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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Haiti earth quake worst disaster confronted by United Nations |
| 2010-01-16 |
| HAITIAN cowered in fear today armed looters scavenged through their ruined capital filled with the stench of rotting corpses after the earthquake described by the UN as the worst disaster it had ever faced. As US troops tried to unblock an aid logjam and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the disaster zone, the Haiti Government admitted it was no longer able to function properly. And while international rescuers continued to work around the clock in tropical temperatures, their efforts were hampered by a lack of fuel and transport as the sense of despair set in among exhausted survivors. "The streets smell of death," said Talulum Saint Fils, who sold her jewelry to pay for one-way bus tickets for her family out of Port-au-Prince. "There is no assistance of any kind, and our children simply cannot live like animals." The Haitian capital - insecure at the best of times - is now devoid of a functioning police force, bringing fears of a dystopian war of all against all in the wake of Tuesday's huge 7.0-magnitude earthquake. "Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money," said Evelyne Buino, a young beautician, after a long night in a neighborhood not far from the ruined city center. "This is just the beginning." Thousands of criminals were on the loose, having escaped from the city's collapsed jail, and there were widespread reports of robberies. In the bustling Marche en Fer, or Iron Market, one of the poorest neighborhoods, teenage looters scuttled over the concrete debris and ignored piles of dead bodies on the street in their desperate bid to dig out supplies. "People are hungry, thirsty. They are left on their own," said Leon Meleste. "It is increasingly dangerous. The police doesn't exist, people are doing what they want." "This is an historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in the UN memory. It is like no other," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said in Geneva. In the town of Leogane, west of the capital, 80-90 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed, and "No local government infrastructure remains," she said. A vanguard of the 10,000 US troops being deployed to Haiti has taken control of the airport, clogged with tons of relief supplies, and has begun the first distribution of aid to quell the threat of violence. Aid is also being distributed from the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier where 19 helicopters have been carrying out limited aid drops. "We have lift, we have communications, we have some command and control, but we don't have much relief supplies to offer," said Rear Admiral Ted Branch aboard the carrier. Ms Clinton said she will travel to Haiti to see the earthquake relief efforts first hand, deliver more supplies and meet Haitian President Rene Preval. "We will also be conveying very directly and personally to the Haitian people our long-term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies to reinforce President Obama's message that they are not facing this crisis alone," said Ms Clinton. The Haitian Government is operating out of a police station at the airport, where Mr Preval, looking exhausted with dark pockets under his eyes, said "the Government has lost its capacity to function properly, but it has not collapsed". |
| Posted by:tipper |
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| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2010-01-16 18:34 |
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| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2010-01-16 12:21 |
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| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-16 11:46 |