By now, we should all know that an earthquake has totally destroyed Haiti, and they desperately need help.

 

This is a thread to post any information you can, and educate others on simple ways that they can help Haiti recover from this terrible disaster.

http://www.oxfam.org/en/getinvolved/donate

EDIT: Information removed because it was a rumour.

AID FOR HAITI - WHERE TO DONATE

 

DONATE TO AID HAITI

 

 

http://www.oxfam.org.uk - http://www.redcross.org - http://www.unicef.org - http://www.icrc.org

 

 

News from Danish text-tv on Thursday 14 January 2010:

 

Since the devastating magnitude-7,0 earthquake, Haiti has been hit by 41 aftershocks with a magnitude 4.5+ on the Richter scale.

 

Haiti's Red Cross estimates the death toll to be 45,000 to 50,000, and 3 million people are expected to be affected.

 

USA has donated 100 million dollars to HAITI and President OBAMA has promised HAITI that all Americans stand by / will support HAITI - "HAITI will not be forgotten".

 

Hillary Clinton, the American secretary of state and the Haitian President both talked about this disaster equalling the tsunami in 2004.

If you live in Canada, text HAITI to 90999 and $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill and donated to the Canadian Red Cross for Haiti relief.

UPS is shipping anything under 50lbs for free to Haiti!

 

American Airlines is flying doctors and nurses to the country for free.

 

 

Unfortunately, the American Airlines bit was a rumor. :(

you can also check out this site: : http://www.globalgiving.org -offers different ways in which your donation can be spent/distributed.

 

also: you can text a $10 donation to The Red Cross by texting "Haiti" to 90999 OR donate $5 to Wyclef Jean's Foundation by texting "YELE" to 501501

 

*standard text rates apply

 

-donation is added on to your cell bill. Worth every penny if you ask me. Think about how many times you went over your minutes and paid way more than $5 or $10.

 

I should add, I am not sure if they are both available outside of the US, but internationally, you should be able to go to http://www.redcross.org to donate.

 

thanks for your time! :kiss:

Awwwh that's too bad about the American Airlines thing! That would have been fantastic :disappointed: But I'm sure another organization will be able to send doctors down there.

I just tried both the numbers; the messages wouldn't send. So, I'm assuming it's not available outside the US.

 

And, I agree. It really is a shame about the American Airlines thing. Hopefully another airline will be able to help.

AID HAITI

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI on 15 JANUARY 2010 from the Filipino GMA News.TV

 

SECOND FILIPINA SAVED FROM HAITI RUINS, 5 STILL MISSING

 

(MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV - 01/15/2010 | 03:44 PM)

 

(UPDATE 2 - 8:26 p.m.) A second Filipina was rescued from the ruins of a supermarket in the quake-torn Hatian capital of Port-au-Prince, Philippine authorities reported Friday, leaving five more Filipinos either missing or trapped in establishments that were brought down by a magnitude-7 tremor that hit Haiti on Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines).

 

Rescued from the rubble of the Carribean Supermarket in Port-au-Prince's Delmas 95 District was Grace Fabian, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Friday night.

 

Upon hearing the good news, Fabian’s family could not help but get emotional. They embraced each other as they shed tears of joy for Grace.

 

The Fabian family has been suffering sleepless nights and losing their appetite since the powerful tremor struck Haiti, GMA News’ Joseph Morong reported on Friday.

 

Arturo, the Fabian patriarch no longer wants his daughters, Grace and Roselyn, to stay in Haiti.

 

“I don't want you to be there anymore. Just stay here with us. I can take care of your needs. Go home," said a weeping Arturo.

 

He also called on the Philippine government to immediately repatriate Filipinos staying in the Caribbean country.

Earlier, rescuers saved Aurora Aguinaldo from the wreckage of the same establishment.

 

THIRD FILIPINA

The third Filipina, Geraldine Lalican, remains trapped in the supermarket. The DFA said that Lt. Col. Lope C. Dagoy, commander of the 10th Philippine Contingent in Haiti, told the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations that "rescuers continue efforts to extract" Lalican.

 

"Commander Dagoy said that a task force continues to search for, and make an accounting of, Filipino Community members. Filipinos who were able to contact the Philippine Contingent reported that they are all safe albeit suffering minor injuries. Filipinos in the neighborhood of Delmas 41 and 42 are also safe," the DFA said .

 

Over at the collapsed UN headquarters along Theoowle Bourdon Street, three UN peacekeepers remain trapped, namely Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

Philippine authorities identified the sixth missing Filipino as Jerome Yap, one of about 35 to 40 international staffers of UN based in Haiti. Yap is an administrative officer of the principal deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti. Authorities could not say where Yap was last seen before the quake

Meanwhile, the Philippine government remains optimistic that the three peacekeepers are still alive, especially after signs of life were detected in the rubble.

 

"The arrival of new rescuers from the US, France and China with equipment has given us some hopes of the early rescue of our elements," said Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the military's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

The remaining Filipinos residing in other parts of the Caribbean country have already contacted the Philippine contingent in Haiti to tell them that they did not sustain serious injuries due to the quake.

 

Dagoy communicates with military officials in the Philippines through a satellite equipment provided to him by the UN. The military in the Philippines is also communicating with Philippine officials in Haiti through the Internet, whose connection was often “unstable," according to Cayetano. The powerful quake had brought down communication lines in Port-au-Prince.

 

Additional deployment

The Philippines will be deploying a fresh set of 155 peacekeepers to Haiti in February to augment rescue forces in the Caribbean nation, according to Cayetano.

Residents of the impoverished Caribbean nation could experience shortage in food and water supply, Cayeteno said.

 

"The utilities are down, so we expect that their food supply will be affected. Refrigeration of food will also be affected," Cayetano said in an interview with GMA News on Friday.

 

"We expect they will really have some belt-tightening while at the same time doing their functions, this is a huge sacrifice," he added.

 

There are 462 Filipinos in Haiti composed of 290 are civilians and 172 military and police peacekeepers, according to the DFA.

 

Haiti is having an extremely difficult time picking up from the disaster, reports said. Bodies remain scattered along capital Port-au-Prince’s streets, while civilians have started building makeshift shelters and sourcing food themselves.

 

Other survivors fled as far as 1,000 kilometers from the capital, including crossing the border to the Dominican Republic, to seek medical help.

 

A total of 17 UN personnel were found dead, while 50 remain missing. Several countries have already sent their contingents to assist the remaining UN peacekeeper, while relief goods and rescue workers were sent from China, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

- with reports from AIE BALAGTAS SEE/ARCS/GMANews.

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RP TO SEND MEDICAL TEAMS, ADDITIONAL PEACEKEEPERS TO HAITI

 

(01/15/2010 | 05:52 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

The Philippines will send medical teams and more peacekeepers to Haiti to to assist in relief operations following this week's devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.

 

During the inauguration of the Caticlan Airport in Aklan on Friday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she has instructed the Department of Health to form medical teams that will be sent to aid in humanitarian work in the Carribean country, which was rocked by a magnitude-5.7 earthquake Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday morning in Manila).

 

"We are more than ready to give a helping hand as we were victims ourselves -- Ondoy, Pepeng and Frank -- and a few months ago, about a year ago, we have also been a recipient of international assistance, now it is our turn to the give back," President Arroyo said.

 

At the same time, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the President has also given orders to the military leadership to prepare to deploy more peaceekeepers to Haiti.

 

Brawner said 155 soldiers would be sent to assist in relief and recovery operations.

 

"We are just waiting for the approval of UN (United Nations) and the pertinent documents like visas and then the vaccines and other necessary requirements for postings," he said.

 

Medals, recognition

Mrs. Arroyo said she would grant medals and other forms of recognition to the Filipino peacekeepers already in Haiti who are assisting in rescue and recovery operations even though they themselves were victims as the United Nation headquarters they were staying at collapsed because of the earthquake.

 

"It is especially close to our hearts because we have peacekeeping troops on Haiti who are doing a good job. To once again rise to the occasion, we have risen to the occasions here in the Philipines each time, so we will give them medals when they return," she added.

 

Three Filipino peacekeepers remain trapped inside the UN headquarters. They have been identified as Perly Tanagui of the Philippine Navy, Sgt. Jermis Arcena of the Philippine Air Force, and Sgt. Estacio Bermudez of the Philippine Army.

 

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) show that there are 462 Filipinos in Haiti — 290 are civilians, while 172 are military and police peacekeepers.

 

On Thursday, Cpl. David Catacutan was rescued after being trapped in the Montana hotel since the earthquake rocked the country.

 

"We are glad to hear that one of them has already been rescued and, moreover, there is a strong likelihood that the three others have survived the temblor. The only thing to do is clear the rubble to get to them," said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

 

Remonde assured that Philippine authorities are ready to cope with such disasters should they occur in the Philippines.

 

"Heaven forbid that a similar tragedy should befall the Philippines. However, if it does, our National Disaster Coordinating Council is at a level of preparedness to meet that contingency," he said.

 

-with additional report from Johanna Camille Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV

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FILIPINA RESCUED FROM HAITI SUPERMARKET, 6 STILL MISSING

 

(MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV - 01/15/2010 | 03:44 PM )

 

A Filipina was rescued from the ruins of a supermarket in the quake-torn Hatian capital of Port au-Prince, Philippine authorities reported Friday. But six more Filipinos remain either trapped or missing in establishments that were brought down by the magnitude-7 tremor that hit Haiti on Tuesday (Wednesday in the Philippines).

 

The rescued woman was identified as Aurora Aguinaldo who, along with two other Filipinas, were trapped inside the Caribbean Supermarket in Delmas 95, according to Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ed Malaya.

 

Malaya assured that Aguinaldo was already in a "safe and sound" condition. The two remaining women trapped in the establishment were identified as Geraldine Calican and Grace Fabian.

 

Over at the collapsed UN headquarters along Theoowle Bourdon Street, three UN peacekeepers remain trapped, namely Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

Philippine authorities identified the sixth missing Filipino as Jerome Yap, one of about 35 to 40 international staffers of UN based in Haiti. Yap is an administrative officer of the principal deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti. Authorities could not say where Yap was last seen before the quake.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government remains optimistic that the three peacekeepers are still alive, especially after signs of life were detected in the rubble.

 

"The arrival of new rescuers from the US, France and China with equipment has given us some hopes of the early rescue of our elements," said Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the military's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

Meanwhile, Filipinos residing in Haiti's Quest Department districts of Delmas 41 and 42 have all been accounted for and are in safe condition, according to Malaya.

 

The remaining Filipinos residing in other parts of the Caribbean country have already contacted the Philippine contingent in Haiti to tell them that they did not sustain serious injuries due to the quake.

 

Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, Philippine contingent commander to Haiti, communicates with military officials in the Philippines through a satellite equipment provided to him by the UN.

 

Cayetano said the Philippine military was also communicating with Philippine officials in Haiti through the Internet, whose connection was often “unstable." The powerful quake had brought down communication lines in Port-au-Prince.

The Philippines will be deploying a fresh set of 155 peacekeepers to Haiti in February to augment rescue forces in the Caribbean nation, according to Cayetano.

Residents of the impoverished Caribbean nation could experience shortage in food and water supply, Cayeteno said.

 

"The utilities are down, so we expect that their food supply will be affected. Refrigeration of food will also be affected," Cayetano said in an interview with GMA News on Friday.

