Haiti earthquake - Chris' message / news on 14 April 2010

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 14 APRIL 2010

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8618445.stm

 

US FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBANA MAKES SURPRISE HAITI VISIT

 

Page last updated at 01:38 GMT, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 02:38 UK

 

The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, has made an unannounced visit to Haiti.

 

It was her first official trip overseas without US President Barack Obama since he took office last year.

 

She spent several hours in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, visiting projects set up in the wake of the devastating earthquake in January.

 

Mrs Obama then flew on to Mexico for a previously announced visit due to last

three days.

 

The trip was kept a secret for security reasons.

 

The White House said the AIM of the visit was to "underscore to the Haitian people and the Haitian government the enduring US commitment to help Haiti recover and rebuild".

 

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan, who is travelling with Mrs Obama, says US troops who have been helping with the aid effort are leaving and Haitians are wondering what comes next.

 

President Obama has previously stated that America will be a reliable partner and will continue to help reconstruction efforts, even though US troops are leaving the area.

 

About 230,000 people are believed to have died in the quake.

 

More than a million people lost their homes and many are now living in makeshift camps.

 

Thousands are being moved to higher ground as the forthcoming rainy season increases the risk of landslides.

 

 

German ZDF Text: PENN: NOW HAITI HAS A CHANCE

 

The American 49-year-old actor Sean Penn, who is involved in helping Haiti, sees a unique chance of a better future for Haiti. He criticizes the international aid as being "too slow and frustrating".

 

Penn, who has lived almost non-stop in the hard-hit earthquake-stricken Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, since the devastating earthquake on 12 January, told the Mexican daily paper "La Jornado" that the international community must let the Haitians decide their own future.

News on 15 April 2010

 

German ZDF Text: WILLIAMS ASKS FOR HAITI RELIEF / AID

 

Robbie Williams has appealed to the world to do its utmost to help children in the earthquake-stricken Haiti to a better life. The British singer who is also UNICEF ambassador said after his visit to Haiti that 3 months after the quake a lot has been done. "But it is still a huge challenge".

 

According to the latest UNICEF report the life conditions have improved for many of the 1.5 million children who are affected by the earthquake. But the situation is still difficult.

HAITI earthquake - Chris' message / news on 16 April 2010

 

PINOYS WARNED AGAINST JOB OFFERS IN QUAKE-RAVAGED HAITI

 

04/16/2010 | 10:24 PM - GMA News.TV

 

Beware of unscrupulous individuals recruiting Filipinos for non-existent jobs in Haiti, which is still reeling from the devastation of a major earthquake.

 

This was the reminder of the Philippine Embassy in Cuba, after receiving reports of an alleged recruitment scheme to bring in Filipino workers in Haiti.

 

“Port-Au-Prince was recently ravaged by a major earthquake on January 12 that killed more than 250,000 people. It does not have job opportunities at all for ‘walk-in’ applicants," Philippine Ambassador to Cuba Macarthur Corsino said in a release posted on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website.

 

The warning was issued in the light of reports from Philippine Honorary Consul in Haiti Fitzgerald Brandt about two Filipinos being recently stranded penniless in a beach resort in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince after being promised jobs in the country.

 

The recruitment scheme was allegedly hatched by Philippine-based recruiters in connivance with Haitian nationals and supposedly Haiti-based Filipinos.

 

Most of the victims are from Laguna, the release added.

 

“The city’s infrastructure and business establishments suffered tremendously from the tragedy. It is still in the process of recovery, and any available jobs are given first to qualified local Haitians and those with prior approved contracts addressed to specifically needed skills related to reconstruction," Corsino added.

 

The Embassy likewise warned Filipinos against illegally entering the country to look for jobs by pretending to be tourists.

 

Jobseekers may end up being stranded, penniless and homeless in the earthquake-ravaged country, after paying big amounts to recruiters, the release stated.

 

“Any promise of available jobs in Haiti is false and is punishable as illegal recruitment and human smuggling," it added.

—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV

Haiti earthquake - Chris' message / news on 21 April 2010

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 19 to 21 APRIL 2010

 

HAITI

 

METROXPRESS (free paper) on 21 April 2010: HAITI 100 DAYS AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE

 

In spite of the massive foreign aid the rebuilding of the destroyed country is very slow!!

 

HOMELESS TO BE THROWN OUT OF CAMP (The essence of this article is as follows):

 

The Minister for youth and sport, Lescouflair Evans says: We must start playing FOOTBALL again, and we must make the young people go in for SPORTS again. We are TRYING TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THOSE LIVING AT THE STADIUM = SYLVIO CATOR, THE LARGEST FOOTBALL STADIUM IN HAITI WHICH IS CURRENTLY TEMPORARY HOME FOR 1,500 FAMILIES OR ABOUT 6,000 HAITIANS WHO WERE MADE HOMELESS BY THE DISASTER.

Thierry Regenass, regional FIFA director, agrees: "The Haitians are crazy about football. Football is one of the things working best in this country. Football brings hope and joy".

 

I'll translate these two articles tomorrow.

I had expected to translate the two articles from yesterday's MetroXpress regarding HAITI, but now I cannot find the newspaper.

 

The headline of the entire page was: "HAITI 100 DAYS AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE".

 

The headline of the first article was: IN SPITE OF THE MASSIVE FOREIGN AID, THE REBUILDING OF THE DESTROYED COUNTRY IS VERY SLOW.

 

This headline was the most informative thing in relation to the current situation in HAITI !! - I found the rest of that article rather disappointing = boring.

 

I translated the most important parts of the second article named: HOMELESS TO BE THROWN OUT OF CAMP.

