Haiti-No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Back to my old standby...SCREW FRANCE!

By Aislinn Laing, and Tom Leonard in Port-au-Prince.
Published: 8:15PM GMT 18 Jan 2010

The French minister in charge of humanitarian relief called on the UN to "clarify" the American role amid claims the military build up was hampering aid efforts.

Alain Joyandet admitted he had been involved in a scuffle with a US commander in the airport's control tower over the flight plan for a French evacuation flight.

"This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti," Mr Joyandet said.

Geneva-based charity Medecins Sans Frontieres backed his calls saying hundreds of lives were being put at risk as planes carrying vital medical supplies were being turned away by American air traffic controllers.

But US commanders insisted their forces' focus was on humanitarian work and last night agreed to prioritise aid arrivals to the airport over military flights, after the intervention of the UN.

The diplomatic row came amid heightened frustrations that hundreds of tons of aid was still not getting through. Charities reported violence was also worsening as desperate Haitians took matters into their own hands.

The death toll is now estimated at up to 200,000 lives. Around three million Haitians – a third of the country's population – have been affected by Tuesday's earthquake and two million require food assistance.

While food and water was gradually arriving at the makeshift camps which have sprung up around the city, riots have broken out in other areas where supplies have still not materialised.

Haiti was occupied by the US between 1915 and 1935, and historical sensitivities together with friction with other countries over the relief effort has made the Americans cautious about their role in the operation.

American military commanders have repeatedly stressed that they are not entering the country as an occupying force.

US soldiers in Port-au-Prince said they had been told to be discreet about how they carry their M4 assault rifles.

A paratrooper sergeant said they were authorised to use "deadly force" if they see anyone's life in danger but only as a "last resort".

Capt John Kirby, a spokesman for the joint task force at the airport, said the US recognised it was only one of a number of countries contributing to a UN-led mission.

He also emphasised the US troops, which he said would rise to 10,000 by Wednesday would principally be assisting in humanitarian relief and the evacuation of people needing medical attention.

The main responsibility for security rests with the UN, which is to add a further 3,000 troops to its force of 9,000.

However, it was agreed on Sunday night that the Americans would take over security at the four main food and water distribution points being set up in the city, Capt Kirby said.

"Security here is in a fluid situation," he said. "If the Haitian government asked us to provide security downtown, we would do that." He played down the threat of violence, saying: "What we're seeing is that there are isolated incidents of violence and some pockets where it's been more restive, but overall it's calm."

Let me see...as usual, the US shows up first, with the most and will stay longer than anyone else. We are doing things that the Haitian government is unable to do themselves. But we're the bad guys?

SCREW FRANCE! (and anyone else who doesn't like it).

[PaladinKnight]

He didn't get the memo... France doesn't own it anymore.

I'm sure it was just an oversight.

[Bones42]

I believe Israeli forces were actually there first. But your point is still correct.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

I believe Israeli forces were actually there first. But your point is still correct.

I didn't hear that. To me, that is quite interesting. Do you know the circumstances?

I happen to believe that there is an awful lot about this kind of stuff that we can learn from the Israelis.

[nmfire]

They do tend to have their shiznit together when it comes to security and recovery.

And France can go shove it.

[BryanLoader]

Quite a childish and immature statement by the OP. Below is a list of countries involved in Haiti rescue efforts. Trying to state that " Nyaa, Nyaa, we did more than you did" is akin to an insecure little boy trying to say hes better than all others while measuring his pee pee. Who the hell cares who did what? The goal is to rescue and aid as many human beings as possible. Put the order in for hero cookies later.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker ( From Yahoo answers)
To date, the United Nations, the European Commission, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden and China have donated or pledged nearly US$38 million total, with the United States pledging an additional US$100 million. Also, Venezuela, Mexico, France, Britain, Iceland, Taiwan, Israel, Cuba, and neighbouring CARICOM member countries are assisting with the supply of essential medical and food items, and professional and transportation services


In contrast Socialist Cuba, with the experience of sending medical brigades to meet emergencies in Pakistan, Bolivia, China, Guatemala and Indonesia, sent a team of 403 people to Haiti, 344 of them health care workers. On the first day they treated 800 Haitians and performed 19 surgical interventions. (TeleSur, Jan. 14) Cuba already had hundreds of medical doctors providing care in the Haitian countryside and provincial towns.

Chile, Nicaragua, Spain, Guatemala, France, Mexico and Russia all rushed aid, mostly food and water, to Haiti on Jan. 13, while the U.S. was still discussing how the Marines would land. China sent a 60-member search-and-rescue team with sniffer dogs.