 

"We expect they will really have some belt-tightening while at the same time doing their functions, this is a huge sacrifice," he added.

 

There are 462 Filipinos in Haiti composed of 290 are civilians and 172 military and police peacekeepers, according to the DFA.

 

Haiti is having an extremely difficult time picking up from the disaster, reports said. Bodies remain scattered along capital Port-au-Prince’s streets, while civilians have started building makeshift shelters and sourcing food themselves.

 

Other survivors fled as far as 1,000 kilometers from the capital, including crossing the border to the Dominican Republic, to seek medical help.

 

A total of 17 UN personnel were found dead, while 50 remain missing. Several countries have already sent their contingents to assist the remaining UN peacekeeper, while relief goods and rescue workers were sent from China, Taiwan, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

- ARCS/GMANews.TV

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AID HAITI - Updates from GMA news.TV

 

Updates from GMA news.TV on HAITI on 15 January 2010

 

Groups struggle to get food, water to Haitians

 

(01/15/2010 | 04:10 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Aid workers hoping to distribute food, water and other supplies to a shattered Port-au-Prince are warning their efforts may need more security Friday as Haitians grow increasingly desperate and impatient for help.

 

United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the capital said people's anger is rising that aid hasn't been distributed quickly, and the Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting.

 

"Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient," said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the Brazilian-commanded UN peacekeeping mission. "I fear, we're all aware that the situation is getting more tense as the poorest people who need so much are waiting for deliveries. I think tempers might be frayed."

 

The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake, based on information from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials.

 

Hundreds of bodies were stacked outside the city morgue, and limbs of the dead protruded from the rubble of crushed schools and homes. A few workers were able to free people who had been trapped under the rubble for days, but others attended to the grim task of using bulldozers to transport loads of bodies.

 

For the long-suffering people of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, shock was giving way to despair.

 

"We need food. The people are suffering. My neighbors and friends are suffering," said Sylvain Angerlotte, 22. "We don't have money. We don't have nothing to eat. We need pure water."

 

From Europe, Asia and the Americas, more than 20 governments, the UN and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other food, tons of water, tents, blankets, water-purification gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport. Hundreds of search-and-rescue, medical and other specialists also headed to Haiti.

 

The UN World Food Program began organizing distribution centers for food and water Thursday, said Kim Bolduc, acting chief of the large UN mission in this desperately poor country. She said it was remarkable there were no widespread reports of looting, but added that "the risk of having social unrest very soon" made it important to move quickly.

 

Governments and government agencies have pledged about $400 million worth of aid, including $100 million from the United States.

 

But into the third day following the 7.0-magnitude quake, the global helping hand was slowed by a damaged seaport and an airport that turned away civilian aid planes for eight hours Thursday because of a lack of space and fuel. Aid workers have been blocked by debris on inadequate roads and by survivors gathered in the open out of fear of aftershocks and re-entering unstable buildings.

 

Across the sprawling, hilly city, people milled about in open areas, hopeful for help, sometimes setting up camps amid piles of salvaged goods, including food scavenged from the rubble.

 

Small groups could be seen burying dead by roadsides. Other dust-covered bodies were being dragged down streets, toward hospitals where relatives hoped to leave them. Countless dead remained unburied, some in piles. Outside one pharmacy, the body of a woman was covered by a sheet, a small bundle atop her, a tiny foot poking from its covering.

 

Aid worker Fevil Dubien said some people were almost fighting over the water he distributed from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

 

Elsewhere, about 50 Haitians yearning for food and water rushed toward two employees wearing "Food For The Poor" T-shirts as they entered the international agency's damaged building.

 

"We heard a commotion at the door, knocking at it, trying to get in," said project manager Liony Batista. "'What's going on? Are you giving us some food?' We said, 'Uh-oh.' You never know when people are going over the edge."

 

Batista said he and others tried to calm the crowd, which eventually dispersed after being told food hadn't yet arrived.

 

"We're not trying to run away from what we do," Batista said, adding that coordinating aid has been a challenge. "People looked desperate, people looked hungry, people looked lost."

 

Engineers from the UN mission have begun clearing some main roads, and law-and-order duties have fallen completely to the mission's 3,000 international troops and police. About 5,500 US soldiers and Marines were expected to be in Haiti by Monday. Their efforts will include providing security, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

 

Wimhurst, the mission spokesman, said Haitian police "are not visible at all," no doubt because many had to deal with lost homes and family members. The first US military units to arrive took on a coordinating role at the airport.

 

Batista, the Food For The Poor project manager, went back to the Dominican Republic late Thursday and awaited the arrival of 100 shipping containers loaded with rice, canned goods and building supplies.

 

"I don't think that a word has been invented for what is happening in Haiti," he said. "It is total disaster."

 

- AP

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Exiled former leader Aristide wants to return to Haiti

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SIGNS OF LIFE DETECTED IN COLLAPSED UN BUILDING IN HAITI

 

(01/15/2010 | 01:26 PM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

Two days after the powerful quake that hit Haiti, signs of life were finally detected inside the United Nations headquarters in the Hatian capital of Port-au-Prince where three Filipino peacekeepers are trapped.

 

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. received the good news Friday morning from Lt. Col. Gregory Cayetano, commanding officer of the AFP's Peacekeeping Operations Center based in Camp O'Donnel, Capas, Tarlac.

 

Brawner said there's still proof of life. There's a proof of life in the UN building that collapsed, and we believe that the three trapped peacekeepers are inside.

The information relayed by Cayetano to Brawner was from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Consulate in Cuba, radio dzBB's Benjie Liwanag said on Friday.

 

Brawner said he was told that after hearing voices and noises, rescuers zeroed in on the second floor of the UN building, formerly the Christopher Hotel. The second floor is where most of the UN offices are located. It is also the area where three Filipinos are believed to be trapped.

The three trapped Filipino peacekeepers are Army Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, Air Force Sergeant Janice Arcena, and Navy Petty Officer 3 Pearlie Tanagi.

 

A fourth peacekeeper, Cpl. David Catacutan was, who was trapped at the Montana Hotel, was earlier pulled out of the rubble.

 

"It is possible that they are tapping the metal parts of the building or its walls or pipes. But definitely there's movement inside the building," Brawner told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday.

 

Brawner said rescue operations had been intensified in Haiti. Heavy equipment had started arriving in the area, two days after a magnitude-7 earthquake tore down structures in the impoverished Caribbean country.

 

The Red Cross claims that between 45,000 and 50,000 could have died from the tremor.

 

If requested, the Philippine government will deploy additional troops from the 11th Philippine contingent to Haiti, according to Brawner.

 

- MARK MERUEÑAS/ARCS/GMANews.TV

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George Clooney, MTV working on Haiti telethon [/b]

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HAITI QUAKE AID SNARLED; UP TO 50,000 FEARED DEAD

 

(01/15/2010 | 09:24 AM - GMA NEWS.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Doctors and search dogs, troops and rescue teams flew to this devastated land of dazed, dead and dying people Thursday, finding bottlenecks everywhere, beginning at a main airport short on jet fuel and ramp space and without a control tower.

 

The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclysmic earthquake, based on information from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials. Worries mounted, meanwhile, about food and water for the survivors.

 

"People have been almost fighting for water," aid worker Fevil Dubien said as he distributed water from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood.

 

From Virginia, from China, a handful of rescue teams were able to get down to work, scouring the rubble for survivors. In one "small miracle," searchers pulled a security guard alive from beneath the collapsed concrete floors of the UN peacekeeping headquarters, where many others were entombed.

 

But the silence of the dead otherwise was overwhelming in a city where uncounted bodies littered the streets in the 80-degree heat, and dust-caked arms and legs reached, frozen and lifeless, from the ruins. Outside the General Hospital morgue, hundreds of collected corpses blanketed the parking lot, as the grief-stricken searched for loved ones. Brazilian UN peacekeepers, key to city security, were trying to organize mass burials.

 

Patience already was wearing thin among the poorest who were waiting for aid, said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission.

 

"Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient, because when they see us moving — and we're patrolling the streets, the military and the police are out patrolling the streets in order to maintain a calm situation, so that humanitarian aid can be delivered," he said.

 

In Washington, President Barack Obama announced "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history," starting with $100 million in aid. The first of 800 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division were to deploy to Haiti from North Carolina, to be followed by more than 2,000 Marines.

 

From Europe, Asia and the Americas, other governments, the UN and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other food, tents, blankets, water-purification gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport, and teams of hundreds of search-and-rescue, medical and other specialists.

 

But two days after much of this ramshackle city was shattered, the global helping hand was slowed by the poor roads, airport and seaport of a wretchedly poor nation.

 

Some 60 aid flights had arrived by midday Thursday, but they then had to contend with the chokepoint of an overloaded Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport. At midday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was temporarily halting all civilian flights from the US at Haiti's request, because the airport was jammed and jet fuel was limited for return flights. The control tower had been destroyed in Tuesday's tremor, complicating air traffic. Civilian relief flights were later allowed to resume.

 

Those which did land then had to navigate Haiti's inadequate roads, sometimes blocked by debris or by quake survivors looking for safe open areas as aftershocks still rumbled through the city. The UN World Food Program said the quake-damaged seaport made ship deliveries of aid impossible.

 

The looting of shops that broke out after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck late Tuesday afternoon added to concerns. The Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting by the desperate population.

 

"There is no other way to get provisions," American Red Cross representative Matt Marek said of the store looting. "Even if you have money, those resources are going to be exhausted in a few days." The city's "ti-marchant," mostly women who sell food on the streets, were expected to run out soon.

 

The quake brought down Port-au-Prince's gleaming white National Palace and other government buildings, disabling much of the national leadership. That vacuum was evident Thursday.

 

"Donations are coming in to the airport here, but there is not yet a system to get it in," said Kate Conradt, a spokeswoman for the Save the Children aid group. "It's necessary to create a structure to stock and distribute supplies," the Brazilian military said.

 

Edmond Mulet, a former UN peacekeeping chief in Haiti, was expected to arrive later Thursday from UN headquarters in New York to coordinate the relief effort. The first US military units to arrive took on a coordinating role at the airport, but State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley underlined, "We're not taking over Haiti."

 

Across the sprawling, hilly city, people milled about in open areas, hopeful for help, sometimes setting up camps amid piles of salvaged goods, including food scavenged from the rubble. Police and UN peacekeeper trucks pushed down crowded streets, showing little sign of coordinated action.

 

Small groups by roadsides could be seen burying dead. Other dust-covered bodies were being dragged down streets, toward hospitals where relatives hoped to leave them. Countless remained unburied, stacked up, children's bodies lying atop mothers, tiny feet poking from blankets.

 

The injured, meanwhile, waited for treatment in makeshift holding areas — outside the General Hospital, for example, where the stench from piles of dead, just a few yards (meters) away, wafted over the assembled living.

 

Here and there, small tragedies unfolded. In the Petionville suburb, friends held back Kettely Clerge — "I want to see her," she sobbed — as neighbors with bare hands tried to dig out her 9-year-old daughter, Harryssa Keem Clerge, pleading for rescue, from beneath their home's rubble.

 

"There's no police, there's nobody," the hopeless mother cried. By day's end, the girl was dead.