The essence of that article is as follows:

 

"The Minister for Youth and Sports, Lescouflair Evans says: "WE MUST START PLAYING FOOTBALL GAMES AGAIN, AND WE MUST MAKE THE YOUNG PEOPLE GO IN FOR SPORTS AGAIN."

WE ARE TRYING TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THOSE LIVING AT THE STADIUM. THE STADIUM IS SYLVIO CATOR, THE LARGEST FOOTBALL STADIUM IN HAITI WHICH IS CURRENTLY TEMPORARY HOME FOR 1,500 FAMILIES OR ABOUT 6,000 HAITIANS WHO WERE MADE HOMELESS BY THE DISASTER.

Thierry Regeness, the regional FIFA director, agrees: "The Haitians are crazy about football. Football is one of the things working best in this country. Football brings HOPE and JOY".

 

I remember reading that FIFA is going to pay for the rebuilding of the football stadium.

 

This article upset me because it seemed that the football-loving government said: FOOTBALL ABOVE EVERYTHING - FOOTBALL IS THE ANSWER TO OUR PROBLEMS. Where can the homeless go? - if I may ask.

Haiti earthquake - Chris' message / news on 23 April 2010

 

UPDATES ON 23 APRIL 2010 OF THE SITUATION RELATED TO NATURAL DISASTERS

 

HAITI

 

Danish DR1 and TV2 as well as Swedish SVT: UN ESTIMATES THAT 300,000 DIED IN THE DEVASTATING HAITI EARTHQUAKE

 

The earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 cost between 250,000 and 300,000 human lives, says the head of the UN mission in Haiti.

 

So far Haiti's government has indicated that more than 220,000 were killed in the earthquake.

 

- Now more than 100 days have passed since the disaster that cost between 250,000 and 300,000 human lives according to a statement made by Edmond Mulet who is in charge of UNs mission in HAITI. Mulet also says that 300,000 were injured and that more than 1 million were made homeless.

 

Swedish SVT1: Mulet wants UNs Security Council to send additional 800 policemen to maintain law and order in the refugee camps.

 

The death toll in the Haiti earthquake is twice as much as the death toll after the atomic bomb over Hiroshima in Japan at the end of World War II.

 

 

I managed to find MetroXpress from the 21 April 2010 and the promised translation of the 2 articles will follow tomorrow.

 

Another article published in MetroXpress on 21 April 2010 in relation to HAITI:

 

TEACHER SAVED 800 SCHOOL CHILDREN

 

CHINA. Early in the morning (of 12 January 2010) the Chinese teacher Yanli Duode suddenly felt that the earth shook under him. "I had an ominous feeling that made me nervous", he says. Together with four other teachers Yanli woke the children and led them out of the building. Few minutes later the boys' dormitory collapsed as the earthquake struck at full steam. Also the girls' dormitory was damaged. Thanks to the resolution of their teacher, more than 800 school children survived meaning that far less were killed at the school than in other places in the same area.

Haiti earthquake - Chris' message / news 24.4.10 + 2 articles dated 21.4.10

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS ON 24 APRIL 2010

 

NEWS ON 24 APRIL 2010

 

HAITI on 24 April 2010

 

German ZDFtext: EU SIGNS CONVENTION IN RELATION TO RELIEF / AID TO HAITI AT 260 MILLION EURO

During a visit to HAITI, EUs commissioner for development, Andris Piebalgs has signed conventions in relation to relief / aid to HAITI to a value of 260 million EURO. This amount is a contribution to rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged country.

 

EU has pledged a total of 1.6 billion Euro for reconstruction. 460 million Euro should come from the Commission, the rest from the EU member states. In the earthquake on 12 January 2010, between 250,000 and 300,000 human lives were lost according to the United Nations, and more than a million people lost their homes.

 

 

Translation of 2 articles published in Metropress on 21 April 2010

 

The headline of the entire page was "HAITI 100 DAYS AFTER THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE".

 

Article 1: IN SPITE OF THE MASSIVE FOREIGN AID, THE REBUILDING OF THE DESTROYED COUNTRY IS VERY SLOW.

 

By Elisabeth Braw, Metro World News

 

When UNs secretary general, Ban Ki-moon calls 5.3 billion dollar a “first instalment”, it is an indication of the need for enormous amounts of money for the rebuilding of Haiti.

 

5.3 billion dollar is the amount / the donations pledged by the international community to Haiti over the next two years. After the two-year-period, Haiti is to receive additional 4.6 billion dollar.

 

At a conference in New York last month, the USA, the EU, the World Bank and other great international actors coordinated their relief / aid to the earthquake-ravaged country covering the next couple of years.

 

But Haiti’s needs are larger = these amounts do not meet Haiti’s needs.

 

“The first stage is relief / aid over the next decade”, says Mark Schneider, senior vice president for International Crisis Group.

 

“The next stage is relief / aid for the next generation”.

 

Haiti’s gross national product 2009 amounted to 11.9 billion dollar, and money sent to Haiti by Haitians living abroad amounted to 25 per cent of this amount.

 

Immediately after the earthquake, enormous amounts – it is not clear how much – were sent to HAITI via governments and relief organisations from all over the world.

 

“It is not yet clear whether the relief work has been successful”, says Arrietta Chakos, acting director in the Time Disaster Recovery Project at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

 

“The relief in HAITI is still at the acute stage. The situation is incredibly difficult, because so many died or were injured, and the devastation is extensive”.

 

But some fields such as searching for victims by means of new technology and status updates via social media have experienced huge success to the effect that the experts now examine how to use them in future disasters.

