Last night Americans opened their hearts and their wallets to help Haitians. It was an unprecedented media blitz of all US major networks and some cable outlets hosted by celebrities, musicians and political figures to raise money in the global telethon called Help For Haiti Now.
However, according to relief organizations in Haiti, food, water, sanitation and vital supplies have arrived in the country but are still not reaching those in most need in many part of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and in other areas equally severely affected.
“US authorities and UN agencies in Haiti must urgently resolve the lack of access to emergency aid for those in desperate need following last week’s earthquake,” said Amnesty International.
More than 100,000 Haitians are feared dead after a 7.1 quake struck on the 12TH of January with thousands of people still unaccounted for. On Friday, Haiti’s government called off the search and rescue phase, although two survivors were miraculously pulled out of the rubble ten days after the disaster. Yesterday also saw the first large scale food distribution since the quake at locations across Haiti.
“An estimated 300,000 Haitians have now received food aid and another two millions are due to receive it in the coming weeks,” said UN spokesperson Nicholas Reader.
However for the estimated 1 million left homeless by the earthquake the aid cannot come too soon, and for some it might be too late.
“Up to now we have had nothing. We need water, we need food, we need medicine, we need tents to shelter the people who are here and have nowhere to live,” says a survivor in a message I received on Twitter.
In central Port-au-Prince, the city main square, the Champs De Mars, has become a giant refugee camp holding more than 6,000 homeless quake victims. As the aid is finally reaching Haiti, many Haitians are trying to leave the island. Thousands gathered at the capital’s port, which reopened on Friday, in the hope of boarding boats heading out of Port-au-Prince. Many are expected to head for the United States, but as US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned “any Haitian entering the US illegally will be repatriated”.
“Haitians need to be there to rebuild the country. This is not an opportunity to immigrate to the US,” said Napolitano. Americans have been generous at opening their wallets, but are drawing the line at opening their borders.
Editor’s Note: News Junkie Post’s co Editor in Chief, Dolores M Bernal, will start reporting from Haiti on Monday, and will give all of our readers regular updates.
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