At the collapsed UN peacekeeping headquarters, an Estonian guard, Tarmo Joveer, was pulled alive and unhurt from the ruins at 8 a.m. Thursday, 39 hours after the quake — a "small miracle," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York. But UN officials reported that 36 other U.N. personnel, mostly peacekeepers and international police, were confirmed dead and almost 200 remained missing, including top staff.

 

Nearby, firefighters from Fairfax County, Va., and a rescue team from China, with sniffer dogs, clambered through rubble and searched for signs of life. Two excavators stood by, ready to dig for survivors — or dead.

 

Fr the long-suffering people of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, shock and disbelief were giving way to despair.

 

"We need food. The people are suffering. My neighbors and friends are suffering," said Sylvain Angerlotte, 22. "We don't have money. We don't have nothing to eat. We need pure water."

 

But life also went on. Brazilian soldiers helped deliver a baby girl in an improvised garage-hospital at their base, just hours after the quake hit. Capt. Fabricio Almeida de Moura said the child was doing well, but the life of the mother, who apparently went into labor from the shock of the tremor, was in danger from bleeding, the Agencia Brasil news service reported.

 

The unimaginable scope of the catastrophe left many Haitians, a fervently religious people, in helpless tears and prayer.

Reached by The Associated Press from New York, Yael Talleyrand, a 16-year-old student in Jacmel, on Haiti's south coast, told of thousands of people made homeless by the quake and sleeping on an airfield runway, "crying, praying and I had never seen this in my entire life."

Earlier, she said, one woman had run through Jacmel's streets screaming, "God, we know you can kill us! We know you're strongest! You don't need to show us!"

 

- AP

Thanks, Nancy, for the updates!

 

The Red Cross is accepting donations of clothing and toiletries to send to Haiti!

From OXFAM's website:

 

Haiti: Aid arrives, but delivery a major challenge 15 January, 2010

 

Haiti: Oxfam team ready to respond 14 January, 2010

 

Haiti: Waiting for news 14 January, 2010

 

 

I am posting daily updates of the situation in HAITI on the threads: "AID HAITI" and "Updates of the situation in Southeast Asia AND HAITI"

 

 

PLEASE DONATE: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?p=9906&v=newsblog

I know that there are very few Filipinos on this forum but here's how to donate to the Philippine Red Cross:

 

How to Donate for Haiti Aid

 

or for SMART Subscribers:

Txt HAITI<amount>to 4483.

Ex.HAITI 50. Amounts: 10, 25, 50, 100.

 

It's our time to help. :)

DANISH TEXT-TV on 15 JANUARY 2010:

 

THE DEVASTATING HAITI EARTHQUAKE (MAGNITUDE 7.0 ON THE RICHTER SCALE):

 

140,000 are probably killed

 

Up to 250,000 WOUNDED

 

More than 1.5 mio are homeless

 

2 mio survivors need help now and in coming weeks

 

Several UN stockpiles (holding goods for the relief work) have been plundered, but are being rebuilt.

 

40,000 dead bodies buried by the authorities

 

Dead bodies lying in the streets in Port-au-Prince

 

Outbreak of epidemics feared

 

The most important Haitian harbour is still closed.

 

USA - Cuba made a deal: US planes allowed to transport relief goods to Haiti by planes crossing Cuba

 

The UN will establish 200 "street kitchens" - each of them to provide 500 survivors with food and water = the total number of people helped this way will amount to 10,000.

 

Hillary Clinton, the American Secretary of State will visit Haiti together with the frontman of the organization US Aid on Saturday.

 

The USA fear great influx of people / refugees from HAITI.

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will visit Haiti as soon as possible.

 

Many UN employees have been killed - at least 37

 

330 of 12,000 UN employees are missing / unaccounted for.

 

FACTS IN HEADLINES OF THE DEVASTATING HAITI EARTHQUAKE (MAGNITUDE 7.0 ON THE RICHTER SCALE):

 

The earthquake struck Haiti on 12/1 at 16:53 local time

 

41 violent aftershocks followed

 

The capital - Port-au-Prince hard hit:

Many buildings collapsed

Extensive damage to official buildings including UN buildings

 

No electricity

Limited access to clean water

Phone system down - still not quite reliable/stable

 

Many roads impassable due to collapsed buildings

AID HAITI

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 16 JANUARY 2010

 

I visited Oxfam for news - and it said that you could support HAITI via dec.org.uk. DEC is short for Disasters Emergency Committee and I had never heard of dec before, so I checked it on Wikipedia and found this:

 

Disasters Emergency Committee (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):

 

The Disasters Emergency Committee is an umbrella group comprising thirteen UK charities. These charities are all associated with disaster related issues such as providing clean water, humanitarian aid and medical care.

 

The DEC was created in 1963. It brings together a unique alliance of the UK's aid, corporate, public and broadcasting sectors to rally the nation's compassion, and ensure that funds raised go to DEC agencies best placed to deliver effective and timely relief to people most in need.

 

In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the committee provided 3000 telephone lines for people to give donations and ran television campaigns in order to obtain donations. It was instrumental in coordinating the efforts of the member charities so that all the areas affected received aid and that there was no overlap in the services provided in any one area.

 

The DEC is currently appealing for donations in support of humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

 

Member charities

ActionAid, British Red Cross , CAFOD,

CARE International, Christian Aid , Concern

Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, OXFAM, Red Cross,

Save the Children , Tearfund , World Vision

 

On Oxfam (UK) you could DONATE TO HAITI - day and night - via dec.org.uk using the number 0370 60 60 900 (Disasters Emergency Committee).

 

 

 

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 16 JANUARY 2010

 

WATER DELIVERY DISRUPTIONS IMPERIL HAITI QUAKE SURVIVORS

 

(01/16/2010 | 05:28 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are in desperate need of DRINKING WATER because of an earthquake-damaged municipal pipeline and truck drivers either unable or unwilling to deliver their cargo.

 

"Many drivers are afraid of being attacked if they go out, some drivers are still missing in the disaster and others are out there searching for missing relatives," said Dudu Jean, a 30-year-old driver who was attacked Friday when he drove into the capital's sprawling Cite Soleil slum.

 

The lack of water has become one of the greatest dangers facing Haitians in part because earthquake survivors stay outdoors all day in the heat out of fear of aftershocks and unstable buildings. While aid has started to pour in from around the world, supplies are not quickly reaching all who need them.

 

Even before Tuesday's quake, the municipal system in this city of 3 million people was unreliable. Haiti's poorest live in shacks with no plumbing and carry their water home in jugs from public wells. Most people depend on water delivered by truckers, who get their water with the help of diesel pumps that draw from a huge underground natural reservoir.

 

"There's no shortage of water, the water's here, the trucks are here as you see," said Jean, who said his attackers let him go unharmed after they recognized him.

 

Since the quake, at least one water treatment plant was shuttered because of a lack of electricity. Pipes for the municipal water system are believed damaged. No water is running in Cite Soleil, home to more than a million people.

 

Adding to the problem is that stores that have water and food to sell are not opening out of fear of violence.

 

Tom Osbeck, a missionary from Indiana whose Protestant-run Jesus in Haiti Ministry operates a school just north of Port-au-Prince, said a scarcity of drinking water and food is fraying the nerves of increasingly despairing survivors.

 

"Even distributing food or water is very dangerous. People are desperate and will fight to death for a cup of water," Osbeck said Friday from his home about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the center of the quake.

 

Aid groups, businesses and governments from around the world are scrambling to meet the need.

 

OXFAM had water supplies in Haiti left over from a 2008 storm and has managed to get some 2,000 and 5,000-liter tanks into the capital city. U.S. military officials say helicopters are ferrying in water and other supplies from the USS Carl Vinson. Procter & Gamble Co. is sending 3 million water-purifying packets along with cash donations for earthquake relief.

 

Rebecca Gustafson, part of the disaster assistance team of USAID, said international agencies are assessing the best places for community water treatment centers. She said much of the focus of international aid for now is on rescue and recovery efforts.

 

"Once that wave subsides, in the coming days you'll see more and more aid coming in," she said.

 

While government agencies and troops worked to move supplies out of the jammed airport, some Haitians and far smaller organizations worked on their own to get aid to thirsty, hungry people.

 

Milero Cedamou, the 33-year-old owner of a small water delivery company, twice drove his small tanker truck 10 miles outside Port-au-Prince, paying $25 for each fill-up and then returned to a tent camp where thousands of homeless people were living.

 

"This is a crisis of unspeakable magnitude, it's normal for every Haitian to help," Cedamou said. "This is not charity."

 

Jean Ponce, a 36-year-old mason, was among 200 people holding plastic buckets who clustered around the truck — emblazoned with the slogan "Wait for God" on its side — when it returned. He lost one of his children in the quake and said the

bucketful he collected would be the first drinkable water his four surviving children tasted since the disaster struck.

 

"This is nearly like a miracle," Ponce said.

 

- AP

 

 

RP MEDICAL TEAM TO HAITI FORMED, LEAVES MONDAY

 

(01/16/2010 | 12:01 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

The Philippine government will send a 21-member medical team to Haiti on Monday to help in rescue and relief operations for "as long as needed."

 

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said Saturday that the team includes three trauma surgeons, two orthopedic surgeons, one internist, one pediatrician, five nurses, three epidemiologists, and two sanitary engineers.

 

Heading the team is Dr. Emmanuel Bueno, head of the emergency room of the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.

 

'As long as needed'

Cabral said that she expects the team to be in Haiti for at least two weeks, but may extend their stay depending on the needs of the people there.

 

When asked how long the team is expected to help out in Haiti, she said, “We estimate two to three weeks." “But we cannot be certain about that. It will depend how long they are needed there," she added.

 

Team to take commercial flight

In an earlier interview on dzRH radio, Cabral said the team will take a commercial flight, as Haiti will be too far for a government C-130 cargo plane.

“By Monday we expect that they will be cleared to go to Haiti," she said on government-run dzRB radio. She said they are still coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs to address the visa needs of the medical team’s members.

 

Cabral also said that she is coordinating with the United Nations on where the 21-member Philippine medical team will be assigned.

 

More Pinoy peacekeepers to be sent

For his part, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said that a new peacekeeping contingent will likely go to Haiti with the medical team.

 

“The team is assembled and ready to go. Remember, we've always sent medical teams to other countries when disasters strike. This team will go to Haiti next week," Remonde said in a separate interview on dzRH radio.

 

A Philippine contingent to a United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti is already helping in rescue and relief operations there.

 

“The medical contingent and the new peacekeeping contingent will go to Haiti together," Remonde said.

 

Consulate tasked to look after Pinoys

Meanwhile, Remonde said that Philippine consular officials will continue to coordinate in accounting for Filipinos there in Haiti.

 

“The consular officials have instructions from the President and the Department of Foreign Affairs. They will look after the welfare of our Filipinos there, particularly those who are undocumented," he said.

 

- TJD, GMANews.TV

 

 

DFA MISINFORMED, SECOND FILIPINA IN HAITI STILL MISSING

 

(Mark D. MerueÑas, GMANews.TV - 01/16/2010 | 12:43 PM)

 

Just the night before, the Fabian household had broken into tears of joy after learning that a family member trapped in a supermarket in quake-hit Haiti had been rescued.

 

But their jubilation was shattered the next day, Saturday morning, when they learned that Grace Fabian's supposed rescue had been misreported.