 

“And the fact that most victims get food and a shelter should be regarded as a success”, says Mark Schneider.

 

“It is of course not ideal that people have to live under a plastic cloth, but it is really cost-expensive to transport relief to Haiti”.

 

 

HOMELESS TO BE THROWN OUT OF CAMP

 

By Elisabeth Braw, Metro World News

 

Haiti’s government has been criticized for its plans to repel homeless earthquake survivors from a national stadium so that football games can again be played there.

 

THE LARGEST FOOTBALL STADIUM IN HAITI, SYLVIO CATOR, IS CURRENTLY THE TEMPORARY HOME FOR 1,500 FAMILIES WHO WERE MADE HOMELESS BY THE DISASTER.

 

Now the government will clear the camp so that the stadium can be repaired (with money donated by FIFA) and so that the football games can be resumed as soon as possible. There have been found no ideas for an alternative for the homeless Haitians.

 

From 12 January 2010, only few hours after the earthquake ravaged the city, hundreds of homeless Haitians invaded the synthetic grass/turf and the parking area surrounding the stadium.

 

Today more than 6,000 Haitians live here. Those who have not been handed a tent by a relief organization, seek shelter under plastic cloths, pieces of metal, sheets or curtains / blinds. Relief workers have installed a water tank, lavatories and devices for showers in the goals.

 

Children are playing and women cooking at the foot of the stairs. People feel safe, because the stadium lights are on until 22 o’clock, and the tall fences protect against the chaos in the streets outside.

 

If the government implements its plan, this insecure existence will come to an end within days or weeks.

 

The Minister for Youth and Sports, Lescouflair Evans says: WE MUST START PLAYING FOOTBALL GAMES AGAIN, AND WE MUST MAKE THE YOUNG PEOPLE GO IN FOR SPORTS AGAIN. WE ARE TRYING TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THOSE LIVING AT THE STADIUM.

 

Thierry Regeness, the regional FIFA director, agrees: "The Haitians are crazy about football. Football is one of the things working best in this country. Football brings HOPE and JOY".

 

 

OFFICIAL DONORS

50 countries and many international organizations have donated money to the reconstruction of Haiti. Among these countries are Venezuela and many African nations, but not Great Britain and Austria!

 

 

MONEY

 

The relief organization MSF = Médécins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) is spending the amount donated in this way:

 

109 million dollar donated for acute aid / relief

 

57,000 patients have been treated

 

26,000 cooking kits have been distributed

 

15,000 tents have been distributed

 

3,300 doctors are in HAITI

News in relation to Haiti on 27 April 2010

 

NEWS ON 27 APRIL 2010 IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS

 

Swedish SVT: HAITI: CHILD SMUGGLING MISSIONARY CHARGED

Laura Stilsby, the US missionary suspected of having tried to smuggle 33 Haitian children out of Haiti after the devastating January earthquake, will be put on trial. The legal proceedings against Laura Stilsby will take place in Haiti. Laura Stilsby was arrested with 9 other baptists when they tried to cross the border to the Dominican Republic in a bus with the Haitian children. The group of missionaries claimed that the children were orphans which turned out to be untrue. The children are now together with their parents again.

Haiti earthquake - Chris' message / news on 28 April 2010

 

NEWS ON 28 APRIL 2010 IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS

 

Danish DR1: OLDER SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE DEMONSTRATING IN HAITI

Hundreds of older school children in Haiti are demonstrating for the second consecutive day. They claim that their schools resume teaching / instruction. The schools are used as homes for many of the about 1.3 million Haitians who were made homeless by the powerful earthquake in January.

Police used teargas and fired four shots to make the older school children break up their demonstration.

Haiti's minister of education counselled moderation yesterday, and he told the school children that the authorities are working on solving the problems.

 

Swedish SVT: HAITI: OLDER SCHOOL CHILDREN RECLAIM SCHOOLS

Hundreds of older school children are demonstrating in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince demanding that their schools or what is left of them should be emptied of homeless Haitians so that the teaching / instruction can resume. On Tuesday, demonstrators in school uniforms threw stones at the remnants of the Ministry of Education, which was destroyed in the devastating January earthquake.

Police used teargas and shot into the air, and Joel Desrosier Jean-Pierre, the Haitian minister of education, counselled moderation.

 

German ZDF: HAITI: OLDER SCHOOL CHILDREN DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THEIR SCHOOLS BEING USED AS RELIEF CENTRES

3 months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, hundreds of school children have demonstrated against their schools being used as emergency centres for homeless Haitians. "We claim that our schools resume teaching / instruction", they shouted in front of Haiti's ministry of education in Port-au-Prince. The authorities are working on finding alternatives according to Haiti's minister of education.

According to UN estimates between 250,000 and 300,000 Haitians were killed in the devastating earthquake in January.

Interesting OPINION published on BBC World News on 1 May 2010

 

BBC WORLD NEWS:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/30/saginor.quakes.volcanoes/index.html

 

ARE EARTHQUAKES GETTING WORSE? NO!

 

Editor's note: Ian Saginor, Ph.D., is a volcanologist and professor of geology at Keystone College. His research is on the evolution of volcanoes in Central America. (CNN)

 

- Ever since a devastating earthquake struck HAITI on January 12 followed by others in CHILE, BAJA CALIFORNIA and INDONESIA, many people have asked the question, "Are earthquakes getting worse?" The answer is a firm and unequivocal "No."

 

I know it's hard to believe given the devastation these earthquakes have caused and the intense level of media attention they have received. However, it turns out that large earthquake frequency has not changed at all over the last 20 years.

