Tag: Haiti

Limbaugh: Obama Will Use Haiti To Boost Credibility With ‘… Black Community’

For your consideration, from the January 13 edition of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Rush Limbaugh Show:

Incredible.

Absolutely incredible.

Source: Media Matters for America


Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’ (Video and Text)

For your consideration, without commentary, from the January 13 edition of Christian Broadcasting Network’s The 700 Club:

PAT ROBERTSON: And, you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, "We will serve you if you will get us free from the French." True story. And so, the devil said, "OK, it’s a deal."

And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other. Desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle. On the one side is Haiti; on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, et cetera. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. They need to have and we need to pray for them a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now, we’re helping the suffering people, and the suffering is unimaginable.

KRISTI WATTS (co-host): Absolutely, Pat.

Source: Media Matters for America


What Can You Do For Haiti? Olbermann Has An Answer From Pras Michel (Video)

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What can I do for Haiti?

Keith Olbermann interviews Pras Michel, who has excellent advice on what you can do for Haiti.


Olbermann Rips Robertson and Limbaugh on Haiti (Video)

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Keith Olbermann rips Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh over their exploitation of the tragedy in Haiti.

"I would wish you to Hell, but…"

Please watch the video. It’s not long.


State Department 800 Number for Americans with Family in Haiti

This information is current as of today, Tuesday, January 12 2010, 22:14:37 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time).

Washington, D.C.– The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747 (due to heavy volume, some callers may receive a recording).

The State Department says the United States embassy is still in the early stages of contacting American Citizens through our Warden Network. Communications are very difficult within Haiti at this time.


American Red Cross Releases $200,000 Aid to Areas Affected by Haiti Earthquake

Washington, D.C.–January 12, 2010. The American Red Cross has pledged an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by today’s earthquake in Haiti, and is prepared to take further action as local responders assess the situation.

“Initial reports indicate widespread damage in Port au Prince, with continuing aftershocks,” says Tracy Reines, director of international disaster response for the American Red Cross. “As with most earthquakes, we expect to see immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.”

The American Red Cross has made available all of the relief supplies from its warehouse in Panama which would provide for basic needs for approximately 5,000 families. In addition, it is deploying a disaster management specialist to Haiti, and has additional disaster specialists on standby if needed.

The American Red Cross has an extensive partnership with the Haitian Red Cross, which is expected to lead the Red Cross response to the earthquake.

The American Red Cross has staff on the ground in Haiti who provide ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and disaster preparedness programs. At this time, all the three American Red Cross staff in Haiti have all been reported safe.

The Haitian Red Cross was founded in 1932 and is one of the primary organizations in the country responding to disasters. Although earthquakes are less common, Haiti is frequently impacted by hurricanes including those in 2008, and the Haiti Red Cross has developed experience in disaster response due those disasters.

You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. Donations to the International Response Fund can be sent to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or made by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or online at www.redcross.org.

Source: redcross.org


Mercy Corps Sends Emergency Response Team to Haiti

Portland, OR–January 12, 2010. Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to Haiti in the wake of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked the island nation earlier today. The team will assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors.

“Initial reports indicate that the quake has caused extensive damage, and we fear that casualties could be widespread,” explained Randy Martin, Mercy Corps director of Global Emergency Operation. “Our team will quickly assess what the most pressing needs are in earthquake-affected areas.”

The earthquake exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Plagued by hunger and political instability, the quake is likely to dramatically increase the needs of many impoverished Haitian families.

Mercy Corps has a long history of helping earthquake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year.

HOW TO HELP:
Mercy Corps
Haiti Earthquake Fund
Dept NR
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
www.mercycorps.org
1-888-256-1900

Source: mercycorps.org


Report: 225,000 Haiti Children Work as Slaves

The sad news from the Associated Press:

Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti’s cities into slavery as unpaid household servants, far more than previously thought, a report said Tuesday.

The Pan American Development Foundation’s report also said some of those children — mostly young girls — suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while toiling in extreme hardship.

The report recommends Haiti’s government and international donors focus efforts on educating the poor and expanding social services such as shelters for girls, who make up an estimated two-thirds of the child servant population.

Young servants are known as "restavek" — Haitian Creole for "stays with" — and their plight is both widely known and a source of great shame in the Caribbean nation that was founded by a slave revolt more than 200 years ago.

Researchers said the practice is so common that almost half of 257 children interviewed in the sprawling Port-au-Prince shantytown of Cite Soleil were household slaves.

Most are sent by parents who cannot afford to care for them to families just slightly better off. Researchers found 11 percent of families that have a restavek have sent their own children into domestic servitude elsewhere.

The report says that researchers said their sources were unaware of any prosecutions of cases involving trafficking children or using them as unpaid servants in this deeply poor nation of more than 9 million people.

Read more here.