 

In an interview with GMA News, military spokesman Romeo Brawner Jr said they received new information from Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, commander of the 10th Philippine Contingent in Haiti, belying earlier reports that Fabian had been pulled out of the rubble.

 

'Some confusion' -AFP

"Ms. Fabian has not yet been rescued. There had been some confusion," apologized Brawner in a Balitanghali interview.

 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had announced to media on Friday night that Fabian was the second Filipino to be rescued from the Caribbean Supermarket, which collapsed due to the 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

That was just hours before the same agency reported the rescue of Aurora Aguinaldo, another Filipina inside the supermarket when it gave way.

 

GMANews.TV tried, but failed to reach DFA spokesperson Ed Malaya for comment.

 

Pointing fingers?

A radio dzBB report had earlier quoted the DFA as saying they got the news of Fabian's rescue from Grace's father, Arturo, himself.

 

Asked by GMA News to react on DFA's claim, Arturo said he had learned about the supposed rescue from the news, prompting him to call up a certain "Judy Razon" from the DFA to confirm if the reports were correct.

 

"She told me, 'We haven't received any reports, the only name listed as rescued is Aurora Aguinaldo'," Arturo recounted.

 

It was only on the morning of Saturday that the bad news would finally be confirmed by the military.

"That's what hurts me the most because I still read on TV that my daughter had already been rescued," said Arturo.

 

Sibling: Grace is still missing

Arturo said that he was able to talk to his other child in Haiti on Friday, who called him up to say that Grace remained trapped in the rubble. Arturo would later that night learn about the supposed rescue, leaving him and their other relatives hugely relieved.

 

But now that the good has been reversed, all Arturo coulld do was appeal to the government to exhaust all efforts to rescue his daughter and the six other Filipinos known to be trapped in the ruins.

 

Arturo broke into tears while delivering his appeal. "I beg for your help. You are parents too, just as I am," he said.

 

'We're doing everything we can'

Brawner said that, despite the misinformation, the government is unfazed in helping with the search and rescue operations in Haiti.

We're not saying that Ms. Fabian is in any danger... Grace's family can rest assured that we and the whole Philippine contingent are doing everything we can," Branwer said.

 

Apart from Grace, five other Filipinos are confirmed still trapped in a number of establishments in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.

 

The missing Filipinos include Jerome Yap, Geraldine Lalican, Petty Officer 3 Pearly Panangui, Sergeant Janice Arocena, and Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez.

 

Brawner said that backhoes and bulldozers have already arrived at the United Nations Peacekeeping headquarters at the Christopher Hotel to help dig out rubble that might be weighing down on trapped victims.

 

The Philippines will be sending 155 more soldiers to Haiti in February to augment rescue forces there. The Department of Health will likewise be sending a medical team on Monday.

 

- TJD, GMANews.TV

 

 

Read also today’s Daily Mail article posted here on coldplaying.com: “Haiti earthquake: The hope and horror as boy, two, is found alive after 48 hours in the rubble” – a very descriptive article with very moving pictures – some of them full of hope (2 small children saved and a man saved) and some very terrible pictures showing dead bodies and the rubble of collapsed houses).

 

Daily Mail's article can also be read on: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...#ixzz0clhYy7qa

HAITI INFORMATION AND ACTIONS

 

http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/how-to-help-haiti/

 

By now I'm sure you have seen pictures of the absolute devastation in Haiti. As many as 100,000 people could be dead. Survivors are sleeping in the streets among the dead, too afraid to go back into buildings. The people of Haiti need us now to survive, and they will need our help for a long time to rebuild.

 

Learn more about this disaster:

 

Haiti After the Quake

 

Haiti in Chaos After Earthquake

 

Long Term Health Problems Facing Haiti Now

 

Help Haiti: A Day Without Pay

 

Rescue Dogs Sent to Haiti from Around the World

 

Animal Victims in Haiti Need Your Help

 

The above articles can be read here: http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/how-to-help-haiti/

 

DEMAND AN APOLOGY FROM PAT ROBERTSON:

Pat Robertson (televangelist): Apologize

Pat Robertson is at it again. The televangelist once linked the 9/11 terrorist attack and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to legalized abortion in the U.S. Now he claims that Haiti is "cursed" because of a "pact to the devil" made by slaves who revolted against French colonial rule in the 1790s. Incredibly, Robertson also suggested that the devastating earthquake, which may have killed tens of thousands of people, could be a "blessing in disguise." Pat Robertson, your ridiculous treatises are deeply offensive. We demand that you immediately apologize to the people and government of Haiti.

 

HAITIAN REFUGEES GRANTED TEMPORARY LEGAL STATUS

 

Three days after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, Homeland Security

Secretary Janet Napolitano granted temporary protected status to Haitian refugees in the United States.

Refugee Council USA, a coalition of organizations including Human Rights First, Amnesty International USA and International Rescue Committee, had called on President Obama to grant temporary protected status for refugees. Care2 and other groups ran petitions in support of TPS for Haitian refugees. And Congress finally joined the call, too.

Granting Haitian refugees in the U.S. temporary protected status will not only protect them from being deported at a time when their country simply cannot take them in. It also allows these refugees to work legally in the U.S. while they are here - thus allowing them to earn money to send back home to family and loved ones in desperate need to help.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), the ranking Republican senator on the foreign relations committe, supported the move, stating: "It is in the foreign policy interest of the United States and a humanitarian imperative of the highest order to have all people of Haitian descent in a position to contribute towards the recovery of this island nation."

 

 

Haiti Orphanage Needs Help (Justin Perkins/Luke Montgomery)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Justin Perkins is a particularly cool Care2 colleague who sent us this message. We both thought you would want to read it.

I got a very sad, but inspiring email this morning from Luke Montgomery - the founder of Adopt-a-pet.com, a friend and partner of Care2, and WeCanBuildAnOrphanage.com . Luke is obviously not as happy as he looks in this picture right now during a more inspiring moment at his orphanage - he is scrambling to go into probably one of the scariest and stressful situations he has ever faced in his life. I spoke with him on the phone a couple of times today while helping coordinate his air travel, and I could hear the stress in his voice. If you feel compelled to help a brave couple of guys step up to the plate to make a huge difference with AIDS orphans in Haiti - who probably don't have anyone else looking after them amidst the chaos right now - please consider helping Luke make a difference on our behalf. Here's the situation straight from him:

 

Hello Everybody,

Still no word from our orphanage. Our town of Jakmel (also spelled Jacmel if you want to Google it) has been largely destroyed and our AIDS orphanage is constructed out of cement... not good. Most of these types of buildings in our town have crumbled. Best case: Our kids are safe but all the care staff will be dealing with their own families, destroyed and dead family members and all water and food will now be even more scarce. Worst case: The orphanage collapsed like all other concrete buildings in town and the locals might hesitate to dig out HIV infected bloody kids. I haven't been able to sleep. Crying.

I'm going back to Haiti in the next few days and need help to give hands-on help to our kids and the townspeople.

You can help. Give money or pass this donation link around: http://tinyurl.com/ykt74rg

love,

Luke

 

About Luke Montgomery

Website: http://www.wecanbuildanorphanage.com

Biography: Luke Montgomery is the co-founder of WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com, an interactive charity building a home, clinic and school for AIDS orphans in Haiti. Passionate about helping children and obsessed with leveraging the power of "good ideas for good causes," Luke has worked as a marketing and Internet fundraising consultant for non-profits. His work as a media strategist has captured front page coverage in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and Los Angeles Times among others. His projects have been the on-air talk of John Stewart, David Letterman, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Donahue and Pamela Anderson. Luke's TV producer credits include a documentary aired in-part on CNN, a 30-minute comedy series pilot and a pet adoption TV special starring Drew Barrymore and Kelsey Grammer. Other celebrities recruited to his work include Larry King, Alicia Silverstone and Jack Lemmon. His consulting has focused on animal welfare with work including the Humane Society of the United States and the SPCA of Canada. Luke was founder of Adopt-a-Pet.com, a national non-profit pet adoption website that saves tens of thousands of homeless pets every month. Luke divides his time between Haiti, Montréal and San Francisco.

Read more: orphans, haiti, human rights, haiti earthquake, earthquake. orphanage, missing children, help haiti

 

 

We wanted to share with you all of the ways you can help on Care2 (see below).

 

Take Action for Haiti:

 

Haitians Living Abroad: A Call to Rebuild

 

Honor UN Peacekeepers in Haiti

 

 

Donate to Help Haiti via various international charitable relief organizations:

 

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, and Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive estimates as many as 100,000 people may be dead. The epicenter of the quake was just 10 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince, causing widespread devastation in this island nation. The American Red Cross estimates three million people are affected.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas, and the Haitian people desperately need our help now.

The best way for you to help the people of Haiti is to donate to a well-respected charity with experience in medical and disaster relief. Haiti needs immediate assistance, and these organizations already have teams in place to assess the damage and provide the emergency medical care, food, clean water and shelter that people need.

 

The following is an alphabetical list of groups that are working to help Haiti with direct links to their earthquake relief fund donation pages:

Abandoned Children's Fund

Donate directly above or call 1-888-884-0567.

 

American Red Cross

You can text "Haiti" to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross, call 1-800-REDCROSS or donate directly at the link above.

 

CARE

Donate online above or call 1-800-521-CARE from the U.S. or +1-404-681-2552 from outside the U.S.

 

Catholic Relief Services

Donate online by clicking the link above, text RELIEF to 30644, or call 1-800-736-3467.

 

Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)

The UN's Central Emergency Response Fund. Donate directly above.

 

Children's Hunger Relief Fund

Donate directly above or call 1-888-781-1585 from the U.S. or +1-707-528-8000 from outside the U.S.

 

Christian Blind Mission

Donate online above - Canadians can donate online to Christian Blind Mission Canada.

 

Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres

Visit this link to donate from outside the U.S.

 

Freedom From Hunger

Donate online above or call 1-530-758-6200 x1042

 

International Medical Corps

 

International Rescue Committee

Donate directly above or call 1-877-REFUGEE

 

Mercy Corps

Donate directly above or call 1-888-256-1900

 

Oxfam

If you are outside of the U.S., you can find the direct link to donate through your Oxfam affiliate here.

 

Partners in Health

Donate online through the link above, or donate by mail by sending a check with "Haiti Earthquake Relief" in the memo line to:

Partners In Health

P.O. Box 845578

Boston, MA 02284-5578

 

Save the Children

Donate directly above or make checks out to "Save the Children" and send to:

Save the Children Income Processing Department

54 Wilton Road

Westport, CT 06880

 

UNICEF USA

Donate directly above or call 1-800-4UNICEF. Canadians can donate directly to UNICEF Canada.

 

World Emergency Relief

Donate directly above or call 1-888-484-4543 from the U.S. or +1-760-930-8001 from outside the U.S.

 

Yele Haiti

You can text "Yele" to 501501 to make a $5 donation to Wyclef Jean's organization in Haiti, or donate directly here.

 

STAY INFORMED

Visit Haitifeed.com for twitter updates, photos, videos and more to find out what is happening in Haiti.

 

Please leave comments with any organizations we should add, twitter users we should follow, sites with news, your thoughts and prayers for the people of Haiti. Is your community organizing to help? Let everyone know how in the comments!

