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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Haiti earth quake worst disaster confronted by United Nations |
| 2010-01-16 |
| HAITIAN cowered in fear today armed looters scavenged through their ruined capital filled with the stench of rotting corpses after the earthquake described by the UN as the worst disaster it had ever faced. As US troops tried to unblock an aid logjam and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the disaster zone, the Haiti Government admitted it was no longer able to function properly. And while international rescuers continued to work around the clock in tropical temperatures, their efforts were hampered by a lack of fuel and transport as the sense of despair set in among exhausted survivors. "The streets smell of death," said Talulum Saint Fils, who sold her jewelry to pay for one-way bus tickets for her family out of Port-au-Prince. "There is no assistance of any kind, and our children simply cannot live like animals." The Haitian capital - insecure at the best of times - is now devoid of a functioning police force, bringing fears of a dystopian war of all against all in the wake of Tuesday's huge 7.0-magnitude earthquake. "Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money," said Evelyne Buino, a young beautician, after a long night in a neighborhood not far from the ruined city center. "This is just the beginning." Thousands of criminals were on the loose, having escaped from the city's collapsed jail, and there were widespread reports of robberies. In the bustling Marche en Fer, or Iron Market, one of the poorest neighborhoods, teenage looters scuttled over the concrete debris and ignored piles of dead bodies on the street in their desperate bid to dig out supplies. "People are hungry, thirsty. They are left on their own," said Leon Meleste. "It is increasingly dangerous. The police doesn't exist, people are doing what they want." "This is an historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory. It is like no other," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in Geneva. In the town of Leogane, west of the capital, 80-90 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed, and "No local government infrastructure remains," she said. A vanguard of the 10,000 US troops being deployed to Haiti has taken control of the airport, clogged with tons of relief supplies, and has begun the first distribution of aid to quell the threat of violence. Aid is also being distributed from the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier where 19 helicopters have been carrying out limited aid drops. "We have lift, we have communications, we have some command and control, but we don't have much relief supplies to offer," said Rear Admiral Ted Branch aboard the carrier. Ms Clinton said she will travel to Haiti to see the earthquake relief efforts first hand, deliver more supplies and meet Haitian President Rene Preval. "We will also be conveying very directly and personally to the Haitian people our long-term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies to reinforce President Obama's message that they are not facing this crisis alone," said Ms Clinton. The Haitian Government is operating out of a police station at the airport, where Mr Preval, looking exhausted with dark pockets under his eyes, said "the Government has lost its capacity to function properly, but it has not collapsed". |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 Just read this about top-notch UN "aid"! http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/16/haiti.abandoned.patients/index.html?hpt=T1?1 It should work for you. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2010-01-16 18:34 |
| #10 photo op for 2012 |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-16 17:08 |
| #9 I guess this means all the 5-star hotels accommodations are gone - such a disaster! As for Mrs Clinton. She, with her security requirements and the like are going down to the airport (probably closing down the airspace while she's there) just for a photo-op so she can be seen as 'personally delivering [a smattering of] much needed supplies' (while blocking several tons of other much needed supplies from landing). Why doesn't she just stay out of the frigging way. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-01-16 17:06 |
| #8 The un is great at setting up meetings but falls well short of action. Think of that crack of job they did in Rawanda with the French leading the way. Haiti reminds me of New Orleans: a lot of people WAITING to get helped. They don't know how to take care of themselves. Very sad. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2010-01-16 17:00 |
| #7 Another flashback (the last one) Day 9 of the tsunami crisis. . . . In this part of the tsunami-wrecked Far Abroad, the UN is still nowhere to be seen where it counts, i.e., feeding and helping victims. The relief effort continues to be a US-Australia effort, with Singapore now in and coordinating closely with the US and Australia. Other countries are also signing up to be part of the US-Australia effort. Nobody wants to be “coordinated” by the UN. The local UN reps are getting desperate. They’re calling for yet another meeting this afternoon; they’ve flown in more UN big shots to lecture us all on “coordination” and the need to work together, i.e., let the UN take credit. With Kofi about to arrive for a big conference, the UNocrats are scrambling to show something, anything as a UN accomplishment. Don’t be surprised if they claim that the USS Abraham Lincoln is under UN control and that President Lincoln was a strong supporter of the UN. . . . More on “The UNcredibles”: WFP (World Food Program) has “arrived” in the capital with an “assessment and coordination team.” The following is no joke; no Diplomad attempt to be funny or clever: The [UN] team has spent the day and will likely spend a few more setting up their “coordination and opcenter” at a local five-star hotel. And their number one concern, even before phones, fax and copy machines? Arranging for the hotel to provide 24hr catering service. USAID folks already are cracking jokes about “The UN Sheraton.” Meanwhile, our military and civilians, working with the super Aussies, continue to keep the C-130 air bridge of supplies flowing and the choppers flying, and keep on saving lives — and without 24hr catering services from any five-star hotel . . . . The contrast grows more stark every minute. Imagine if lives really depended on what the UN does. Oh, they do. |
| Posted by: Willy 2010-01-16 13:51 |
| #6 Flashback 5 Years The Diplomad continues its string of reports on UN tsunami efforts in Asia. It seems that the UN is trying to take credit for US and Australian efforts: A colleague came back from a meeting held by the local UN representative yesterday and reported that the UN rep had said that while it was a good thing that the Australians and Americans were running the air ops into tsunami-wrecked Aceh, for cultural and political reasons, those Australians and Americans really “should go blue.” In other words, they should switch into UN uniforms and give up their national ones. Now you all know that The Diplomad is not a cynical or suspicious being, but there is something funny going on here . . . what could it be? Could it be a genuine concern for local “cultural and political sensitivities” that would be offended by the presence of Aussies and Yanks in their own military uniforms saving thousands of lives? Maybe . . . or, might it not be an odd coincidence that just after the infamous Mr. Anan (see prior posts) says the UN will be setting up air traffic control in Aceh, the UN wants to show that it has an ATC system operating? What better way than to continue in the UN tradition of taking credit for others’ work? And this just before Mr. Anan arrives in Indonesia on January 6. |
| Posted by: Willy 2010-01-16 13:42 |
| #5 I have a hard time understanding why we would even entertain sending Hilary (or any VIP) just to 'show support.' The diversion of precious resources to support this dog and pony show would be much better spent attending to the search and recovery of any still alive or getting food and water to the streets. How many will this nonsense kill? |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2010-01-16 12:21 |
| #4 The (2004) earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit. But nobody's coughing up for that one anymore... Haiti's bad. But don't lie about it. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-01-16 12:08 |
| #3 The UN wasn't based in Aceh, nor was Sumatra effectively under UN colonial rule, Solomon. The UN as an organization was almost as heavily involved in Port-au-Prince as they are in Gaza City, and they lost a significant percentage of their colonial officials and local experts under the rubble of poorly-built concrete office buildings. Hell, Aceh didn't even have any huge urban areas, if I recall correctly. The UN is an inefficient, parasitical organization at the best of times, but they'll be even more ineffective with their own organization in the country gutted. This is basically a nasty combination of the Boxing Day Tsunami, Katrina, and the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-01-16 12:03 |
| #2 "This is an historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory. It is like no other," Tsunami. Indonesia. Banda Ache. How soon they forget. |
| Posted by: Solomon Glulet1502 2010-01-16 11:51 |
| #1 UN: "send us money" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-16 11:46 |