Venezuela immediately sent 19 doctors and 10 firefighters who specialize in search and rescue along with 20 other experts and material aid. The Bolivarian government of Venezuela has always recognized South America’s debt to Haiti, which in the 1820s gave the aid to Simón Bolívar he needed to help free some of the South American countries from rule by Spain.

* 4 days ago

[nmfire]

Maybe you should move to socialist Cuba then.

[BryanLoader]

Maybe you should move to socialist Cuba then.

Been there several times thank you

[nmfire]

I wasn't suggesting a visit.

[PATF1engineer]

Maybe the french wanted to get there first so they could surrender to the earthquake.

[EastKyFF]

"Monsieur earthquacq, we surrender!"

[Foxrocks]

Quite a childish and immature statement by the OP. Below is a list of countries involved in Haiti rescue efforts. Trying to state that " Nyaa, Nyaa, we did more than you did" is akin to an insecure little boy trying to say hes better than all others while measuring his pee pee. Who the hell cares who did what? The goal is to rescue and aid as many human beings as possible. Put the order in for hero cookies later.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker ( From Yahoo answers)
To date, the United Nations, the European Commission, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden and China have donated or pledged nearly US$38 million total, with the United States pledging an additional US$100 million. Also, Venezuela, Mexico, France, Britain, Iceland, Taiwan, Israel, Cuba, and neighbouring CARICOM member countries are assisting with the supply of essential medical and food items, and professional and transportation services


In contrast Socialist Cuba, with the experience of sending medical brigades to meet emergencies in Pakistan, Bolivia, China, Guatemala and Indonesia, sent a team of 403 people to Haiti, 344 of them health care workers. On the first day they treated 800 Haitians and performed 19 surgical interventions. (TeleSur, Jan. 14) Cuba already had hundreds of medical doctors providing care in the Haitian countryside and provincial towns.

Chile, Nicaragua, Spain, Guatemala, France, Mexico and Russia all rushed aid, mostly food and water, to Haiti on Jan. 13, while the U.S. was still discussing how the Marines would land. China sent a 60-member search-and-rescue team with sniffer dogs.

Venezuela immediately sent 19 doctors and 10 firefighters who specialize in search and rescue along with 20 other experts and material aid. The Bolivarian government of Venezuela has always recognized South America’s debt to Haiti, which in the 1820s gave the aid to Simón Bolívar he needed to help free some of the South American countries from rule by Spain.

* 4 days ago

So what exactly are you saying? Your " in conrast " statement leads one to assume you are more impressed with the offerings of the non-capitalist countries.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

Because countries who "occupy" another country ALWAYS open up their borders for refugees.

Screw France.

Plan To Bring Haitians To Central Fla. Not Set In Stone
Posted: 11:31 pm EST January 14, 2010
Updated: 1:50 pm EST January 15, 2010

Comment On This Story ››

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The American Red Cross says a plan to bring 45,000 evacuees from Haiti to Florida, and 4,000 of those to Orange County, is not set in stone. The Red Cross clarified Friday who could be involved in a plan to move people out of Haiti.

The Red Cross is preparing for two things: the repatriation of Americans living in Haiti and the possibility of a mass migration of Haitian nationals.

The American Red Cross has seen massive migration into the U.S. from areas like Kosovo and Bosnia in the past, but no determination has been made yet in the case of Haiti. But the repatriation of Americans has already begun. Eyewitness News was told that it includes people like missionaries who may have already been working in Haiti before the quake.

The U.S. citizens are being brought into South Florida through Miami and Homestead, where their identities can be verified. Thursday night, five flights arrived with 190 Americans on board.

“I think that we will continue see U.S. citizens coming in over the weekend and through the beginning of next week. And that would be our first focus and first wave and, I think, as the conditions are assessed in Haiti and some decisions are made both with our federal government and the Haitian government about what’s best for their citizens,” Director of Emergency Services Becky Sebren said.

Americans continued to arrive in South Florida Friday afternoon and, as the United States plans its strategy to help Haiti, the state closest to the island nation is taking center stage with a plan to bring tens of thousands of refugees to Florida and approximately 4,000 to Orlando.

Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty says he has some concerns with the possible plan. If Haitians are brought to Central Florida, the county, city and possibly other area communities will have to scramble to figure out where to put the earthquake victims, and it will be a tough challenge.

"It would occur to me that there is a legal process associated with that and it would probably have to come through the State Department in terms of citizenship and visas, work visas [and] that sort of thing," Mayor Crotty said.

What that influx of people brings with it is a very large service demand, particularly in the area of social services in what is already a tough economy.

"We're very stressed financially right now and this is going to add to that stress," Mayor Crotty said. "So this is a balance we're going to have to work on strengthening."