 

Everything in this post comes from:

http://www.care2.com/causes/human-rights/blog/how-to-help-haiti/

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 17 FEBRUARY 2010, PART I OF II

 

100 FILIPINOS ACCOUNTED FOR, SAFE IN HAITI, SAYS DFA

 

(GMA News.TV)

 

At least 100 Filipinos in Haiti’s Delmas district have been accounted for and were safe, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday. The DFA said efforts were still underway for the rescue of Filipinas Grace Fabian and Geraldine Lalican, who remained trapped under the ruins of the Carribean Supermarket area in Port-au-Prince.

 

 

HAITIANS DESPERATE FOR SUPPLIES; RESCUES STILL ON

 

(01/17/2010 | 05:24 PM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Rescuers pulled a dehydrated but otherwise uninjured woman from the ruins of a luxury hotel in the Haitian capital early Sunday, an event greeted with applause from onlookers witnessing rare good news in a city otherwise filled with corpses, rubble and desperation.

"It's a little miracle," the woman's husband, Reinhard Riedl, said after hearing she was alive in the wreckage. "She's one tough cookie. She is indestructible."

 

For many, though, the five days since the magnitude-7.0 quake hit have turned into an aching wait for the food, water and medical care slowly making its way from an overwhelmed airport rife with political squabbles. And while aid is reaching the country, growing impatience among the suffering has spawned some violence.

 

Nobody knows how many died in Tuesday's quake. Haiti's government alone has already recovered 20,000 bodies — not counting those recovered by independent agencies or relatives themselves, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told The Associated Press.

 

The Pan American Health Organization now says 50,000 to 100,000 people perished in the quake. Bellerive said 100,000 would "seem to be the minimum."

 

A U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman declared the quake the worst disaster the international organization has ever faced, since so much government and U.N. capacity in the country was demolished. In that way, Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva, it's worse than the cataclysmic Asian tsunami of 2004: "Everything is damaged."

 

Truckloads of corpses were being trundled to mass graves Saturday. Search teams also recovered the body of Tunisian diplomat Hedi Annabi, the United Nations chief of mission in Haiti, and other top U.N. officials who were killed when their headquarters collapsed.

 

Experts have said rescue of people trapped beneath wreckage after three days is unlikely. But an American team pulled a woman alive from a collapsed university building where she had been trapped for 97 hours. Another crew got water to three survivors whose shouts could be heard deep in the pancaked ruins of a multistory supermarket.

 

At the Hotel Montana, the son of co-owner Nadine Cardoso said he could hear her voice from the rubble, and the effort to pull her to safety began. Twelve hours later, with more than 20 friends and relatives of the prominent community member watching early Sunday, she was lowered from a hill of debris on a stretcher.

 

The rescue was bittersweet for Cardoso's sister, because rescuers also told Gerthe Cardoso they had abandoned a search for her 7-year-old grandson after an aftershock closed a space where he was believed to be. "Well, we can't have them both," she said after her sister was saved.

 

Later Sunday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was expected to arrive in Haiti to discuss aid delivery, which appeared to be speeding up.

 

Florence Louis, seven months pregnant with two children, was one of thousands of Haitians who gathered at a gate at the Cite Soleil slum, where U.N. World Food Program workers handed out high-energy biscuits for the first time. "It is enough because I didn't have anything at all," said Louis, 29, clutching four packets of biscuits.

 

The Haitian government has established 14 distribution points for food and other supplies, and U.S. Army helicopters scouted locations for more. Aid groups opened five emergency health centers. Vital gear, such as water-purification units, was arriving from abroad.

 

On a hillside golf course, perhaps 50,000 people were sleeping in a makeshift tent city overlooking the stricken capital. Paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division flew there Saturday to set up a base for handing out water and food.

 

After the initial frenzy among the waiting crowd, when helicopters could only hover and toss out their cargo, a second flight landed and soldiers passed out some 2,000 military-issue ready-to-eat meals to an orderly line of Haitians.

 

But aid delivery was still bogged down by congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport, quake damage at the seaport, poor roads and the fear of looters and robbers.

 

"Many people are just fleeing to the countryside, they are looking for a place to stay and for food," said Enel Legrand, a 24-year-old Haitian volunteer aid worker.

 

The airport congestion also touched off diplomatic rows between the U.S. military and other donor nations. France and Brazil both lodged official complaints that the U.S. military, in control of the international airport, had denied landing permission to relief flights from their countries.

 

Haitian President Rene Preval, speaking with the AP, urged all to "keep our cool and coordinate and not throw accusations."

 

As relief teams grappled with on-the-ground obstacles, U.S. leadership promised Saturday to step up aid efforts. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited and pledged more American assistance. President Barack Obama met with former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in Washington and urged Americans to donate to Haiti relief efforts.

 

In Port-au-Prince, hundreds of Haitians simply dropped to their knees outside a warehouse when workers for the agency Food for the Poor announced they would distribute rice, beans and other supplies.

 

"They started praying right then and there," said project director Clement Belizaire.

 

Children and the elderly were asked to step first into line, and some 1,500 people got food, soap and rubber sandals until supplies ran out, he said.

 

- AP

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 17 FEBRUARY 2010, PART II OF II

 

HAITI QUAKE WORKERS RESCUE LIVING, MOURN DEAD

 

(01/17/2010 | 10:10 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – All rescuers saw of Saint-Helene Jean-Louis when they arrived at the collapsed University of Port-au-Prince building were the top of her head and her left hand.

 

It had been four days since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake leveled the building, one of hundreds destroyed in the most powerful natural disaster to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation in more than 200 years - but the 29-year-old student was still breathing inside a stairwell of the former four-story structure. She was surrounded by eight decaying bodies, one entwined with her own.

 

Rescuers from the Fairfax County, Virginia, Urban Search and Rescue team tore away through a few more layers, digging down and sideways to free her upper body. She was able to sip a little water.

 

Nearly 30 hours later, working in two shifts, they pulled Jean-Louis out of the building — still alive. She was able to say her name before being whisked away to an Israeli field hospital."To me, she's the hero of the group," said Fairfax County firefighter Richard McKinney. "She had to have spent that first night by herself."

 

Other foreign and national rescue teams working feverishly to find survivors in the capital of Port-au-Prince celebrated their own successes: Israeli troops rescued the director of Haiti's tax ministry who was trapped in the ruins of his office building. Soldiers carried him out on a stretcher, checked his vital signs and declared him unhurt.

 

Eighteen members of Mexico's Rescue Brigade, a group with mole-like tunneling skills that rescued survivors after Mexico's deadly 1985 earthquake and in New York after Sept. 11, pulled seven survivors out from under collapsed buildings Friday, said brigade coordinator Fernando Alvarez.

 

Some were not as lucky: The United Nations announced Saturday that the body of Haiti mission chief Hedi Annabi was found in the rubble of the agency's headquarters, which collapsed in the earthquake.

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the bodies of Annabi's deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa, and the acting police commissioner, Doug Coates, also were found.

 

The Rev. Dr. Sam Dixon, head of the United Methodist Church's humanitarian relief agency, died before he could be rescued from the rubble of the Hotel Montana, which was destroyed by the earthquake, the church said in a statement from New York.

 

Emergency workers were still attempting to rescue possible survivors from the hotel Saturday after hearing the voice of a woman speaking in French. The teams said they thought they also had located two other people alive under the rubble.

 

Nearly 30 teams from around the globe were scrambling Saturday to find and rescue the living, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Port-au-Prince.

 

It was increasingly a race against time: Red Cross spokesman Simon Schorno noted that the critical 72-hour period for finding survivors "has past and ... these stories of people surviving are getting rarer."

 

Mindful of the odds against the victims, rescuers are celebrating their occasional bouts of good fortune as nothing less than miracles.

 

"The whole thing is pretty amazing," Fairfax County Lt. Evan Lewis said of Jean-Louis' rescue. "I've been doing this for a long time and you don't see that many people buried for that long of a time who are still coherent."

 

Jean-Louis didn't speak English, but was able to talk to a local Creole-speaking firefighter while rescuers sawed, drilled, hammered and pulled at the rubble. She stated her age and what part of her body hurt. They inserted IVs into her arms and began administering fluids and antibiotics.

"I just kept telling her, 'Slow and steady,'" said Fairfax County rescuer Robert Schoenberger.

 

The team — with the help of four specially trained Air Force rescuers — faced daunting obstacles: An aftershock late Saturday morning knocked the IV out of Jean-Louis' arm and sent rescuers scrambling off the mountain of rubble. Numerous bodies inside the building had begun to decay and the stench was at times overwhelming.

 

At one point, it appeared the only thing holding the rescuers up from freeing the woman was her foot, which was twisted awkwardly. Amputation was discussed. Then a problem arose with a piece of debris resting on her thigh.

"We've gone past plans A, B, C, and D, and we're on plan W," Lewis said, sighing.

The team was especially anxious to save the Haitian woman. Two days earlier, they had worked on a man who talked to them during the eight hours of his rescue operation — then died just before he was pulled out.

Jean-Louis' story had a happier ending.

 

"You have Mother Nature in all her power and fury with this earthquake, yet this woman has just as much strength as the earthquake," said rescue squad member Kim Klaren. "It's almost like the earthquake picked the wrong woman to pick on."

 

- AP

 

 

HUNGER AND HOPE, THIRST AND FRENZY GRIP HAITI

 

(01/17/2010 | 08:50 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Precious water, food and early glimmers of hope began

reaching parched and hungry earthquake survivors Saturday on the streets of this shattered city, where despair at times turned into a frenzy among the ruins.

 

"People are so desperate for food that they are going crazy," said accountant Henry Ounche, in a crowd of hundreds who fought one another as US military helicopters clattered overhead carrying aid.

When other Navy choppers dropped rations and Gatorade into a soccer stadium thronged with refugees, 200 youths began brawling, throwing stones, to get at the supplies.

Across the hilly, steamy city, where people choked on the stench of death, hope faded by the hour for finding many more victims alive in the rubble, four days after Tuesday's catastrophic earthquake.

Still, here and there, the murmur of buried victims spurred rescue crews on, even as aftershocks threatened to finish off crumbling buildings.

 

"No one's alive in there," a woman sobbed outside the wrecked Montana Hotel. But hope wouldn't die. "We can hear a survivor," search crew chief Alexander Luque of Namibia later reported. His men dug on. Elsewhere, an American team pulled a woman alive from a collapsed university building where she had been trapped for 97 hours.Nobody knew how many were dead. Haiti's government alone has already recovered 20,000 bodies — not counting those recovered by independent agencies or relatives themselves, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told The Associated Press.

 

In a fresh estimate, the Pan American Health Organization said 50,000 to 100,000 people perished in the quake. Bellerive said 100,000 would "seem to be the minimum." Truckloads of corpses were being trundled to mass graves.

 

A U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman declared the quake the worst disaster the international organization has ever faced, since so much government and U.N. capacity in the country was demolished. In that way, Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva, it's worse than the cataclysmic Asian tsunami of 2004: "Everything is damaged."

 

Also Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to Port-au-Prince to pledge more American assistance and said the US would be "as responsive as we need to be." President Obama met with former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and urged Americans to donate to Haiti relief efforts.

