ravenshield936
Banned Idiot
i appreciated the response of the US in this crisis actually. deploying the mighty power of the US military to fight against disaster and aid humanity is much more impressive and inspiring than using it for war purposes
Haiti relief missions
- Thread starter crobato
- Start date
Exactly...
For bazillions of photos of the relief effort in Haiti go here;
Rising China
Junior Member
Anger at US builds at Port-au-Prince airport By Deborah Pasmantier (AFP) – 1 day ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Anger built Saturday at Haiti's US-controlled main airport, where aid flights were still being turned away and poor coordination continued to hamper the relief effort four days on.
"Let's take over the runway," shouted one voice. "We need to send a message to (US President Barack) Obama," cried another.
Control remained in the hands of US forces, who face criticism for the continued disarray at the overwhelmed airfield.
Dozens of French citizens and dual Haitian-French nationals crowded the airport Saturday seeking to be evacuated after Tuesday's massive 7.0 earthquake, which leveled much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
But at the last minute, a plane due to take them to the French island of Guadeloupe was prevented from landing, leaving them to sleep on the tarmac, waiting for a way out.
"They're repatriating the Americans and not anyone else," said Charles Misteder, 50. "The American monopoly has to end. They are dominating us and not allowing us to return home."
The crowd accused American forces, who were handed control of the airport by Haitian authorities, of monopolizing the airfield's single runway to evacuate their own citizens.
The US embassy denied it was putting the evacuation of the approximately 40,000 to 45,000 American citizens in the country first.
Others waiting for a way out were taken aback by the chaotic scenes confronted them when they arrived at the Toussaint L'Ouverture airport.
"I haven't been able to tell my family that I'm alive. The coordination is a joke," said Wilfried Brevil, a 33-year-old housekeeper.
"I was at the Christopher Hotel," said Daniele Saada, referring to the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, MINUSTAH.
"I was extremely shaken up. I was pulled out, the others weren't," added Saada, 65, a MINUSTAH employee.
"I decided to return to France. I have nothing and now I am stuck," she said, caught between fury at the chaos and sheer exhaustion.
The disorder even appeared to cause diplomatic ripples, with French Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet telling reporters he had lodged a complaint with the United States over its handling of the Port-au-Prince airport.
"I have made an official protest to the Americans through the US embassy," he said at the Haitian airport after a French plane carrying a field hospital was turned away.
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry later denied France had registered protest, saying "Franco-US coordination in emergency aid for Haiti is being handled in the best way possible given the serious difficulties."
The US ambassador to Haiti defended American efforts at the small airport, which was up-and-running 24 hours after the massive quake, even though the air traffic control tower was damaged.
"We're working in coordination with the United Nations and the Haitians," said Ambassador Kenneth Merten, though he acknowledged some difficulties.
"Clearly it's necessary to prioritize the planes. It's clear that there's a problem."
Despite the chaos, a group of French citizens was eventually able to take off on Saturday, and the French plane carrying a field hospital landed safely around noon.
Still, with aid continuing to flood into the quake-stricken country, concern remains about the lack of coordination at the airport, and across devastated Port-au-Prince.
"The Haitians haven't been notified about the arrival of planes. And when they do land, there's no one to take charge and a large amount of goods are arriving without coordination," said Haitian government official Michel Chancy.
On Port-au-Prince's streets, the consequences of the coordination breakdown are clear, as traumatized and starving quake survivors approached passing foreigner and begged them for food.Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Anger built Saturday at Haiti's US-controlled main airport, where aid flights were still being turned away and poor coordination continued to hamper the relief effort four days on.
"Let's take over the runway," shouted one voice. "We need to send a message to (US President Barack) Obama," cried another.
Control remained in the hands of US forces, who face criticism for the continued disarray at the overwhelmed airfield.
Dozens of French citizens and dual Haitian-French nationals crowded the airport Saturday seeking to be evacuated after Tuesday's massive 7.0 earthquake, which leveled much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
But at the last minute, a plane due to take them to the French island of Guadeloupe was prevented from landing, leaving them to sleep on the tarmac, waiting for a way out.
"They're repatriating the Americans and not anyone else," said Charles Misteder, 50. "The American monopoly has to end. They are dominating us and not allowing us to return home."
The crowd accused American forces, who were handed control of the airport by Haitian authorities, of monopolizing the airfield's single runway to evacuate their own citizens.
The US embassy denied it was putting the evacuation of the approximately 40,000 to 45,000 American citizens in the country first.