Governor Charlie Crist told Eyewitness News Friday that, while he's talked to the Secretary of Homeland Security about bringing Haitians to Florida, nothing has been decided at this point.

Governor Crist was at a jobs summit in Orlando Friday morning. Crist wouldn't confirm whether Haitian refugees would be coming to Central Florida; he did say that Florida has pledged to do everything it can to help those in need after the earthquake.

"We want to be in touch with the State Department, making sure we're doing what is necessary for these people to get the help they need and deserve," Crist said.

Governor Crist said, because of mild hurricane seasons for the past several years, there are a lot of relief supplies available in Florida. He said some of those supplies will be used to help Haitians in need.

Additionally, the State of Florida has opened a new emergency information hotline about the Haiti quake. It's meant to give Floridians a link to informational resources on the international response and recovery efforts.

The hotline number is 1-800-342-3557. You can call for information between the hours of 10:00am until 6:00pm.

[FireEMT712]

Back to my old standby...SCREW FRANCE!



Let me see...as usual, the US shows up first, with the most and will stay longer than anyone else. We are doing things that the Haitian government is unable to do themselves. But we're the bad guys?

SCREW FRANCE! (and anyone else who doesn't like it).

Love my country to death but the US money going into that country to keep troops there irritates me when our economy is going down the crap shoot. I hope they found a cost friendly way to help and arent just blowing more cash then needed. I understand that the people of haiti couldn't help this tragedy but I surely hope our efforts there don't hurt our economy here!

[nmfire]

It is wonderful that we have the capability and desire to do what we're doing for them. However I can't help but be a little annoyed that we can land half the air force and navy and the entire american red cross into Hati in 5 hours.... yet it took 5 days to find the lower 9th ward of New Orleans.

[EFD840]

It is wonderful that we have the capability and desire to do what we're doing for them. However I can't help but be a little annoyed that we can land half the air force and navy and the entire american red cross into Hati in 5 hours.... yet it took 5 days to find the lower 9th ward of New Orleans.

That's because the US military has been running the Haiti operation from the start. The New Orleans operation went from clusterf to getting something done the very second DHS was kicked to the curb.

If another disaster on the Katrina scale were to happen again in the US, you would see a Katrina repeat unless the military became the lead organization from the start.

The military regularly deploys tens of thousands of people to whatever godforsaken hole is the hotspot of the day. They deal with every logistical issue known to man and find a solution simply because they've got no other choice. To them, Katrina really wasn't more than a small scale exercise. DHS will never come close to their capabilities.

Oh, I also agree with the sentiment of George's post. If our presence is so offensive, let's just take our toys and go home.

Let me know how that works out for you.

Edited to add - that last line is a shot to all those complaining about US efforts, not NM

[BryanLoader]

So what exactly are you saying? Your " in conrast " statement leads one to assume you are more impressed with the offerings of the non-capitalist countries.

OK I'll speak slowly. The words posted were from Yahoo! Last I heard they were an American based company. Try harder!!

[Firemedic 61]

Love my country to death but the US money going into that country to keep troops there irritates me when our economy is going down the crap shoot. I hope they found a cost friendly way to help and arent just blowing more cash then needed. I understand that the people of haiti couldn't help this tragedy but I surely hope our efforts there don't hurt our economy here!

Oh but sending our tax money down there is just the start. Shelters all around here are gearing up to take in refugees which equals spending tax money we here in S.Fla don't have. Once they are here the welfare system will pick them up because there are no jobs for them. Then they'll get food stamps and government support for housing, the support that American born people that bust their ***** can't even get. I know it sounds heartless but like I said in another post too bad, send them to France. These people(Haitians) will take your generosity and then spit in your face. They work our system and give nothing back.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

This is a disaster that killed (by Haiti's estimates) 200,000 people. IT destroyed virtually every building in most of the country. The country is a short distance from the US mainland. We have good diplomatic relations with the country and (I thought) we had a military presence on the island.

The US is on a humanitarian mission that goes beyond the scope of any ever seen. There is nothing to compare this with-not even Katrina. When a disaster like this occurs, we help. While I am a staunch believer in an aggressive national security policy, this seems to me to be a prudent use of the US military might.

Please explain to me what the US is supposed to do if we don't take charge of this effort? Rely on the UN? Please.

[Firemedic 61]

Please explain to me what the US is supposed to do if we don't take charge of this effort? Rely on the UN? Please.

If we throw our weight around and take charge other countries and most of our own media will complain that we are bullies. If we don't take charge other countries and most of our media will complain that we didn't throw our weight around to take over. IF we are going to provide any further assistance then we need to be in charge because rest assured down the line when everyone else leaves, the burden to finish cleaning up the mess will be ours, FOR YEARS TO COME.