before. Since the earthquake, governments and international agencies have pledged $8.4 billion for humanitarian, recovery and development efforts — $4.5 billion of it for rebuilding.

 

The U.S. has disbursed 85% of $1.45 billion pledged for humanitarian relief and pledged $1.8 billion for recovery and development, 37% of which has been disbursed, U.N. figures show. Weisbrot says governments did not pledge enough aid for reconstruction, estimated to cost more than $10 billion, and money that has been pledged isn’t being doled out fast enough.

 

But There Is Good News

 

Despite the slow pace, funds are slowly being allocated as efforts shift from short-term humanitarian needs to long-term reconstruction: creating more jobs by helping small businesses, removing debris, preparing the country for future disasters and helping the Haitian government become a functioning body.

 

To provide just one example, as first reported in USA Today, Beth Hogan, director of the Haiti Task Team for U.S. Agency for International Development says U.S. funds have provided temporary shelters for more than 300,000 families and created 17,000 jobs.

 

And here’s something you can do now.

 

Take Action!

 

Care2 has been working with nonprofit partner BRAC delivering signatures to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on the U.N. to support programs to redevelop Haiti’s environment.

 

Even before the devastating earthquake, millions in Haiti lived in poverty.

 

BRAC is now working with families to provide them information about quality seeds, fertilizer and planting methods that will help them bring their families out of poverty. One pilot nursery is teaching children and adults how to plant and care for papaya, mango, and timber trees.

 

You can help reforest Haiti, by joining the 15,000 that have signed the petition and tell the U.N. that we need to bring more programs like this to the region.

 

And thank you.

 

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/haiti-two-years-later-slow-progress-but-you-can-help.html#ixzz1jNmZgrq2

Good reporting, Nancy. ;) I will go to the care2 - BRAC partnership link shortly.

Good to see so many Haitians have been helped thus far! Still many more in need though. It is telling about how the US government promises help and then delivers slowly on that promise, half or more of the money not sent even after two full years. I understand some is earmarked for long-term rebuilding, but a lot more of the funds need to be made available to rebuild faster and help create a stable environment in Haiti.

LATEST IN RELATION TO HAITI

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17159167

 

24 February 2012 Last updated at 21:40 GMT

 

Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille resigns

 

The prime minister of Haiti, Garry Conille, has resigned after a power struggle within the government.

 

His resignation is likely to set back efforts to re-build the country after the January 2010 earthquake which devastated the capital Port-au-Prince.

 

He was President Michel Martelly's third nomination when appointed in October, ending a long stalemate.

 

For several weeks there have been reports of power struggles that prompted the UN to intervene.

 

On Thursday Mariano Fernandez, the special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti, said there were "repeated crises" between the parliament, president and prime minister.

 

"[These] undermine the proper functioning of the institutions and the democratic process," he said.

 

So far President Martelly has not announced any replacement or caretaker prime minister.

 

UN experience

 

One of the issues causing division was a parliamentary commission investigating the nationality of government ministers.

 

Many officials in Haiti and elsewhere in the Caribbean spend considerable time overseas.

 

The commission is investigating whether some senior administration officials have dual citizenship, which is prohibited under the constitution.

 

Mr Conille originally trained as a doctor and had previously worked with the UN.

 

He was an aide to former US President Bill Clinton when he was a UN envoy to Haiti.

 

When Mr Conille took office he pledged to create thousands of jobs by attracting foreign investment to help rebuild the country.

 

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/haiti-pms-sudden-resignation-threatens-earthquake-reconstruction/article2349773

 

Haiti PM’s sudden resignation threatens earthquake reconstruction

 

TRENTON DANIEL

 

The Associated Press

 

Published Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 8:46PM EST

 

Last updated Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 8:49PM EST

 

Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille abruptly resigned Friday after less than five months on the job in a setback for President Michel Martelly, whose struggle to fill the top government post had hampered earthquake reconstruction and other development efforts.

 

The government announced Mr. Conille's resignation in a brief statement. The president did not immediately announce his proposed replacement for the top administrative post in his government.

HAITI EARTHQUAKE IN JANUARY 2010 – THE FORGOTTEN CATASTROPHE

 

2 years after a devastating earthquake in Haiti, hundred thousands are still living under poor conditions - without work, without shelter and without money.

 

Despite massive media coverage when the quake occurred, only half of the pledged emergency aid has reached the civilian population.

