Posted on 01/16/2010 7:02:31 AM PST by myknowledge
Haitian President Rene Preval said: "The damage I have seen here can be compared to the damage you would see if the country was bombed for 15 days. It is like in a war."
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated much of the hilly coastal city on Tuesday also collapsed the elegant presidential palace and his own home.
Authorities in Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, are saying they believe the death toll will be between 100,000 and 200,000 and that three-quarters of the city will need to be rebuilt.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
About a dollar a day per capita - I guess they’re saving it for a rainy day.
I agree, these people need to be moved now. No water, no sanitation, dead bodies, no food, no shelter and this is only day 4 going on five. Wait and see what happens after another week if you think it’s bad now.
You know, it is , of course, a horrible tragedy—I feel terrible for the people, as I would if the same thing happened anywhere in the world.
I heard some news idiot on TV talking about how the “Western world” was obligated to save Haiti—actually, that moron is too stupid to realize that Haiti IS PART OF the “Western world” . What’s more, they have been free and independent almost as long as the US.
However, they neither have had the leadership, nor the average citizens that the US has had—in the 21st Century, there is 70% illiteracy, they have said (which means the real number is probably 85%) C orruption, crime, etc run rampant—I’m fine with the US helping—but in terms of billions upon billions—where did the billions we already gave go—and why did that money do no good?
And I sure as hell don’t want thousands of Haitians to come here-helping to turn us into more of a 3rd World hellhole—we’re doing that already.
“actually, that moron is too stupid to realize that Haiti IS PART OF the “Western world””
Yeah, what a moron. I guess the Cherokee Nation was part of the West, as well, eh? How about Alaskan/Canadian natives? Yep, they’re Westerners too. Polynesians? Yep, Westerners. Mayans? Westerners. Incans? Most Western indeed.
Just like Australia/NZ is part of the East, right? lol I guess Australia is the most successful Asian/Eastern country then. Ignore the fact that everything it has done was done by...Westerners. Aussies are no more part of the “East” than Haitians are part of the “West.”
Man, the things morons say.
Hmmm, a “war zone” after an earthquake or a near lawless zone prior to an earthqauke....=.=
___________________________________________________
Gee, the Haitian families I know who are thriving in NYC, NJ, Washington, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, France, Germany...didn't know that they couldn't survive in these places. Thanks for letting us know.
About a dollar a day per capita
$29/year per head.....2 wks subsistence in this $2-a-day country
I was thinking along similar lines last night during an interview with the Marine commander of this op for the MEU. He was asked about the mission- specifically how much security could the marines provide. He said security is not their mission and they will be briefed on the ROE’s- but they will not be performing security for Haiti.
It’s madness.
And I would bet they are educated and employable. The truth is many of those in Haiti have never had a job or if they did it was menial.The people you speak of sound like they had the fore sight and ambition to leave that country and make a better life for themselves. That can not be said of the vast majority of them.
Or all of those Nuyoriquans, who left their sunny island.
Duvalier used the politics of racial envy to gain absolute power. You see, the relative-well-to-do in Haiti at the time, tended to be lighter-skinned mulattoes and Creoles.
----------------------------------------------------
Like it or not, the fact of history is that we, the US, supported Duvalier simply because he wasn't a communist, just like we did Pinochet, Trujillo and others in Latin America as well as the Shah in Iran and a series of strong-arm leaders in Viet Nam and Korea. That was our Foreign Policy at the time. The same policy had us supporting the Taliban against the Russians in Afghanistan.
When Papa died and Baby took over the only foreign diplomat at the swearing in ceremony was Knox, the US Ambassador.
Pardon me for being a boor but did the earthquake not occur on the other half of Hispaniola? Why are there no pleas for help for the population of the Dominican Republic?
For the good of the country of Haiti and humanity, we should assume control of the government post-haste. It’s a chance to fix something very, very broken.
Oh, did I forget to mention the vast majority of New Orleans that evacuated after Katrina suffered the same affliction?
The first wave to leave Haiti in the sixties were the educated Creole class, that’s true. But, it is also true that the second wave, the ‘boat people’ who were peasants in the true sene, have been in northern cities for two decades now and are doing just fine. Their kids are doing better than many ‘American’ kids. You see it all the time in NJ, NY and Boston.
Yeah, the things morons say.....
Haiti is an independent republic, located in the Western Hemisphere (Port au Prince is west of Boston, in terms of longitude)with its own constitution-it has been a member of the UN since 1945, and is a OAS and Rio Treaty member.
Most Haitian natives had ancestors were brought over from Africa 300 years ago-the descendants have been there ever since, and you are saying they aren’t at least, technically, “Westerners” what are they then-does that logic extend to American blacks as well?
We have family in both Haiti and the DR. The DR got tremors, nothing more. No damage, no casualties.
Translation: Send money so I can retire with $50M in the bank and let these losers fend for themselves.
Oops - Right you are. I was being generous with my math and gave them an extra zero. I guess aid to Haiti is even more paltry than I thought.
Preval already has his stash hidden in some French account thanks to our tax dollars. I want to know where the worthless U.N. is and why aren’t they in charge of the relief from the coffers of their member nations, not just the USA
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.