When a natural disaster strikes, words are hardly ever able to capture the magnitude of destruction and human suffering that follows. When a natural disaster of epic proportions ravages one of the world’s poorest countries—just now beginning to rebuild from the devastation caused by a wave of four massive hurricanes just under two years ago—it becomes just that much more difficult. So to begin this morning, a series of videos and photos (CNN, Washington Post, BBC ) which depict what details are known at this time about Haiti—the site of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country yesterday afternoon. At Al Jazeera’s America’s blog, there are various postings from aid workers already stationed in the country, as well as others working with Haiti’s numerous NGOs. According to Paul Connneally of the International Red Cross, while Haitians are no stranger to natural disasters, “let us remember, [the country] is not used to earthquakes,” which has led to mass hysteria. And rightfully so.
Via Boz, who writes that CNN tried to add a sliver of silver lining to its reporting last night, noting that the UN already was present in the country through its MINUSTAH peacekeeping mission. Then, ten minutes later, it was discovered that the UN mission’s five-story headquarters had collapsed (1266 Brazilian UN forces are still unaccounted for, according to the Brazilian foreign ministry, while it’s said that between 200 and 250 UN employees worked at the office on a daily basis). Ditto for a significant portion of the National Palace and some major hospitals in the capital city, which also crumbled Tuesday. And no word yet if the Port-Au-Prince airport is unscathed enough to be able to receive international aid planes, according to the New York Times. These structures, it should be noted, are considered some of the most well-built in the country.
From the AP: “In November 2008, following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60 percent of buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.”
Few are willing to even venture estimates of how many have perished; “thousands” is as precise a guess as most are currently willing to make. Haiti’s Ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, simply called the event “catastrophic” and has appealed for immediate U.S. and international assistance.
On responses from the U.S. and other governments, from Reuters:
-The Inter-American Development Bank said it would provide $200,000 in immediate emergency aid. The World Bank, which said its local offices were also destroyed but that most staff were accounted for, plans to send a team to help Haiti assess damage and plan a recovery.
-The U.S. Coast Guard said it was sending cutters and aircraft close to Haiti to give humanitarian assistance.
-French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement on Wednesday France was sending rescue services to help operations in Haiti and find French citizens there.
-Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said in a statement patients and staff had been injured at its 60-bed hospital in Port-au-Prince. It said it was sending reinforcements to the disaster zone, as was the International Red Cross.
And more here from Laura Rozen at Politico, including news that “USAID announced that it was immediately dispatching a disaster assistance teams, composed of up to 72 personnel, 6 search and rescue canines and up to 48 tons of rescue equipment.”
Other stories to briefly touch on amidst tragedy in Haiti:
· On Tuesday Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom was cleared of any wrongdoing in the murder of prominent lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg, last year. In fact, says the UN’s Carlos Castresana, chief investigator into the incident, a year-long investigation shows that Mr. Rosenberg actually ordered his own assassination in what may have been a very bizarre ploy to topple the Colom government.
· In Chile, Eduardo Frei and Sebastian Pinera prepare for a runoff vote scheduled for this weekend. Latest polls show Mr. Pinera 5 points ahead of the governing Concertación candidate and former president, Mr. Frei (46% to 41%), although Frei has narrowed the difference slightly in recent days. The two faced off in a final debate Monday and reports indicate a few “clear differences” on issues related to human rights (Frei lambasting Pinera for proposing an amnesty bill in 1995 which eventually failed but which would have protected state officials involved in human rights abuses in the late 1970s and 1980s—the era when Mr. Frei’s father was recently discovered to have been poisoned). This comes as Chile opened its Museum of Memory this week, remembering victims of the country’s nearly two decade-long dirty war. President Michelle Bachelet, herself a survivor of the Pinochet regime, was on-hand for the event, saying the museum illustrates the “desire to never again suffer a tragedy like the one we are remembering here.” (Also, this week, the very popular outgoing Chilean president publicly apologized for her country’s treatment of indigenous people, particularly those shipped to Europe in the 1800s to be displayed as “curiosities” around the continent). The sometimes polemical Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa was also on hand (he is in charge of creating a similar museum in Peru) but was booed as he gave his speech because of his support for conservative candidate Sebastian Pinera.
· From Honduras, Honduras Coup 2009 reports that the National Congress has put off discussion on amnesty, saying it will leave the issue for the next congress to decide. The news comes as a surprise given incoming President Pepe Lobo’s strong support for the measure. According to RNS, “Ramon Custodio, the human rights commissioner urged that they only take up the question of amnesty after hearing the report of the truth commission,” while other legislators said there was little consensus on the matter within the Congress.
· The New York Times reports the capture of another major drug lord in Mexico. This time it was Tijuana-based Teodoro Eduardo Garcia Simental. “Mr. García’s trademark, when not trafficking marijuana and methamphetamine to the United States, was boiling rivals in barrels of lye in what has become known as pozole, for the Mexican stew,” reports the paper.
· Freedom House released this week its 2010 Freedom in the World Survey. I haven’t had a chance to look at the results but will comment in the coming days on Latin America-related items.
· And finally, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno has an opinion in the LA Times today discussing how north-south collaboration on the issue of climate change may move forward. The key, says Mr. Moreno, is water. He writes:
“The intersection of water and climate could serve to reconcile the conflicting priorities that hobbled negotiations in Copenhagen. First, as they look for the best ways to spend the billions in aid that have just been pledged for climate adaptation in the developing world, industrialized countries should focus on projects that resolve near-term, climate-related problems such as water supply and sanitation.
Such pragmatism would acknowledge the pressure felt by leaders in countries where essentials such as healthcare, food and education are still not available to many citizens -- and where the goal of reducing CO2 emissions continues to seem like a luxury. It would also convince people in the developing world that rich countries are as concerned about the near-term survival of children as they are about the long-term health of the planet.”
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