 

28-year-old Valerie Loiseau is standing in front of her little white tent in a public park in the suburb Petionville not far from the centre of the capital Port-au-Prince with her daughter running about bare-foot.

 

Beside the tent there is a brook. It is full of trash and garbage. But that does not prevent little boys and girls from running about playing something that looks like football between puddles and clothes hung out to dry between tents – and showers.

 

Valerie Loiseau remembers the awful tremors that made her run to the park with her two children of which the youngest was only a few months old – shortly before 6 o’clock 2 years ago.

 

“I came here minutes after the earthquake without anything but my children. Nothing else”, she says before adding that most other people in the camp were in the same situation then and now.

 

“I am still here”, she snaps and continues that like so many other places time has stood still in the camp since the quake.

 

She has not noticed the pledged help from abroad and from the government.

 

The quake had a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale and caused devastation of close to biblical dimensions in Haiti that was already extremely poor. To this day, nobody knows how many died. Guesses from experts vary between 200,000 and 300,000. The United Nations talks of 220,000 deaths.

 

According to official figures from Haiti’s government the quake hit 15 percent of Haiti’s 10 million inhabitants who were either killed or lost their homes.

 

Today well over 520,000 quake victims live in 800 tent camps close to the already overpopulated capital where there is only little chance of getting a job. The poverty is enormous, so experts say. Many of the hundred thousands who lost their homes are involved in juridical conflicts regarding compensation for the damage. This is due to the fact that they had no proof of their possessions.

 

A cholera epidemic broke out one year ago and is still not under control. So far, well over 7,000 have died during the epidemics, whereas well over ½ billion are infected. Local authorities say that the epidemic came from UNs peace-keeping soldiers from Nepal.

 

Shocked at the gigantic devastation, the international community pledged over the equivalent of 25 billion Danish kroner in aid to bring Haiti on its feet again. Less than half of this pledged amount has been transferred to Haiti, and that can be felt by the victims. Many aid agencies came to Haiti after the quake. But they are running out of money and provisions.

 

Another important explanation why the reconstruction is so slow is that Haiti has had no operative government. Haiti’s president, the entertainer Michel Martelly, was sworn in – in May last year, but it took him 6 months to appoint a prime minister who then formed a government.

 

“It has all been very unorganized and without throroughly prepared plans”, says the president of the World Bank in Haiti, Josef Leitmann who has started to be more positive about the situation.

 

“The government has now a vision about where to go. Now the vision is to be explained to the population and it is to inspire them with optimism”, he says.

 

By Clarens Renois / Ritzau / AFP

 

Source: Article published by MetroXpress.dk on 12 January 2012

 

 

THE QUAKE IN HAITI

 

The magnitude 7.0 quake was the most powerful quake for decades in Haiti. With more than 200,000 deaths it was one of the worst natural disasters in modern time.

 

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. Two thirds (2/3) of Haiti’s 10 million people are living for very little every day, and 5 million are without water supply.

 

40% of Haiti’s population is less than 14 years old. Even though the infant mortality in Haiti is one of the highest in the world, there is a 2% population increase every year.

 

The earthquake destroyed most of Haiti’s already fragile / weak infrastructure.

 

Before the quake Haiti exported rice. Today Haiti imports 80% of all provisions (food).

 

Source: UN, AFP and BBC

HAITI: 6 DEATHS AFTER LANDSLIDES

 

At least 6 people died in landslides. The houses of 2 families at a mountain near the capital Port-au-Prince were torn away by masses of mud. In this connecction 2 men, 3 women and a child were killed.

 

This accident follows days of heavy rain.

 

The poor Caribbean state is still suffering from the consequences of the devastating eartquake well over 2 years ago.

 

Around 500,000 people are living in tents and are threatened by flooding.

 

Source: German text-TV / ARDtext

HAITI COMMEMORATES THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

 

The Caribbean state of HAITI has commemorated the more than 250,000 people that died 3 years ago in connection with the devastating magnitude 7 earthquake.

 

The national flags were on halbmast and the government had declared today a day of remembrance and reflection.

 

President Michel Martelly led a memoria ceremony in the capital Port-au-Prince at the site where the presidential palace was once standing before it collapsed because of the devastating quake on 12.1.10. In his speach Martelly appealed to the population to contribute to the reconstruction of the country.

 

Aid organizations talked of progress towards a stabilization, but also stressed the enormous problems facing the very poor country.

 

The reconstruction work has been slow because Haiti has been politically paralyzed and because the relief efforts have been poor.

