Haiti Confirms Toll of Over 200,000

Photo: Radioteleginen.ning.com

The Haitian government has now confirmed an earthquake death toll of over 200,000. Another 300,000 have been treated for injuries. The number of destroyed homes stands at 250,000, while some 30,000 businesses have been lost.

Protests over a lack of aid continued Wednesday with a march on the mayor’s office in the neighborhood of Pétionville. Another 200 people rallied near the US embassy, calling for food and water. Meanwhile in the neighborhood of Cité Soleil, one resident said scores of people are still forced to sleep outside with no shelter.

Resident: “Rescue us! Rescue us! Those governments that want to give us help, please hurry. We don’t have homes or food. We don’t have anything. We are living in the plaza of Cité Soleil.”


1M Earthquake Survivors Lack Food Aid
In Haiti, medical teams have launched a new campaign to vaccinate Haitian children, citing the potential for disease outbreaks for those crowded in makeshift camps around the capital. According to the Washington Post, US officials now report food aid has reached at least one million people—half the estimated number of people in need. The Toussaint Louverture Boulevard camp has taken in an estimated 12,000 people, but international food trucks haven’t stopped there once. At least 70,000 homeless families have received temporary shelter materials, but another 170,000 families haven’t received them. Daily protests against a lack of aid and recovery effort continued Tuesday when scores of Haitians gathered outside the police station in Port-au-Prince. One protester called on the Haitian government to deliver more assistance.


Protester: “We lost our jobs in 2004, 2007. We look for jobs, but there’s nothing. The people in the streets have nothing, no water for drinking, no house. There are some children orphaned, but no help also. Today I come here to ask the Préval government to pay us.”


One Million Remain Homeless in Haiti
In Haiti some one million people remain homeless following the January 12 quake. International aid organizations have begun providing temporary housing supplies, but the aid is reaching just a fraction of the homeless population. Over the weekend, Doctors Without Borders handed out 1,800 tents. Last week, the United Nations said that more than 10,000 family-sized tents had been distributed. The United Nations estimates that 460,000 people remain in makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince. Meanwhile, medical officials said clinics are still overrun with patients, and doctors are seeing an increase in infectious diseases.


US Missionaries Charged with Kidnapping Haitian Children
In Haiti, ten US missionaries have been charged with child kidnapping following their arrest for trying to leave the country with a busload of children. Some of the children reportedly had parents who survived the January 12 earthquake. The missionaries say they were only trying to rescue abandoned and traumatized children. Their attorney has faulted the group leader, who is said to have deliberately avoided seeking Haitian government permission. There has been speculation the missionaries will face trial in the United States because of the earthquake’s toll on the Haiti’s court system. US Ambassador Kenneth Merten said he’s in talks with the Haitian government on the case.

Kenneth Merten: “We’re in the process of talking with the Haitian government to—you know, we need—what we’d like to do is to make sure that they get treated according to the law, according to the Haitian law, that they get treated fairly, and that they are afforded, as anybody arrested in any country would be afforded, consular access, which has been the case. So, really, seriously, that’s all I have to say.”


G7 Nations Pledge to Forgive Haiti’s Debt
Finance ministers from the G7 Industrialized Nations have pledged to forgive some $1.2 billion in debt owed by Haiti following last month’s devastating earthquake. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made the announcement during a two-day G7 meeting in the Canadian Arctic town of Iqaluit.

Jim Flaherty, Canadian Finance Minister: “We are committed in the G7 to the forgiveness of debt. In fact, all bilateral debt has been forgiven by G7 countries vis-à-vis Haiti. The debt to multi-natural—multilateral institutions should be forgiven, and we’ll work with these institutions and other partners to make this happen as soon as possible. And we discussed the long-term reconstruction assistance that Haiti will need as it emerges from the current, urgent situation as a result of the earthquake.”


Clinton to Coordinate Haiti Relief for UN
The UN, meanwhile, has appointed former President Bill Clinton to coordinate international relief efforts in Haiti. As president, Clinton helped restore then-Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide after the first US-backed coup against Aristide. But Clinton was criticized for forcing Aristide to adopt neoliberal policies as a condition of his return. Since leaving the White House, Clinton has supported groups providing medical care to the Haitian poor, including Partners in Health.





Links to Those Directly Aiding Haitians on the Ground:
Wyclef Jean's appeal for aid to Haitians at www.yele.org.

TransAfrica asks that Haitians by granted temporary protected status:
democracyinaction.org.

Doctors Without Borders

Oxfam AmericaClick here to post a comment, or to post your own Diaspora article or commentary.

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