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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 13, 2010 15:52:13 GMT
The earthquake was the worst in the region in over 200 years. Click here for full story. That link is being continuously updated. I clicked on it twice in five minutes and got a fresh report the second time. includes slide show, video, and more links
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Post by lagatta on Jan 13, 2010 17:06:39 GMT
This is just ghastly and if I haven't posted at APIAS it is because I don't stop looking at reports from media here (while, of course, I also have other work to get done). The main government buildings including Parliament, the Presidential Palace (where many civil servants also work), the Cathedral, the UN mission, at least 4 hospitals and many many neighbourhoods lie in ruins.
We have close ties to Haiti. There are at least 100,000 Haitians or people of Haitian origin here in Montréal alone. We are have one of the largest diaspora communities outside Haiti (I think Miami and NYC might have similar-sized communities).
In a perverse sense, we benefited from the Duvalier dictatorship as many highly-educated Haitians fled here back then where they could exercise their professions in French, although Haiti had a dire need of teachers and medical professionals. The parents of Michaëlle Jean, the current Governor-General, were among those educated refugees.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 13, 2010 17:17:06 GMT
That is interesting, LaGatta -- certainly something I didn't know.
The Haitians abroad must be frantic as they desperately try to get information on their friends and relatives back home.
amended to add: LaGatta, I saw your remark about your lovely fund-raising idea in the Food Writers thread. If you have information on various agencies, or on how to vet these charities, could you add it here, please?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2010 17:31:37 GMT
It's devastating, these poor people seem to have no luck at all. It's just one thing after another.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 13, 2010 17:36:29 GMT
Will do, though some of the charities we'd give to are local, Canadian ones that have partnerships in Haiti.
I know Mexico is sending aid, as are other countries in and around the Caribbean.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 13, 2010 18:28:05 GMT
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Post by spindrift on Jan 13, 2010 19:05:25 GMT
It's a horrendous disaster and we don't yet know how many people are dead/missing.....
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Post by existentialcrisis on Jan 14, 2010 1:06:19 GMT
... could be tens of thousands, and I hear only 15% of the city is still standing.
Any opinions about giving to the Red Cross? That's what I did for the tsunami a few years back, but I want to make sure I put my money into the most effective organization.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 14, 2010 1:34:57 GMT
Red Cross is one of the groups endorsed by the Haitian community here. They are very concerned about this as there were a lot of scams during the last humanitarian disaster in that country. Give to Red Cross and earmark your donation for Haiti earthquake.
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Post by spaceneedle on Jan 14, 2010 10:21:31 GMT
I have a friend working with the Peace Corps who was in Kingston, Jamaica until recently when he was sent to Port au Prince to work for a few months there. His family has not had any contact and they are frantic with worry right now.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2010 12:22:14 GMT
I have a friend working with the Peace Corps who was in Kingston, Jamaica until recently when he was sent to Port au Prince to work for a few months there. His family has not had any contact and they are frantic with worry right now. do hope this has a happy ending SN... I spoke with my friend in Miami last evening where I am going in the upcoming days. The university where she teaches is in full volunteer mode as many of the survivors are being flown in to Miami. So,it would seem that much of my time there will be doing whatever I can to assist. I've worked with some PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) victims in the past.I also hope to be able to take some donations from folks here to put to use there. New Orleans also has a huge Haitian connection and massive relief efforts have been underway here.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 14, 2010 15:20:53 GMT
It's ironic and fitting that you are being "sent" where you are needed right now, Casimira. Besides your training and background, having lived in N.O. after Katrina means you know somewhat about the loss and fears the Haitian survivors are suffering.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 14, 2010 16:22:17 GMT
Indeed. I was thinking of Katrina. No surprise that New Orleans, so culturally close to Haiti historically, has maintained strong ties. bixa, as for the Mexicans there will be veterans of the rescue, recovery and rebuilding operation in Mexico City after the earthquake in that huge city. How time passes - that was 25 years ago! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Mexico_City_earthquake Georges and Mireille Anglade, who died in the quake, were examples of the Haitian brain drain from the Duvalier years I had mentioned above. Of course the deaths of Cité Soleil market ladies are every bit as important, but this story is worth sharing: www.thestar.com/news/world/haiti/article/750630--montreal-couple-found-dead-in-haiti-rubble?bn=1
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 14, 2010 17:12:59 GMT
I inevitably thought of the '85 MxCity quake when I heard of this tragedy in Haiti, not least because one of the most dramatic losses in '85 was because of an apartment building not constructed to code. A brother and a sister of mine were both living in San Francisco during the 1989 earthquake there, and I well remember the hours of dread before finding out they were okay.
