People walk along a debris-covered street in Port-au-Prince January 17, 2010. World leaders have pledged massive assistance to rebuild Haiti after the earthquake killed as many as 200,000 people, but five days into the crisis aid distribution was still random, chaotic and minimal.
"It's a matter of life and death for over 3.5 million black folks." America! Drop the food, Medical Supplies, and water down to the people, before they all die!
I have been asking if America doing enough? I have been saying for the past three days that this relief effort is turning into an international disgrace. Lord only knows why President Obama has engaged former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who both did more to create much of the problems in Haiti while they were Presidents. "I don't get with George W. Bush of all people, is back at the White House coordinating anything for Haitians. It's a national disgrace." U.S. officials on Friday acknowledged the limits of their initial relief efforts, and promised to speed delivery of relief in the next few days. Whatever!
NPR reports that desperately needed aid — including food and water — was pouring Saturday into quake-ravaged Haiti, but the airport in the capital Port-au-Prince continued to be log-jammed as dozens of aid organizations struggled to deliver supplies to fraught survivors.The difficulties in delivering supplies raised concern among aid workers that frustration could turn to lawlessness in the streets. Read more HERE
Now as reported by the NY Times, while countries and relief agencies showered aid on Haiti, only a small part of it was reaching increasingly desperate Haitians without food, water or shelter. “We see all the commotion, but we still have nothing to drink,” said Joel Querette, 23, a college student camped out in a park. “The trucks are going by.”
Hunger drove many to swarm places where food was being given out. Reports of isolated looting and violence intensified as night approached, and there were reports of Haitians streaming out of the capital.
Still, as the NY Times reports, recovery and aid efforts were widening. And even the distribution problems in the country stemmed in part from good intentions, aid officials said: Countries around the world were responding to Haiti’s call for help as never before. And they are flooding the country with supplies and relief workers that its collapsed infrastructure and nonfunctioning government are in no position to handle.
But with Haitian officials relying so heavily on the United States, the United Nations and many different aid groups, coordination was posing a critical challenge. An airport hobbled by only one runway, a ruined port whose main pier splintered into the ocean, roads blocked by rubble, widespread fuel shortages and a lack of drivers to move the aid into the city are compounding the problems.
Haitian officials said the bodies of tens of thousands of victims had already been recovered and that hundreds of thousands of people were living on the streets. A preliminary Red Cross estimate put the total number of affected people at 3.5 million. More HERE
AAPP says, it's great to know that the World Food Program has finally been able to land flights of food, medicine and water on Saturday, after failing on Tuesdy, Wednesday,Thursday and Friday.
But get this, as reported by offical noted, “There are 200 flights going in and out every day, which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti,” said Jarry Emmanuel, the air logistics officer for the agency’s Haiti effort. “But most of those flights are for the United States military. He added: “Their priorities are to secure the country. Ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync.”
AAPP: says "When will the United States get their coordination priority of feeding people in sync. I would like to know, I'm sure the 3.5million Haitans affected would like to know as well. The world is watching the Commander and Chief now more than ever... It's a matter of life and death for over 3.5 million black folks."
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"If you can handle the truth."