 

The whole world pledged to help Haiti following the devastating earthquake.

 

More than 1½ million Haitians were made homeless, and half of Haiti's infrastructure was destroyed after the disaster.

 

3 years on, more than 300,000 Haitians remain homeless and are living in primitive tents in big makeshift camps.

 

At the same time official figures show an unemployment of 85 per cent.

 

Sources: German ARDtext + ZDFtext + Danish dr.dk/news

FAITH, HOPE AND A LITTLE HOUSE IN THE MOUNTAINS

 

HAITI in January 2013 - 3 years after the earthquake

 

Translation of the essential contents of an article published in Danish Newspaper Berlingske Tidende on 12 January 2013

 

Article written by Lars Rosenkvist // [email protected] / translated by Nancy Boysen

 

3 years after the devastating earthquake the Haitians still try to get shelter and rebuild their lives. Berlingske visited a housing project in Haiti’s mountains close to the epicenter

 

Port-au-Prince: During the trip through Haiti’s capital we passed the tent cities along the roads leading to the capital. The building of permanent housing is now top priority in the relief work.

 

Most of the rubble has been cleared, and the most damaged houses have been demolished. The most noticeable tent cities – by the airport and in the parks of the capital – have been evacuated and cleared. The Haitians are in desperate need of housing.

 

3 years after the earthquake, a depressing number of Haitians are living in badly damaged houses and home-built huts, whereas 350,000 are still staying in the remaining about 500 tent cities.

 

After driving 1 hour on Route Nationale 2 we reach the town of Gressier from which – via a holey dirt road - we reach the village Ti Boukan and Institute de Technologie et d’Animation aka. ITECA.

 

Director Chenet Jean-Baptiste shows us the small plant / factory where concrete blocks are produced before we end in front of the pièce de résistance of the institute: A fully completed model of the 41 squaremeter standard house planned for the homeless population in the mountains close to the epicenter of the earthquake.

 

The house is said to be earthquake-proof and is equipped with a gutter running all the way round the housing and ending in a rainwater tank.

 

Despite being holiday season, all the men are working. The project’s Canadian sponsors have put an unrelenting pressure on them after several setbacks and delays. Now the Canadians want to see 50 houses completed by the end of January. And 400 houses in June.

 

The earthquake on 12 January, 2010 had a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale and destroyed most houses in the mountains in Haiti’s southern peninsula.

 

Aid organizations came to see the damage caused and then urged the inhabitants to come down from the mountains and to gather around the big towns where it would be easier to distribute aid.

 

But ITECA – a more than 30-year-old agricultural organization – persuaded the inhabitants to stay on their land. 1,700 families that had lost their homes were registered in the region. ITECA suggested that if the inhabitants built a temporary/makeshift house on their land, then ITECA would help them build new, permanent houses.

 

After the visit we drove up in the mountains to see some of the plots of land where peasants are building the new houses.

 

The makeshift / temporary houses in which the inhabitants had been living since the earthquake 3 years ago could hardly be called houses. But the optimism is enormous.

 

On the way back to Port-au-Prince I am told the reason for the visit.

 

“We have allocated almost 5 million dollar to the project, and our partner, Development and Peace, a little more than 1.6 million, says Erin Cosgrove from the Canadian equivalent of the Danish International Development Agency, Danida – a Danish organisation inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, set up to provide humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries).

 

“It is important that such projects are successful because Haiti is in lack of permanent housing”.

 

“As late as in 2012, temporary / makeshift shelters were still built. I have read somewhere that a total of 215 million dollars was spent on permanent houses, whereas 1.2 billion dollars was spent on makeshift / temporary accommodation”, says Erin Cosgrove who has been in Haiti for almost 2 years.

 

“Therefore, we are willing to give ITECA a long leash. Such projects must success”.

 

But housing in Haiti is a slow and frustrating affair that is i.a. made difficult by the fact that there is no registration of the actual owners of the land. Add to this a weak government, ideological disputes, logistic and contractual problems, shortage of skilled labor/workers and even the weather: In October 2012, the hurricane “Sandy” destroyed most of 2012’s crops and triggered massive landslides in the forest-poor country.

 

Consequently, the aid organizations have so far chosen not to deal with housing. Instead the aid organizations concentrated on the sectors in which they are experts: Transportation, health, education, water and sanitation.

 

“The reconstruction money was not spent on real reconstruction”, said UNDP’s country manager for Haiti, Jessica Faieta when she resigned from the post last autumn.