 

As the day wore on, search teams recovered the body of Tunisian diplomat Hedi Annabi, the United Nations chief of mission in Haiti, and other top U.N. officials who were killed when their headquarters collapsed.Despite many obstacles, the pace of aid delivery was picking up.

 

The Haitian government had established 14 distribution points for food and other supplies, and US Army helicopters were reconnoitering for more. With eight city hospitals destroyed or damaged, aid groups opened five emergency health centers. Vital gear, such as water-purification units, was arriving from abroad.

 

Thousands lined up in the Cite Soleil slum as U.N. World Food Program workers distributed high-energy biscuits there for the first time. As the hot sun set, the crew was down to just a few dozen boxes left from six truckloads. Perhaps 10,000 people were still waiting patiently, futilely, in line.

 

Seven months' pregnant, and with two children, 29-year-old Florence Louis clutched her four packets. "It is enough, because I didn't have anything at all," she said.

 

On a hillside golf course, perhaps 50,000 people were sleeping in a makeshift tent city overlooking the stricken capital. Paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division flew there Saturday to set up a base for handing out water and food.

 

After the initial frenzy among the waiting crowd, when helicopters could only hover and toss out their cargo, a second flight landed and soldiers passed out some 2,000 military-issue ready-to-eat meals to an orderly line of Haitians.

 

More American help was on the way: The US Navy hospital ship Comfort steamed from the port of Baltimore on Saturday and was scheduled to arrive here Thursday. More than 2,000 Marines were set to sail from North Carolina to support aid delivery and provide security.

 

But for the estimated 300,000 newly homeless in the streets, plazas and parks of Port-au-Prince, help was far from assured.

 

"They're already starting to deliver food and water, but it's mayhem. People are hungry, everybody is asking for water," said Alain Denis, a resident of the Thomassin district. Denis's home was intact, and he and his elderly parents have some reserves, but, he said, "in a week, I don't know."

 

Aid delivery was still bogged down by congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport, quake damage at the seaport, poor roads and the fear of looters and robbers.

 

The problems at the overloaded airport forced a big Red Cross aid mission to strike out overland from Santo Domingo, almost 200 miles away in the Dominican Republic. The convoy included up to 10 trucks carrying temporary shelters, a 50-bed field hospital and some 60 medical specialists.

 

"It's not possible to fly anything into Port-au-Prince right now. The airport is completely congested," Red Cross spokesman Paul Conneally said from the Dominican capital.

 

Another convoy from the Dominican Republic steered toward a U.N. base in Port-au-Prince without stopping, its leaders fearful of sparking a riot if they handed out aid themselves.

 

The airport congestion touched off diplomatic rows between the US military and other donor nations.

France and Brazil both lodged official complaints that the US military, in control of the international airport, had denied landing permission to relief flights from their countries.

 

Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, who has 7,000 Brazilian U.N. peacekeeping troops in Haiti, warned against viewing the rescue effort as a unilateral American mission.

 

The squabbling prompted Haitian President Rene Preval, speaking with the AP, to urge all to "keep our cool and coordinate and not throw accusations."

At a simpler level, unending logistical difficulties dogged the relief effort.

 

A commercial-sized jet landed with rescue and medical teams from Qatar, only to find problems offloading food aid. They asked the US military for help, surgeon Dr. Mootaz Aly said, and were told: "We're busy."

 

As relief teams grappled with on-the-ground obstacles, the US leadership promised to step up aid efforts. In Washington, Obama joined with his two most recent White House predecessors to appeal for Americans to donate to the cause. "We stand united with the people of Haiti, who have shown such incredible resilience," he said. Their resilience was truly being tested, however.

 

On a back street in Port-au-Prince, a half-dozen young men ripped water pipes off walls to suck out the few drops inside. "This is very, very bad, but I am too thirsty," said Pierre Louis Delmar.

 

Outside a warehouse, hundreds of desperate Haitians simply dropped to their knees when workers for the agency Food for the Poor announced they would distribute rice, beans and other supplies. "They started praying right then and there," said project director Clement Belizaire.

 

Children and the elderly were asked to step first into line, and some 1,500 people got food, soap and rubber sandals until supplies ran out, he said.

 

The aid official was overcome by the tragic scene. "This was the darkest day of everybody living in Port-au-Prince," he said.

 

- AP

 

 

HAITIANS SEARCH DESPERATELY FOR MISSING RELATIVES

 

(01/17/2010 | 07:14 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

The earthquake struck just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, when many workers were still away from home. After buildings collapsed, dazed survivors cried out for loved ones and wandered past dead bodies in streets made unfamiliar by the huge heaps of rubble.

 

The impoverished country's already poor communications system collapsed, both because cellular telephone towers were toppled and because of an overload of calls from people trying to find family and friends.

 

Only one cellular network is working at the moment, and then only sporadically. Landline telephones are dead. Haitians once again are reduced to relying on "radio jol," or bush radio, as they call the network that speedily spreads news by word of mouth.

 

Haitians in other countries are using Web sites and social networking systems to look for family members, but on the devastated island itself, people are resorting to more primitive methods. Town criers drive through neighborhoods announcing the names of missing people and locations of relatives who are trying to find them.

 

Nozile Claude, 38, was eager to distribute a list of survivors from an orphanage in Port-au-Prince's Nazon district. "Nine people died, and we have 56 survivors, some seriously injured, but the rumor's going around that everyone was killed because the orphanage was flattened," he said from one of the dozens of refugee camps that have sprung up across Port-au-Prince.

 

Some people have no hope, even though they have seen no bodies.

"We can't find four members of our family, but I have no hope for them. So many people have disappeared," said Benson Charles, a 21-year-old information technology student. "Twenty of us from my family managed to get out of the house after it collapsed. We couldn't do anything for the others."

 

- AP

 

 

Federer and Co. stage fundraiser for Haiti victims

 

Clinton lands in Haiti, pledges cooperative effort

 

Bush, Clinton call for long-term help for Haiti

 

RP's Catholic churches to hold 2nd collection for Haiti

NEWS from BBC WORLD on 17 January 2010

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8464274.stm

 

37 UN STAFF confirmed DEAD, more than 300 MISSING - includes Special Representative Hedi Annabi, deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa and acting police commissioner Doug Coates

 

UN HQ in the Christopher Hotel and other buildings COLLAPSED in the quake

 

Believed to be the BIGGEST SINGLE LOSS OF LIFE in the UN's history

 

THE DELIVERY OF AID TO VICTIMS OF HAITI's EARTHQUAKE IS STILL BEING SLOWED BY BOTTLENECKS, AID WORKERS SAY.

 

UN and OXFAM STAFF are finally bringing FOOD and WATER to some parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, but the airport remains clogged with loaded planes.

 

Many survivors of Tuesday's quake have become DESPERATE as they wait for aid, and many are trying to leave the city.

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has arrived in Haiti, said it was the worst humanitarian crisis for decades.

 

Mr Ban is expected to visit the ruins of the UN mission, where several staff including Special Representative Hedi Annabi were killed, and meet President Rene Preval.

 

The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help 3 M / three million people for six months, while some two million people are thought to need emergency relief.

 

Meanwhile first reports from the epicentre of the earthquake suggest the damage is even more dramatic than in the capital.

 

The BBC's Mark Doyle in Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, described the scene as "apocalyptic", with thousands left homeless and almost every building destroyed.

 

But in a sign of hope, rescuers pulled THREE PEOPLE ALIVE from the rubble on Sunday. Twelve others were rescued on Saturday, the UN said.

 

There are also security concerns amid reports of looting.

 

The US Southern Command's Lt-Gen Ken Keen said that while streets were largely calm there had been an increase in violence. "We are going to have to address the situation of security," he said, quoted by the Associated Press.

 

"We've had incidents of violence that impede our ability to support the government of Haiti and answer the challenges that this country faces."

AFP news agency quoted one of its photographers as saying police had opened fire on looters in a Port-au-Prince market, killing at least one of them.

 

AIRPORT 'OVERWHELMED'

Correspondents say although the amount of supplies getting through is still small, there is a sense of movement at last.

 

The UN World Food Programme has been handing out aid packages containing food, while UK charity OXFAM has been distributing water.

 

US troops said they had set up their first foothold outside the airport to deliver aid carried in by helicopters.

 

But many victims are still not receiving any aid, as the airport remains a bottleneck. UN Humanitarian Coordinator Kim Bolduc says getting supplies out to them from the planes is still a major hurdle.

 

"The Haitian airport now is overwhelmed," said UN Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet. The port is badly damaged, and many roads still blocked by corpses and debris.

 

David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, said aid was being delivered as quickly as possible.

 

"Aid is going out but it's simply impossible in 24 hours to bring in enough aid to instantly feed all these people, many of whom are in places that are inaccessible," he said.

 

The Haitian and Dominican Republic governments are planning an alternative 130km (80 miles) HUMANITARIAN ROAD CORRIDOR to deliver relief supplies from the southern Dominican town of Barahona, the UN reports.

 

The UN has warned about FUEL SHORTAGES, which it says could affect humanitarian operations.

 

"Fuel is the key issue," Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the BBC. "We need fuel to bring in supplies and carry the wounded."

 

'NO HELP'

 

The UN says up to 80-90% of buildings in Leogane, about 19km west of Port-au-Prince, have been destroyed.

 

One survivor in the town said he had come to Haiti from America for his mother's funeral, only for his wife to be killed in the earthquake. He said that so far people in the area had received no help of any kind.

 

"We don't have any aid, nothing at all," he said. "No food, no water, no medical, no doctors."

 

Estimates of how many people died following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday have varied.

 

The Pan American Health Organization put the death toll at 50,000-100,000, while Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 "would seem a minimum".

 

A UN official has said aid workers are dealing with a disaster "like no other" in UN memory because the country had been "decapitated".

 

Three ministers and several senators are reported to have been killed.

 

The US has launched what President Barack Obama called "one of the largest relief efforts in its history" following the quake.

 

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the first senior Western official to arrive in Haiti, on Saturday.

 

She told Haitians that the US would be "here today, tomorrow and for the time ahead", asserting that "Haiti can come back even better and stronger in the future".

 

Nick Davis, BBC News, Haiti: Relief is finally getting through to some in Port-au-Prince but it's a trickle - not a flood - of the aid needed by the people here.

 

The US navy is using helicopters to drop supplies of bottled water using soldiers on the ground to keep control. The UN also has distribution points handing out high-energy bars to the hungry.

 

But demand is outstripping supply - with food and water being taken faster than they can pass it out.

 

DESTRUCTION AT EPICENTRE OF HAITI QUAKE IS EXTREME

 

EXTENT OF HAITI DESTRUCTION CLEAR:

 

First reports from the epicentre of Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti suggest the damage is even more dramatic than in the capital, BBC correspondents say.

 

They say the scene in Leogane, west of Port-au-Prince, is "apocalyptic", with thousands left homeless and almost every building destroyed.

 

In the capital, survivors have become desperate as they wait for aid being handed out by international agencies. - But in a sign of hope, rescuers pulled a woman alive from rubble on Sunday. "It's a little miracle," the woman's husband, Reinhard Riedl, told the Associated Press news agency after she was rescued from a luxury hotel.

 

The UN says up to 80-90% of buildings in Leogane, about 19km (12 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, have been destroyed. The BBC's Mark Doyle - who travelled to the town on Saturday - said people had taken refuge in the surrounding sugarcane fields or mangrove swamps.