As you say, LaGatta, each death is important, and the story you include on the Anglades points up how statistics are made up of individuals, all of whose lives are intertwined with those of others.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2010 23:53:36 GMT
I saw that Pat Robertson claimed that all of Haiti's problems including this latest one are due to the fact that Haiti's population signed a pact with the devil 200 years ago.
Of course, he also claimed that the devastation of New Orleans and the WTC event were also signs of the wrath of god against immoral people.
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Post by spaceneedle on Jan 14, 2010 23:55:43 GMT
I saw that Pat Robertson claimed that all of Haiti's problems including this latest one are due to the fact that Haiti's population signed a pact with the devil 200 years ago. Of course, he also claimed that the devastation of New Orleans and the WTC event were also signs of the wrath of god against immoral people. I saw that too, K. The man is completely and utterly insane. (But we knew that.) No word on my friend except that his family believes he was in a 7 story bldg that has collapsed
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Post by lola on Jan 15, 2010 1:05:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2010 1:13:09 GMT
One of the good things about Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is each time they receive too much money for a specific mission, they contact you to ask if you would like it refunded or if you authorize them to apply it to another mission.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2010 2:39:16 GMT
I would most certainly go with Doctors Without Borders over the American Red Cross any day.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 15, 2010 3:31:26 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 15, 2010 3:40:21 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jan 15, 2010 4:34:42 GMT
I agree. One of the associations listed here is "Les Oeuvres du Cardinal Léger" (a Cardinal of the church who devoted his last years to missionary work). I was working with someone who had worked in one of that association's hospitals, and according to her it was extremely well managed and all the donations were indeed used for the health mission. www.leger.org/fr/haiti_don.asp It is generally considered very well administered. Another one was an NGO (this is really addressed to Canadians) with a long experience in Haiti: www.ceci.caI'm trying to find a more definitive list. There is so much information, and if the Red Cross is on the list, it is also because people in the community want to make sure above all that the funds are directed to a reputable aid agency, as tragically in the hurricane a few years ago, some "vultures" (in the words of the Haitian community) went door to door for donations and pocketed them. I'll return with more info. There are many small and large fundraising initiatives. Restaurants and bars, a big benefit concert with popular artists (whether of Haitian origin or not). But so inadequate faced with all that horror. This is really really upsetting me. Relatives of people I know have died. Others are missing.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 15, 2010 5:27:05 GMT
It is horror, LaGatta -- words fail. The link in the OP is still being updated, but the video is so hard to watch -- just unimaginable suffering.
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Post by spaceneedle on Jan 15, 2010 7:30:55 GMT
I saw that Pat Robertson claimed that all of Haiti's problems including this latest one are due to the fact that Haiti's population signed a pact with the devil 200 years ago. This is just for you, brutha K.
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Post by bjd on Jan 15, 2010 8:27:15 GMT
I heard on the radio this morning that Obama was going to appoint Bill Clinton and George W Bush as "ambassadors" to Haiti to help with the relief work. Now that Bush did such a good job during Katrina, he's an expert!
Why don't they send in people who know what they are doing? They don't need politicians in Haiti.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2010 11:32:33 GMT
I heard on the radio this morning that Obama was going to appoint Bill Clinton and George W Bush as "ambassadors" to Haiti to help with the relief work. Now that Bush did such a good job during Katrina, he's an expert! Why don't they send in people who know what they are doing? They don't need politicians in Haiti. I agree BJD and simply don't trust what it is they are supposed to be doing. I wouldn't have that problem with Jimmy Carter though.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2010 11:33:44 GMT
They are supposed to be good at getting their political cronies to open their wallets.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 15, 2010 17:22:35 GMT
I guess maybe, somehow I could understand sending in a political representative of a country, perhaps as a way to get things expedited or coordinated with allies. But really, it just seems a detached and somewhat insulting gesture. If these high-powered assholes and all their personal security can be flown in, couldn't that air- & manpower be better used to get more medical personnel and supplies into the country?
And I am personally extremely horrified and offended by the inclusion of Brownie's boss in this pointless duo.
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Post by spaceneedle on Jan 15, 2010 18:46:55 GMT
And I am personally extremely horrified and offended by the inclusion of Brownie's boss in this pointless duo. I'm with you on this!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2010 0:33:02 GMT
Perhaps they could send Brownie with a one way ticket.
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