 

But don't take my word for it. Go to the United States Geological Survey website and see for yourself. As of April 25, 2010 is on pace to have approximately 18 earthquakes larger than a magnitude 7 on the Richter Scale.

 

That sure sounds like a lot, but it's only one more than last year and very close to the 15.4 large earthquakes per year that Earth has averaged over the last 20 years. Of course, some years are more active than others, but that is to be expected.

 

In fact, in 1995 there were 20 of these large earthquakes, but nobody talks about that year as being particularly lively. The fact that several of this year's large earthquakes occurred near populated areas only adds to the perception that the overall frequency or intensity of earthquakes has increased.

 

Before the earthquake in Haiti, there hadn't been an earthquake of that size in over two months. This ebb and flow of earthquakes is completely natural. And what about volcanic eruptions? USGS records show they have also remained constant since the 1960s, with between 50 and 70 eruptions each year.

 

Over the last few days, another misconception began to emerge when CNN published an opinion article by author Alan Weisman titled "Is the Earth striking back?" The piece outlined a theory that, as glaciers melt due to global warming, the Earth's crust will begin to stretch and rebound.

 

It goes on to imply that this stretching could cause not only earthquakes, such as in Haiti and Chile, but also volcanic eruptions. The article even suggests this process is responsible for the recent eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland with its neighbor, Katla. "threatening to detonate next." Do these studies exist? Yes. Is this really what they say? No.

 

First, some background. The source of this idea is a series of papers published by the Royal Society in England that looked at the potential effect of climate change on some types of natural disasters. This idea is generally based on the well-known phenomenon that, as Earth's glaciers continue to melt, the crust rebounds as it is relieved of the burden. In fact, this has been happening for thousands of years since the peak of the last ice age.

 

Several of these papers did propose that climate change could affect certain types of earthquakes on the ocean floor or underneath melting glaciers, however, Haiti is neither on the bottom of the ocean nor under a glacier. As for the Chilean quake, it was caused by the incredible amount of pressure generated as two tectonic plates are forced together.

 

The point is that not all earthquakes are caused by the same forces and earthquakes on the ocean floor or under glaciers could not be more different from earthquakes in Haiti or Chile. It's like saying cigarettes cause lung cancer, therefore they cause skin cancer as well.

 

The bottom line is that Weisman's claims that earthquake frequency is increasing and that earthquakes in Haiti and Chile are caused by global warming are unsupported by the scientific articles he uses to form his conclusions. The effect of his article is to take several well-meaning, preliminary, cautious and limited scientific studies and create unnecessary fear and confusion in the general public.

 

If the public concludes that earthquake frequency has increased, it will be wrong. If it concludes that volcano eruption frequency or intensity has increased, it will be wrong. If it believes that earthquakes in Haiti or Chile were caused by global warming, it will not only be wrong, but it will believe it because it was told it was the conclusion of geologists. It wasn't.

 

Most scientific papers do not lend themselves to sound bites or headlines. That means the media needs to do a much better job understanding them. For their part, scientists need to be willing to confront these errors before they spread.

 

Whatever effect climate change has on our planet in the future, inaccurate reporting of research leaves the public at a huge disadvantage and cannot be tolerated.

 

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ian Saginor.

 

By Ian Saginor, Special to CNN

 

April 30, 2010 -- Updated 1301 GMT (2101 HKT)

News on 8 May 2010

 

NEWS ON 8 MAY 2010 IN RELATION TO HAITI

 

US MILITARY DRAWS DOWN DEEPLY IN HAITI

 

05/08/2010 | 02:08 PM - GMA News.TV

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Six Haitian children cling to Lt. Ben Stollerman's hands, sleeves and fatigue pants as the US Navy engineer negotiates one of Haiti's biggest camps for earthquake refugees.

 

"I feel like the Pied Piper," he says, grinning as he takes a break from pointing out projects he's directed to help reduce flooding in a sea of makeshift shelters that 47,000 people call home.

 

Stollerman says he's tried to explain to the children — though he's not sure they grasp it — that he won't be around forever. Next week, he ships out.

 

From a high of 22,000 troops spearheaded by the now-departed 82nd Airborne two weeks after the devastating Jan. 12 quake, the US military operation here is now down to 1,300 troops.

 

As of June 1, the Louisiana National Guard will be in charge of a 500-person contingent, based in Gonaives, a flood-prone city north of the capital where 800 people died two years ago in three hurricanes and a tropical storm.

 

Other National Guard units will rotate in every two weeks from Nevada, Montana, Arizona, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, said Maj. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, who heads US Army-South and is in command of Joint Task Force-Haiti for its last month.

 

But the thousands of troops of Operation Unified Response, who helped keep the peace, distribute food and provide an overall feeling of safety for quake-stricken Haitians, will be a thing of the past.

 

They will be missed at the old military airport, where Stollerman works.

 

"The Americans' leaving is kind of sad because they get things done," Marie Ange Joseph, a 36-year-old street vendor who lives in the airport camp, said as Navy engineers installed steel grates over open sewer holes nearby. "If things were left up to the Haitians, they wouldn't get done."

 

Children scurried and slipped about near one of the holes, the stench of human waste strong even a few shacks away where a bare-chested young man sold moonshine and cigarettes and people played cards at a tarp-covered tavern.

 

An eight-person Southern Command contingent will remain in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with a handful of Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters.

 

The Navy engineers, or Seabees, also will remain in Haiti, to protect those among the 1.3 million still crowded in tent camps who are at high risk from flash flooding.

 

"It's a transition, not a drawdown or a departure," Trombitas told The Associated Press.