 

David Orr, a spokesman for the UN World Food Programme, said many thousands were feared dead.

"Nearly every house was destroyed here. The military are talking about 20,000 to 30,000 dead."

 

Many survivors have been leaving quake-hit areas in search of food, water and medicine.

 

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due to arrive in Haiti on Sunday.

 

The UN has launched an appeal for $562m (£346m) intended to help three million people for six months, while some two million people are thought to need emergency relief.

 

International relief supplies have been arriving at the airport.

There were aid distributions in parts of Port-au-Prince on Saturday, but deliveries have been hampered by severe logistical challenges.

 

The airport is congested, the port badly damaged, and many roads blocked by corpses and debris.

 

On Sunday the UN also warned about fuel shortages, which it says could affect humanitarian operations.

 

"Fuel is the key issue," Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the BBC. "We need fuel to bring in supplies and carry the wounded."

 

There are also security concerns amid reports of looting. On Saturday a crowd was reportedly involved in a fight over goods in Port-au-Prince, but a UN official said the overall situation was calm.

 

COUNTRY 'DECAPITATED'

 

Estimates of how many people died following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday have varied.

 

The Pan American Health Organization put the death toll at 50,000-100,000, while Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 "would seem a minimum".

 

A UN official has said aid workers are dealing with a disaster "like no other" in UN memory because the country had been "decapitated".

 

Three ministers and several senators are reported to have been killed.

 

Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said his house had been destroyed and he had been sleeping in his car.

 

"For the moment, we are trying to save our employees who are still stuck under the rubble," he said.

 

The UN itself lost at least 40 employees in the earthquake, and confirmed on Saturday that the head of its mission in Haiti had been found dead in the rubble of its headquarters.

 

The US has launched what President Barack Obama called "one of the largest relief efforts in its history" following the earthquake, which killed tens of thousands of people and left many more homeless.

 

Seen on BBC News (Text-TV):

 

SENEGAL OFFERS FREE LAND AND REPATRIATION TO HAITIANS

 

Haitians are sons and daughters of Africa since Haiti was founded by SLAVES. Now Senegal is offering voluntary repatriation to any Haitian who wants to return to their origin.

 

Search continuing for missing UN workers

Text-to-donate to Oxfam America's Haiti Relief Fund

 

Dear Friends At Coldplaying.com-

 

You can help earthquake survivors in Haiti. Donate to Oxfam America, a leader in disaster response, on the ground in Haiti providing clean water and sanitation. Donate now to save lives in Haiti. Go to http://www.oxfamamerica.org, or text OXFAM to 25383 to make a one-time $10 donation to Oxfam’s Haiti Earthquake Response Fund.

 

We've appreciated your help in the past, and hope you'll be willing to follow Chris Martin's lead by donating to Oxfam to help our work in Haiti.

 

Also, if you've got a blog, website, or other place that you might share our banners linking to our Haiti fund donation page, please visit http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/#banners

 

Thanks again for your past support, and thanks in advance for helping us here.

 

-Oxfam America

SITUATION REPORT FROM UNICEF IN HAITI

 

HAITI EARTHQUAKE: UNICEF SITUATION REPORT

 

17 January 2010

 

PORT AU PRINCE

 

- The Government has declared the state of emergency for 15 days. This will help to exceptional administrative measures to be taken. A mourning period of one month has also been declared.

- On January 15, WFP distributed, among others, High Energy biscuits for 5 days, bags for water storage and purifying tablets. High energy biscuits present stock covers the needs of 200,000 families for 15 days; more is expected to arrive.

- There are already 4 secured and permanent points of distribution in town (place Dessalines, 2 football grounds and one tennis court). More secured distribution points are being identified. However, any organization can fix its own distribution points, provided that security is assured.

- The Government has been able to progressively run the School Canteens National Program, having recovered part of its staff and food stock: wet rations have begun to be distributed in Champs de Mars camp.

- The Ministry of Social Affairs will put in place mobile teams to assess the situation and needs of children in the camps. As well, the Institute of Social Wellbeing is trying to reinforce its present at the airport.

- The Government has set up different work commissions, among them the one on fuel. Beginning from January 16, fuel has been delivered to a few gas stations downtown in small quantity.

- Situation in the camps (parks, grounds, courtyards, etc.) is still calm to date, though highly critical. However, security concerns are rising fast. Armed groups are beginning to loot and rob during the night.

- As banks are closed and people lost most of their belongings, cash (money) circulation is extremely limited, hindering access to food. Some fruit and vegetable arrives from the countryside, but people do not have money to buy.

 

THE UN IN HAITI

- Challenges of organization and extreme difficulty of coordination are characterizing the UN response to the situation and to the increasing needs of the population, the government, and its own UN staff. Coordination and efficacy is improving.

- The Food Aid Cluster has been officially begun to work. The first meeting of the Education Cluster will be held on January 18.

- UNICEF is leading the WASH, Education and Nutrition Clusters (to be established).

- A website with updated information related to response, priorities and gaps of each Cluster or sector will be available, beginning from January 18. OCHA will receive inputs up to 12 pm daily in order to upload the information. http://www.haiti.oneresponse.info On January 18. OCHA is holding a meeting with all the Cluster Heads to explain the website use and subscription.

 

UNICEF IN HAITI

- Organization of the operations is being improved, with definition of tasks for every staff as well as rotation in the camp base.

- UNICEF warehouse was partially damaged by t he quake. Presently availability of stocks is being analyzed.

- Two trucks are operational: one for WASH and the second one for the management of the supplies arriving to the airport that need to be stored before distribution.

- A joint mission UNICEF/WFP/WHO will leave on January 18 to assess the situation and needs in Petit Goave. UNICEF staff will be temporarily posted there, covering also Grande Goave, if needed.

 

CHILD PROTECTION

It is becoming evident that the earthquake, besides its toll of deaths, has left many children wounded, traumatized, stranded and/or orphaned. UNICEF has reinforced the partnership with NGOs as well as the Institut de Bienêtre Social (Ministry of Social Affairs).

- Partnership with AMI (Aide Médicale Internationale) will continue to assure medical care to children in different mobile clinics in all Port au Prince zones.

- AVSI has resumed the psychosocial support to children in the poorest areas of the capital city, often together with AMI. UNICEF is reinforcing this partnership in Petit Goave et Cabaret.

- UNICEF is supporting Save The Children in tracing the families of stranded children. SCF will also estimate the magnitude and situation of the migration from Port au Prince to the areas of Gonaïve et Leogane.

- Effects of people moving to Lekaye is underway by Terre des Hommes.

- The mobile teams of the Institut de Bienêtre Social of the Ministry of Social Affairs are assessing the state of the orphanages and crèches in Port au Prince. As well, two buildings are being evaluated for temporarily sheltering about 200 children in need. One of them has the clearance to shelter up to 55 children.

- MINUSTAH committed to visit all the hospitals to check for abandoned or stranded children in need of help and shelter.

WASH

- On January 16, forty (40) water tanks delivered drinkable water covering the needs of some 60,000 people in 19 sites. On January 17, it is planned that 82 trucks provide water to 36 points for approximately 80,000 people.

- The main challenge is assuring enough fuel for the trucks to run. UNICEF is providing 1,000 gallons to DINEPA (Direction National Eau Potable et Assainissement), and expecting 4 more trucks of 30,000 gallons coming from the Dominican Republic.

- 120,000 bottles of water are expected to be distributed to different hospitals and commissaries.

- The DINEPA (Direction National Eau Potable et Assainissement) has very strong capacity in terms of leadership, producing results and coordinating the sector. The different actors and contributors report directly to DINEPA. UNICEF has officially assumed the role of supporting its staff and work.

 

- The presence and contribution of the NGOs is very important. The main partners are OXFAM, MSF (Médecin Sans Frontières), Action Contre la Faim, RED CROSS.

 

- DINEPA and the WASH Cluster defined that the main strategy is to set up high capacity bladders in the neighborhoods of the gathering points. Water purification should be done on site. Bladders will be managed and protected by staff paid by the NGOs at a defined daily pay.

- The private sector is highly committed to help and is ready to deliver 8 million liters of clean water per day.

- At present, the most urgent needs are: a) fuel for transportation /delivery; b) Chlorine for purification; c) Water quality testing equipment; d) Pods / timber for latrine constructions.

 

UPDATE FROM JACMEL

One UNICEF staff is presently posted in Jacmel city and the situation there is as follows:

- 356 deaths in the south-western districts, 332 of them in Jacmel city. Number is expected to increase as there are still many people under the debris. A school and a church have collapsed burying more than 150 persons. 420 wounded have been registered at date.

- Nearly 12,000 families were affected by the quake; 8,000 people are living in the camps (6,000 in Jacmel and 2,000 in Cote Fer). Displaced people have gathered in 3 sites (camps) in Jacmel, as well in 2 sites in Cote de Fer.

- 8,335 houses were damaged, more than 2,500 among them completely destroyed. Many private, public and commercial buildings need to be completely re-built.

- 43 schools either collapsed or damaged, as well as six health infrastructures.

- 63 new injured were hospitalized; 21 patients need to be urgently evacuated. UNICEF Santo Domingo is negotiating with the Dominican Republic’s authorities.

- Hospital Saint Michel was relocated in the grounds of a church.

- The Red Cross installed four 10,000-liter water bladders in the hospital, school and Pinchinat camp. Both MINUSTAH and private-owned trucks organized by UNICEF assured water provision for the bladders.

- Wet rations are being distributed in the camps, where people gather to spend the night. Probably half of the people who is in Pinchinat camp will be relocated.

- WFP and UNICEF have made emergency stocks available in ACDI VOCA stores, as well as in the towns of Thiott and Ricot for the population of Cote Fer

- WFP is currently estimating the number of children in order to provide specific rations.

- Camps management is particularly complicated and hinders distribution flow, as well as protection and surveillance of children. However, the municipality is progressively taking the lead with the collaboration of local NGOs.

Problems and needs:

- Camps management is particularly complicated and hinders distribution flow, as well as protection and surveillance of children. Sanitation is an issue. Locally working NGOs are facing a severe shortage of materials and tools.

- Social and psychological support not yet available.

- Urgent need of water purifying tools and materials. Water supply from local nappes was discontinued for fear of contamination. Water provision was assured only by MINUSTAH’s trucks.

- Additional tents for Saint Michel Hospital. Blood bags, medial supplies and drugs.

- Need for detailed assessment of health and education structures. Regional authorities of health, education and protection are starting to participate in the coordination, however, their participation is still weak.

- Latrines building in Pinchinat is affected by the lack of tools and materials. Hygiene kits are not sufficient to cover the needs.

Some HAITI headlines from various Text-TVs / News

 

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 17 and 18 JANUARY 2010

 

Read on Danish Text-TV (TV2) on Sunday 17 January 2010:

 

Danish UN employee saved after 5 days - no wounds, only a few bruises.

 

Angry and frustrated Haitians in Port-au-Prince waiting for help - hungry and thirsty.

 

Rotting corpses in the streets.

 

Relief goods waiting in the airport, but the security situation is very serious.

 

Reports of clashes in Port-au-Prince involving around 1,000 Haitians using stones, knives and hammers as weapons. The fight concerned clothes, bags and toys from collapsed houses and shops.