Others waiting for a way out were taken aback by the chaotic scenes confronted them when they arrived at the Toussaint L'Ouverture airport.
"I haven't been able to tell my family that I'm alive. The coordination is a joke," said Wilfried Brevil, a 33-year-old housekeeper.
"I was at the Christopher Hotel," said Daniele Saada, referring to the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, MINUSTAH.
"I was extremely shaken up. I was pulled out, the others weren't," added Saada, 65, a MINUSTAH employee.
"I decided to return to France. I have nothing and now I am stuck," she said, caught between fury at the chaos and sheer exhaustion.
The disorder even appeared to cause diplomatic ripples, with French Secretary of State for Cooperation Alain Joyandet telling reporters he had lodged a complaint with the United States over its handling of the Port-au-Prince airport.
"I have made an official protest to the Americans through the US embassy," he said at the Haitian airport after a French plane carrying a field hospital was turned away.
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry later denied France had registered protest, saying "Franco-US coordination in emergency aid for Haiti is being handled in the best way possible given the serious difficulties."
The US ambassador to Haiti defended American efforts at the small airport, which was up-and-running 24 hours after the massive quake, even though the air traffic control tower was damaged.
"We're working in coordination with the United Nations and the Haitians," said Ambassador Kenneth Merten, though he acknowledged some difficulties.
"Clearly it's necessary to prioritize the planes. It's clear that there's a problem."
Despite the chaos, a group of French citizens was eventually able to take off on Saturday, and the French plane carrying a field hospital landed safely around noon.
Still, with aid continuing to flood into the quake-stricken country, concern remains about the lack of coordination at the airport, and across devastated Port-au-Prince.
"The Haitians haven't been notified about the arrival of planes. And when they do land, there's no one to take charge and a large amount of goods are arriving without coordination," said Haitian government official Michel Chancy.
On Port-au-Prince's streets, the consequences of the coordination breakdown are clear, as traumatized and starving quake survivors approached passing foreigner and begged them for food.Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Thanks for posting that Rising China.
The below criticism is directed at the author of this story and no one else..
It appears once again those that can find any chance to criticize the US will do so even by embellishing stories of this disaster.
I'm sure that those in charge are handling the situation as well as can be. Give this unfortunate situation 48-72 hours to clarify more.
As you can see by the photos I posted some of the allegations are false.
mods note >>>>Let's not turn tragic situation into a political football match
The below criticism is directed at the author of this story and no one else..
It appears once again those that can find any chance to criticize the US will do so even by embellishing stories of this disaster.
I'm sure that those in charge are handling the situation as well as can be. Give this unfortunate situation 48-72 hours to clarify more.
As you can see by the photos I posted some of the allegations are false.
mods note >>>>Let's not turn tragic situation into a political football match
i suspect the resource being devoted now is not nearly enough, according to the ppl on the ground local gov organizations are non-existent, and you cannot afford to neglect the possibility of pandemic breakouts following such disaster. you are gonna need thousands of additional manpower and billions of dollars worth of materials on top of what there already is.
joshuatree
Captain
So far it appears every thing going in and out is through the airport. How badly damaged is the seaport? I'm rather surprised to not hear anything about engineers being sent to see what they can do to restore the seaport which would seem to be have a higher capacity in moving in relief supplies and evacuating people out.
There are two high speed Ro/Ro catamarans sitting in dock at Mobile, Alabama (the Alakai and Huakai), owned by the US Maritime Administration. Press them into service. I'm aware the Huakai has the capacity to operate in less than ideal ports. It is fitted with an angled 20-meter stern quarter, bi-fold ramp, for use in austere ports without shore-side loading facilities. The hydraulically operated aluminum ramp has a clear width of 4.5 meters and is designed for 42 metric ton trucks.
There are two high speed Ro/Ro catamarans sitting in dock at Mobile, Alabama (the Alakai and Huakai), owned by the US Maritime Administration. Press them into service. I'm aware the Huakai has the capacity to operate in less than ideal ports. It is fitted with an angled 20-meter stern quarter, bi-fold ramp, for use in austere ports without shore-side loading facilities. The hydraulically operated aluminum ramp has a clear width of 4.5 meters and is designed for 42 metric ton trucks.
Infra_Man99
Banned Idiot
Poor leadership..European translation..= We don't like how the US is running the show so we shall whine. Simple.
Like I said give the situation at least 48-72 more hours to see how things develop.
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