 

The Guardsmen will build and repair schools and continue to train Haitian medical workers. Large-scale US military medical attention ended March 19 when the USNS Comfort hospital ship departed.

 

The US Agency for International Development and civilian relief agencies will be taking over most of the logistical and aid work American troops performed.

 

Rain is apt to be the biggest challenge.

 

May is normally the wettest month, with an average of 8.6 inches (21.8 centimeters) of rainfall, said Michel Davison, coordinator of the International Desk of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

So far, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation has been spared the kind of weather systems that typically stall for a few days, dumping several inches of rain. But Davison predicted that major downpours could begin around May 20.

 

Just 3 percent of Haiti is forested, and widespread erosion regularly contributes to violent flooding capable of delivering death on an alarming scale.

 

Last month, the Seabees took advantage of lower-than-average rainfall to build retaining walls, carve out drainage canals and sponsor cash-for-work programs that paid jobless, homeless Haitians to clear garbage from culverts in nine camps where they deemed people to be at the highest risk from flash floods.

 

The US military also helped move 7,400 at-risk people from those camps to relocation camps.

 

A centerpiece of the effort has been the teeming Ancien Aeroport Militaire camp, where 26-year-old Lt. Stollerman of Park City, Utah, has become a minor celebrity.

 

The Seabees delivered 300 truckloads of gravel that people have used to raise the floors of their homes and rid the camp of standing water where mosquitoes could breed and spread malaria. They've also covered big sewer drain openings that spelled peril for the lieutenant's little friends.

 

"They really decreased the stress level among the people in the camp," said Louise Ivers, Haiti clinical director for the Boston-based Partners in Health, a medical relief organization with more than two decades in Haiti. "The place was a hellhole. When it rained, water was collecting in big ponds. Children were falling into holes. It was just desperate."

 

If disaster strikes again, the Seabees can be back in force in a matter of days, said Capt. Roger Motzko, 55, of Anchorage, Alaska, Stollerman's boss and the Joint Task Force's chief of engineering.

 

The first US troops to arrive for the earthquake emergency bivouacked under ponchos on the western edge of a relief-choked international airport.

 

The soldiers have had it somewhat easier lately: Recently, they were entertained by Miami Dolphins cheerleaders who made three appearances from April 27-29 with a military-sponsored variety show.

 

And the Americans only opened fire once, Trombitas said: warning shots during looting in the early post-quake days.

 

Though the troops are universally pleased to be among friendly, appreciative people, Haiti's capital remains a sweat-inducing, dust-choked stew of filth, despair, hunger, traffic and sporadic electricity.

 

"We live at the old bus station in non-air-conditioned tents," Motzko said.

 

"On lucky days we get a shower a day. Lucky for you, today was one." — AP

News on 13 May 2010 in relation to HAITI

 

Swedish SVT: FIRST DONATION TO HAITI FUND

 

Brazil is the first country to give a donation to the reconstruction fund for the earthquake-hit HAITI.

 

Brazil is also in charge of the UN force(s) on HAITI and has paid 55 million dollars to the World Bank which administrates the donations.

 

World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick now recommends other donor countries to live up to their pledges to HAITI.

 

The disaster which destroyed HAITI's capital, Port-au-Prince, is estimated to have cost 300,000 human lives. The cost of material damage has been calculated at 120% of Haiti's annual gross national product.

 

 

BRAZIL BECOMES FIRST MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO HAITI RECONSTRUCTION FUND

 

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-85D37E?OpenDocument

 

Source: The World Bank Group / Date: 11 May 2010

 

WASHINGTON DC, May 11, 2010 - The Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) gathered momentum today after Brazil contributed US$55 million to the multilateral mechanism set up to help the Caribbean nation rebuild following its devastating January 12 earthquake.

 

Brazil is the first donor country to make such contribution, but at least 14 other countries are expected to chip in to replenish the fund that has been in operation since April with an initial grant of US$189 million by the World Bank, the fund's fiscal agent and administrator, Bank officials said.

 

Confirmations of intent to date have come from donors such as CANADA, ESTONIA, NORWAY, SWEDEN, SAUDI ARABIA and the UNITED STATES, while discussions with other potential contributors are underway, noted Haiti country director Yvonne Tsikata.

 

In welcoming Brazil's contribution, the Bank praised its long-standing commitment to Haiti, which has become increasingly prominent over the last few years in project funding, peacekeeping initiatives and technical advice.

 

Brazil's announcement comes on the heels of increasing recognition of the growing role of emerging powers in global affairs, in what World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick has called "the end of the Third World".

 

"Brazil leadership in supporting Haiti underscores an important feature of our multipolar world where emerging powers are taking on new responsibilities to assist those struggling with major development challenges," said Zoellick during a ceremony held at the Bank's Washington D.C headquarters, where Brazil's Secretary-General of External Relations, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, signed US$55 million over to the fund in the presence of Haiti's Ambassador to the United States Raymond Joseph, and multilateral officials.

 

The HRF was set up by the government of HAITI and MULTIPLE DONORS to pool mobilize and allocate resources from the international community in support of Haiti's recovery and development. The fund will channel resources "in a manner that builds the capacity of the Haitian state and society in the longer term," said HRF manager Josef Leitmann, while adding that the fund will be flexible enough to respond to unmet priorities in the recovery program, including the provision of budget support.

 

Activities financed by the HRF can include technical assistance and capacity building, infrastructure investments, delivery of basic services, community development, environmental protection and clean-up, job creation and income generation, Leitmann said. The fund regroups the World Bank, United Nations agencies and the Inter-American Development Bank.