 

 

Read on Text-TV Monday 18 January 2010:

 

An international conference on rebuilding / reconstructing Haiti to take place on 25 January 2010 in Montreal in Canada.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested this international conference. Haiti will participate with its president, and the USA will be represented by Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.

 

 

Around noon Danish TV2 News:

 

Interview with the Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross:

 

Due to the dangerous security situation, Red Cross aid workers found it necessary to distribute food and drinking water with soldiers around to protect them against violent, desperate Haitians who were attacking both the aid workers and other Haitians in the queue. Red Cross found a better solution by distributing food vouchers to the waiting Haitians in the morning. Then in the afternoon those with food vouchers are being handed food and drinking water. It has turned out to be working.

 

 

Danish Text-TV:

 

3 Americans wounded at the airport (and not 30 Americans as was rumoured earlier today).

 

46 dead UN employees and 500 missing or at least unaccounted for (some of the missing may have returned home).

 

IRCR reported about violence and lootings in Haiti 6 days after the devastating earthquake.

 

Prices for food and transport increasing fast.

 

Limited access to shelter, sanitation, water, food and medical treatment.

 

Poor sanitation in tent camps according to the IRCR leader in Haiti.

 

UN planning to send 2,000 more UN soldiers to Haiti.

 

 

BBC WORLD, News:

 

Britons gave £23m to Haiti earthquake appeal - Disasters and Emergency Committee, DEC.

 

UK government trebled its funding for the humanitarian response from £6.2m to £20m to provide food, shelter, health and relief work.

 

US forces bolster Haiti efforts: Aid efforts gather pace.

 

UN and US forces pushed back an angry crowd at the airport gates with batons.

 

 

German Text TV:

 

EU: 422 mio EURO for Haiti.

 

 

There has been a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Guatemala with its epicentre 100 km south-east of the capital Guatemala City - not far away from the El Salvador border - in a depth of 103 km. With an earthquake of this magnitude much devastation can be expected.

HAITI related news from GMA News.TV 18 JANUARY 2010

 

Haitians pray, cry for help in the ruins

 

More troops, aid go to Haiti, but hunger persists

 

More US troops, UN peacekeepers expected for Haiti

 

Canada to send 1,000 more troops to Haiti

 

65 more Filipinos accounted for in Haiti

 

RP peacekeepers carry heavy workload in Haiti

 

Condition of injured RP soldier in Haiti quake improves

 

RP to send 155 troops in earthquake-ravaged Haiti

 

 

BONO, TIMBERLAKE TO PERFORM AT HAITI BENEFIT

 

(01/18/2010 | 11:41 AM - GMA News.TV)

 

BEVERLY HILLS, California — George Clooney says the "Hope for Haiti" benefit for victims of the earthquake in Haiti will include performances from Bono, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys.

 

Speaking to The Associated Press at the Golden Globes ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Clooney said that more than 40 celebrities are expected to attend the Jan. 22 event. The actor said the aim of the benefit is "to show the people of Haiti that the whole world is paying attention."

 

The benefit, which Clooney and Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean will host, will be broadcast on more than a dozen broadcast and cable networks. It will be held in New York, with CNN's Anderson Cooper chiming in from Haiti.

 

The show will benefit the RED CROSS, UNICEF, OXFAM AMERICA, Partners in Health and Jean's YELE HAITI FOUNDATION.

 

Clooney said that songs from participating artists will also be available on iTunes, with proceeds going to the relief effort. - AP

UPDATES OF THE SITUATION IN HAITI ON 19 JANUARY 2010, Part I of III

 

Danish TV2, Text-TV on 19 January 2010:

 

A total of 5 persons rescued out of the rubble of a collapsed grocery.

 

23-year-old young female university student saved herself - she sent a SMS message that she was alive, but trapped in a rubble - and where to find her. Rescuers then rushed to the place where she was trapped and managed to free her from the rubble after some time.

 

Before the earthquake there were 380,000 orphans in Haiti.

 

Haitians orphans having lost parents in connection with the earthquake will be helped in the USA after having received an entry permit allowing them to travel into the USA. According to Janet Napolitano, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, orphans will be granted a humanitarian residence permit. The orphans might be adopted by Americans. Some organizations are worried because they fear abuse and trafficking.

 

According to the President of the Dominican Republic who has met with Haiti's President, Haiti will need 10 billion Dollars (= 7 billion Euro) for reconstructing and rebuilding Haiti. The money would be paid over 5 years, 2 billion Dollars per year in the framework of a programme. To provide the financial support and to control it, a central authority in Haiti and an international coordination would be needed.

 

Relief thrown down from helicopter.

 

UN Security Council has approved that 3,500 more UN soldiers and policemen will be sent to Haiti.

 

Danes have donated more than 20 million Danish Kroner to Haiti via the major relief organizations since Wednesday 13 January 2010. MSF / Médecins Sans Frontières has received 6.1 million Danish Kroner, Danish Red Cross 7.8 and Unicef 6.4 million Danish kroner.

 

Maersk Line has pledged free transport of relief goods provided that the coordination is made by UN having the superior logistic task of distributing relief goods.

 

Thousands of Haitians are fleeing out of Port-au-Prince due to the escalating violence and the lack of food.

 

Shortage of fuel has caused increasing fares. Nevertheless, the busses are more crowded than during the Christmas season!

 

 

ARDtext on 18 January 2010:

 

The EU will provide 422 million Euro for Haiti.

 

ARDtext on 19 January 2010:

 

According to the Haitian government the earthquake killed 200,000 people.

 

Big tent villages will be established for the victims of the Haiti earthquake on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. About 1.5 million homeless Haitians are to live there for a long period of time.

 

According to the relief organizations there are reports of increasing violence in the disaster area.

 

According to Red Cross despair has led to looting.

 

MSF (Médecins sans Frontières): People with stab and bullet wounds need treatment.

 

UN's Secretary-General Ban has - with success - asked the World Security Council to send 3,500 more Blue Helmet soldiers and policemen to Haiti.

 

 

BBC WORLD News on 19 January 2010:

 

US starts aid airdrops into Haiti. The US military has begun airdropping food and water supplies into earthquake-hit Haiti. Some 14,000 ready-to-eat meals and 15,000 litres of water were dropped North-East of Port-au-Prince. That this has not been done before is due to the fact that airdrops were found too risky, but congestion at the airport has hampered aid distribution. The US is now considering airdrops across Haiti. More than 2,000 US marines are set to join 1,000 US troops in Haiti.

 

US troops dropped at Haiti Palace and are expected to be unloading water, food and equipment

 

UN Security Council has voted to boost its peacekeeping forces to help control outbursts of looting.

 

Anger has been growing in the streets of the capital as people wait for help.

 

 

GMA News.TV on 18 and 19 January 2010:

 

CONDITION OF INJURED RP SOLDIER IN HAITI QUAKE IMPROVES

 

(01/18/2010 | 04:57 PM )

 

The condition of a Filipino peacekeeper injured in last week's devastating quake in Haiti has improved, allowing him to be transferred from a hospital to a local clinic.

 

 

RP PEACEKEEPERS CARRY HEAVY WORKLOAD IN HAITI

 

(01/18/2010 | 07:46 PM )

 

In the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that wrecked Haiti last week, Filipino peacekeepers have been working around the clock for rescue and retrieval operations and have even secured damaged establishments from looters, an official from the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Monday.

 

Their duties also kept them from worrying about at least three of their colleagues who remained trapped under the rubble of the collapsed Christopher Hotel in Port-au-Prince, the capital of the Caribbean nation.

 

"Our peacekeepers are busy because they have much work to do. Aside from rescue, they also provide security in areas like the Caribbean Supermarket which may be looted because people are getting hungry," AFP information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in an interview over dzBB radio.

 

The Pan American Health Organization said 50,000 to 100,000 people perished in the quake. Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 would "seem to be the minimum."

 

While aid was slowly reaching devastated areas, growing impatience among the suffering has spawned looting and violence, reported the Associated Press. Aid delivery was bogged down by congestion at the Port-au-Prince airport, quake damage at the seaport, poor roads and the fear of looters and robbers.

 

Missing Filipinos

 

As of Monday, six Filipinos were still missing. They were identified as Grace Fabian and Geraldine Lalican, who are still presumed trapped inside the collapsed Caribbean Supermarket, peacekeepers Petty Officer 3 Pearly Panangui, Sgt. Janice Arocena and Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez, and UN worker Jerome Yap.

 

Brawner said the chances of recovering the missing peacekeepers trapped under the Christopher Hotel may be fading by the day.

 

The hotel, the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti, has seven stories—including two extension floors.

 

He added that the signs of life in past days such as voices and tapping had already waned. “The signs have since weakened," he said.

 

In the meantime, Brawner said the AFP is giving support to the families of the missing peacekeepers. "We are in contact with the families. We give them updates, we tell them not to lose hope, and assure them we are doing everything we can," he said.

 

Brawner said Filipino troops are helping in rescue operations but the frontline now consists mainly of personnel who know how to operate rescue equipment.

 

He also said troops from other countries like China and France have arrived in Haiti as well.

 

100 Filipinos safe, accounted for

Last Sunday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced that at least 100 Filipinos in Haiti’s Delmas districts were accounted for and were safe.

 

Of the recorded 462 Filipinos in Haiti, 290 are civilians and 172 are peacekeepers. There are some Filipino priests and nuns as well. Filipinos working in the Caribbean country occupy middle- to upper-level management positions and are employed in the garment, telecommunication and power generation sectors.

 

This week, Philippine government is set to send a 155-member Philippine peacekeeping contingent and a medical team to help in rescue efforts in the quake-hit country.

 

– Sophia Regina Dedace/JV, GMANews.TV with reports from AP

 

 

65 MORE FILIPINOS ACCOUNTED FOR IN HAITI

 

(01/18/2010 | 10:40 PM)

 

Sixty-five more Filipinos living in a residential area in Haiti were confirmed alive and safe, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday.

 

 

BODY OF UN PINOY WORKER IN HAITI RETRIEVED FROM RUBBLE

 

(01/19/2010 | 08:47 AM)

 

The body of a United Nations Filipino officer was recovered early Monday evening, buried beneath the rubble of a hotel in Haiti following a magnitude-7 earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

 

Jerome Yap, executive assistant to the deputy head of the UN mission in Haiti, was the first confirmed Filipino death in Haiti.

Interviewed on GMA News' Unang Balita, DFA spokesman Ed Malaya said the remains of Yap were retrieved at 6:15 p.m. on Monday, Philippine time.

 

Yap's body was recovered from the site of Christopher Hotel, a few hours after other remains were found, including those of mission head Hedi Annabi, deputy Luis Tacosta and Chinese Ambassador to Haiti Shulin Wang.

 

Five Filipinos remained missing — Petty Officer 3 Pearly Panangui, Sergeant Janice Arocena and Sergeant Eustacio Bermudez, all members of the RP peacekeeping force in Haiti; and Grace Fabian and Geraldine Lalican, who both worked at the Carribean Supermarket.

 

Malaya added that Philippine Ambassador to Havana Macarthur F. Corsino arrived in Haiti capital Port-Au-Prince on Monday to help in relief and search efforts for missing Filipinos.

 

- Carmela Lapeña/LBG/RSJ/NPA, GMANews.TV