 

Brazil's secretary-general Patriota noted that after the initial show of support for Haiti, the challenge is now to keep such momentum going and translate international support into effective and timely reconstruction projects.

 

To achieve this goal, he said, "it is important to stress that we see this as an opportunity for Haiti to embark on a route to sustainable development and the overall improvement of its infrastructure and the livelihood of the Haitian people who for too long have been struggling with chronic difficulties."

 

"Brazil is proud to be the first country to contribute to the Fund and invites others to join us in this effort," he added.

 

The international community pledged US$5.3 billion towards Haiti's reconstruction over the next two years at a March 31 United Nations meeting in New York.

 

Judging from experiences with previous reconstruction funds, about 10-15 per cent of those pledges will find their way into the HRF, which has been designed to fill gaps in the financing available from development partners, according to Bank officials.

 

Ambassador Joseph thanked Brazil for its generous contribution to the fund and President Zoellick for providing safekeeping of the fund resources "which has given confidence to a lot of people and a lot of countries."

 

"Haiti cannot do it alone, but I have no doubt that others who have pledged at the March 31 conference will soon follow the example of Brazil," he concluded.

German TV Channel ZDF broadcast a report on HAITI on 6.6.10

 

The German TV channel ZDF had a special report on HAITI from 18.30 to 19 o'clock:

 

I did not see the first 5 minutes of this broadcast.

 

The reporter visited some projects supported by German donations and by a German charity.

 

When I opened, the reporter talked to a young girl (around 10 years, I think) who was not going to school. The reporter talked to a woman, probably the girl's mother who said that she needed the girl's help every day, so no school. Instead the girl had to collect a bucketful of water three times a day - each time she had to carry a bucketful of water - weight 30 kilos.

 

The reporter mentioned that some children had been sold as labour/manpower. Often they lived under very bad conditions. A teenage girl slept under a bed in a very small room where an entire family slept. She was often beaten by a woman in the family - if she had made a fault or was bleeding. The woman was confronted with the girl's scars - the woman said that this was not so bad - and said that she would try to remember not to beat the teenage girl.

 

The reporter talked to a rape victim, who was made an orphan by the earthquake. She was raped one night. Now she has found strenght after having met other women in the same situation. They support each other and talk about the terrible things they have been througb.

 

Gangs are beating earthquake victims with bats. The earthquake victims had settled on some land / property, and the landowner wanted to get rid of them and hired the gangs to make the victims leave. The assault was reported to the police, but it turned out that the police was corrupt and supporting the gangs who were trying to make the victims leave.

 

It was mentioned that HAITI has many Christian people, but most popular religion is VOODOO.

 

THE RAINY SEASON has begun!!

 

CONCLUSION: AID reaches its destination. The Haitians keep their dignity and are still singing and dancing. The Haitians are very poor. It will take year before the wounds from the HAITI earthquake have healed.

News in relation to HAITI on 10 June 2010

 

Danish DR1 TTV: THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF EVERYTHING IN HAITI

 

Next Saturday, i.e. on 12 June 2010, 5 months have passed since the devastating earthquake in Haiti which killed 300,000 people. There is still a shortage of everything in HAITI, nothing works - not even emergency aid or the reconstruction, says secretary-general Henrik Stubkjaer from DanChurchAid. - It is very frustrating. In 2 months' time, the hurricane season starts, he says. 1,000 people have to share one toilet, clean drinking water and 120,000 houses are still lacking. The emergency aid, i.e. the relief goods are still trapped / blocked by the customs authorities.

News on 22 June 2010 in relation to HAITI

 

NEWS ON 22 JUNE 2010 IN RELATION TO HAITI

 

German ARDtext: REBUILDING IN HAITI ALMOST STOPPED !

 

Since the powerful earthquake 5 months ago, HAITI has hardly made any progress in relation to rebuilding the country - according to a US-Senate report.

 

The reasons are

 

- a weak Haitian government

- differences of opinion among donor countries and other donors

- a general bad organization!

 

Millions of people have not been able to return to their homes.

 

Ruins and destroyed buildings are everywhere.

 

The reconstruction was also delayed by

 

conflicts in relation to land - and

difficulties with the customs authorities.

News in relation to CHILE on 27 June 2010

 

Nothing new here - what I posted here belonged to a Chile thread.

NEWS on 22 July 2010 IN RELATION TO HAITI

 

Swedish SVT: HAITI: THE IMF CANCELS / WRITES OFF 268 MILLION $ OF HAITI's DEBT

 

The International Monetary Fund, the IMF, has written off / cancelled 268 of earthquake-struck Haiti's debts.

 

The IMF asked the world community not to forget its pledges for financial aid to Haiti amounting to 5.3 billion dollars within the next 1.5 years.

 

 

German ARDtext: THE IMF WRITES OFF / CANCELS HAITI's DEBTS

 

6 months after the powerful earthquake in Haiti, the International Monetary Fund (the IMF) has cancelled 210 million Euro of Haiti's debts. The IMF also adopted a new aid programme to support the reconstruction in Haiti.

 

By the earthquake in January 2010, more than 200,000 people were killed, and a large part of the infrastructure was destroyed.

 

In the days following the earthquake, the head of the IMF, Mr. Strauss-Kahn had pledged to cancel (some of) Haiti's debts.

That's really good news. I signed a sort of petition today that will supposedly make it to the US Senate to ensure that the money the US promised Haiti will actually pass and get there. If you think it's a good idea, I can post the link to it.

post the link to it.[/[/color]QUOTE]

 

 

That is indeed a good indeed idea, so please post the link to it. :) :thumbsup:

News in relation to HAITI on 1 AUGUST 2010

 

Danish DR1 TTV: UNITED NATIONS: WORLD COMMUNITY HAS GONE BACK ON ITS PLEDGES TO HELP HAITI

 

The world community has gone back on its pledges to help Haiti. 6 months after one of the worst natural disasters in modern times, less than 2 per cent of the pledged 31 billion have reached the rebuilding unit run by the UN on the Caribbean island, says the Danish newspaper "Politiken".

 

The United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fischer raises the alarm: The rebuilding is too slow. Currently, 1½ million Haitians are living in tents. We have to speed up the work, but we cannot do that, because the donor countries will not make the pledged amounts available, he said.

PETITION from ONE on 4 August 2010

 

Subject: Time for deadbeat donors to pay up!

 

Hi,

 

In the months after Haiti’s earthquake pledges of aid came from all over the world – totalling more than $5 billion USD.

 

However 6 months on, only 10% of this aid has actually been delivered to Haiti – compromising the country’s ability to rebuild and prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

 

President Bill Clinton, UN special envoy to Haiti, has vowed to chase the countries with outstanding pledges, and we’d like to show him the world supports his efforts.

 

I just signed a petition asking world leaders to deliver the aid they pledged to Haiti as soon as possible.

 

Please join me by signing the petition here:

 

http://one.org/international/actnow/haitiaid/index.html?rc=haitiaidpaste

 

Together as ONE we can make a difference!

 

Thanks!

 

NANCY aka. nancyk58

News on 6 August 2010 in relation to HAITI

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10888173 / 6 August 2010/ Last updated at 11:09 GMT

 

WYCLEF JEAN FILES PAPERS TO STAND FOR HAITI PRESIDENT

 

Hip hop star Wyclef Jean spoke about his presidential ambitions in his native Haiti.

 

Hip hop star Wyclef Jean has formally registered to stand for president of his native Haiti as it rebuilds after the devastating January earthquake.

 

Dozens of supporters greeted him as he arrived with his wife and daughter at an electoral council office in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

 

The deadline to file candidacy papers for the 28 November poll is Saturday.

Mr Jean, who lives in the US, will now have to prove he is eligible to run under Haitian law.

 

A review board will verify that his candidacy meets constitutional requirements, including having lived in Haiti for five consecutive years leading up to the election and never having held foreign citizenship.

 

The singer, who grew up in the US, holds a Haitian passport and has US residency. He says his appointment as a roving ambassador for the country in 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.

 

The list of official candidates will be published on 17 August.

 

'VERY EMOTIONAL'

 

Mr Jean filed papers to run as a candidate for the Viv Ansanm (Live Together) political party.

 

"I would like to tell [uS] President Barack Obama that the United States has Obama and Haiti has Wyclef Jean," he told a rally of supporters in Port-au-Prince.

 

"It's a moment in time and in history," he told the Associated Press news agency. "It's very emotional."

 

Earlier this week, he stepped down from the Yele Haiti charitable foundation for Haitian children he set up, which recently came under scrutiny over its finances.

 

Other declared candidates include former diplomat Garaudy Laguerre and Raymond Joseph, who is Haiti's current ambassador to the US and Mr Jean's uncle.

 

The sitting President, Rene Preval, is barred by the constitution from seeking a new term.

 

If Mr Jean runs and wins, he will preside over the spending of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid.

 

Mr Jean, the frontman of 1990s hip hop group The Fugees, is hugely popular in Haiti, where half of the population is under 21.

 

He told Time magazine in an interview that his secret weapon in the election campaign would be that Haiti's "enormous youth population doesn't believe in politicians any more".

 

"If not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this," Mr Jean added.

 

Mr Jean is Haiti's ambassador-at-large, and has played a prominent role in

securing aid since the earthquake, which left 1.5 million people homeless.

----------------------------

 

Danish DR1: WYCLEF OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN HAITI

 

Swedish SVT: WYCLEF GREETED AS HERO IN hAITI BY MANY SUPPORTERS

 

Older citizens were more sceptical. Wyclef Jean grew up in New York, but was born on Haiti.

 

After the devastating earthquake on 12 January, 2010 that killed more than 300,000 Haitians, Wyclef Jean participated in the rescue operation in person / on site in Haiti. And he has collected money for Haiti Relief Fund.

 

He was appointed goodwill ambassador for Haiti in 2007 by the present president, Réné Préval who - according to the constitution - must resign when his presidency expires.

 

The presidential election in Haiti is planned to be held on 28 November 2010.

Danish DR1 TV had an on-the-spot report from HAITI on 19 August 2010:

 

The HAITI donations made by the state of Denmark and by Danish individuals went to 9 aid agencies including SOS Children's Villages. The children staying in the SOS Children's Village visited by Danish television are lucky. They get food once every day.

 

 

Urban, Danish free paper / CNN's website: WYCLEF JEAN's CANDIDACY IN DANGER

The rapper WYCLEF JEAN known from the group The Fugees, may be prevented from running for President of HAITI. Haiti's election committee is to decide whether the rapper who was born in the USA can run for president of HAITI as he does not live in HAITI. Wyclef Jean's lawyer says that Wyclef Jean is entitled to run for President as the musician has paid taxes in HAITI for at least five years.

20.8.10: Anonymous member of the provisional election committee to the news agency Reuters: WYCLEF JEAN's name does NOT appear on the list of candidates who have been approved to run for president in HAITI

 

 

THE HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE: AN UPDATE

 

With an estimated 50,000-100,000 DEAD, 300,000 HOMELESS, and 3 MILLION NEEDING HELP in some form, it's clear that the Haitian earthquake was a disaster that demands long-term support for recovery. But despite the fact that it has been over 7 months since the earthquake struck, Haiti continues to face numerous obstacles to recovery.

 

One major issue Haitian women specifically have been facing is the rise of gender-based violence in refugee camps and other vulnerable areas.

 

A recent New York Times article, "Sexual Assaults Add to Miseries of Haiti's Ruins" by Deborah Sontag, outlined the desperate need for training peacekeepers, humanitarian aid staff, local law enforcement and social workers to prevent gender-based violence. Currently, there is neither an adequate system for documentation of these claims, nor judicial capacity to handle sexual violence reports. And because there is inadequate accounting for gender roles in humanitarian operations, for example, women are increasingly resorting to transactional sex in response to the distribution of food tickets to men. At one camp, UN official Nancy Dorsinville asserted, every single woman screened for HIV tested positive. (See Linda Basch's NY Times Letter to the Editor.)

 

An immediate solution to this problem according to Julie Sell of the American Red Cross, aside from the training of officials, is allocating some of the promised $5.5 billion in aid from international governments to transitional housing. Much of the violence against women occurring in Haiti stems from the massive numbers of people being forced to live together on the streets and in tent camps and their lack of protection or shelter; a problem that more substantial housing would work to dispel. However, due to issues such as recent flooding, debris left over from the earthquake, and legal land issues, the people of Haiti, especially Haitian women and girls, remain unprotected.

 

However, there are many concerned parties currently addressing the crisis. LERN (Lawyers Earthquake Response Network) is, "a national network of lawyers in the U.S. working with Haitian lawyers to implement a legal response to the earthquake in Haiti." LERN has been fighting for safe housing in addition to more effective international assistance and has been seeking immigration opportunities for the displaced. On the gender front, they launched RAPP (Rape Accountability and Prevention Project), which works on structural and responsive levels to address violence against women in the wake of the earthquake. In addition, Haitian women themselves are fighting back against the violence. According to the Ms. Foundation for Women, who issued grants to four organizations working in the region, women in Haiti are organizing to combat violence by distributing rape whistles and are training for non-traditional jobs as a way of lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.

 

Though the situation may still seem dire, with the dedication of organizations such as LERN and the incredible courage and determination of the Haitian people, it seems as though there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

------------------

 

*Julie Zeilinger, current Communications intern with the National Council for Research on Women, is the founder and editor of The FBomb, a blog and community for teenage feminists. She is a senior at the Hawken School in Cleveland, Ohio.

Haiti-related news: Wyclef Jean appeal against Haiti election ruling

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/11010908 / Page last updated at 10:01 GMT, Wednesday, 18 August 2010 11:01 UK

 

By Greg Cochrane, Newsbeat music reporter

 

WYCLEF 'DEATH THREATS' AS HAITI PRESIDENT BID DELAYED

 

Singer Wyclef Jean says he is in "hiding" after receiving death threats since announcing his plans to run for president of Haiti.

 

Jean told The Associated Press he had received a series of warnings, including a phone call telling him to "get out of Haiti".

 

The singer's plans have stirred controversy in the Caribbean country with his ex-bandmate Pras Michel and actor Sean Penn among those criticising his bid.

 

Haiti's electoral commission has also postponed its ruling on who will be allowed to run for president until 20 August.

 

DELAYED ANNOUNCEMENT

 

The commission have said they need more time to consider the applications of those who want to run.

 

There is a question mark over whether Jean qualifies to run for president under Haitian laws which stipulate a candidate must have lived in the country for five consecutive years. Jean has not.

 

Before the deadline on 8 August, more than 30 people had filed to run for president of the country.

 

Haiti is still struggling to recover from January's earthquake which left over 250,000 dead.

 

Since officially announcing his intentions Wyclef's bid has been criticised by his ex-Fugees bandmate Pras Michel.

 

He said: "I want to make it unequivocally clear I love Wyclef to def [sic] but he's not [qualified] to be the leader of the new Haiti.

 

"Wyclef's patriotism for Haiti is unwavering but still isn't suited to prez [sic] of new Haiti!"

 

Haiti's presidential elections are due to take place on 28 November 2010.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11053604 / 22 August 2010 Last updated at 16:57 GMT

 

WYCLEF JEAN TO APPEAL AGAINST HAITI ELECTION RULING

 

Haitian hip-hop star Wyclef Jean has said he will appeal against a ruling that he cannot run in Haiti's presidential election.

 

Haiti's electoral commission said that Mr Jean was ineligible to stand as the Haitian constitution requires candidates to have lived in the country for five years prior to an election.

 

The 40-year-old singer lives in the US.

 

But he argues that his role as a ROVING AMBASSADOR FOR HAITI since 2007 exempts him from the residency requirement.

 

The country is still recovering from January's earthquake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people and left more than one million homeless.

 

Following the ruling on Friday, Mr Jean issued a statement saying he respectfully disagreed with the electoral panel's decision, but accepted it and urged his supporters to do the same.

 

However, on Sunday Mr Jean told reporters that he was refusing to give up and that he would challenge the decision in court.

 

Speaking to the Associated Press news agency from his house in the Haitian town of Croix des Bouquet, Mr Jean said he had documentation about his candidacy "which shows everything is correct" and that he and his aides "feel that what is going on here has everything to do with Haitian politics".

 

In a message on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Mr Jean said: "Tomorrow our lawyers are appealing the decision of the CEP. We have met all the requirements set by the laws. And the law must be respected."