Earthquake aid
January 16, 2010
Survivors of Haiti's devastating earthquake are still waiting desperately for aid, as hunger and dwindling patience have prompted looting and sparked fears that the country, already stricken by poverty and a weak infrastructure before the disaster, could descend into anarchy.
Haitian authorities say as many as 200,000 people are thought to be dead following Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude quake, which, according to statements made by a UN spokeswoman on Saturday, is the worst disaster the international body has ever confronted.
"This is a historic disaster. We have never been confronted with such a disaster in UN memory. It is like no other," Elisabeth Byrs of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told the AFP news agency.
Four days after Tuesday's catastrophe, the Haitian government admitted it was no longer able to function properly. The government in the capital Port-au-Prince gave the United States control over its main airport to bring order to aid flights from around the world and speed relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to arrive in the Haitian capital on Saturday to begin overseeing the relief effort, which is struggling with the lack of police oversight, scarce food and water, and a shortage of medical supplies to treat the wounded.
A glut of decomposing bodies yet to be dug out of the rubble has added the threat of disease to survivors' growing list of worries.
On Friday, Clinton cited a "race against time" before anxiety and anger create additional problems. Relief workers have echoed those concerns, saying that unless supplies are quickly delivered, Port-au-Prince will degenerate into lawlessness.
"There have been some incidents where people were looting or fighting for food. They are desperate, they have been three days without food or any assistance," UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy told "The PBS NewsHour."
Criminals on the loose
"Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money, " Evelyne Buino, a beautician, told AFP.
The source of Buino's fear is a nearby jail, from which 4,000 convicts escaped when the earthquake destroyed the building.
"All the bandits of the city are now on the streets," a local police man told AFP. "They are robbing people. It is a big problem."
With the presidential palace in shambles, government operations have been relocated to a local police station near the airport. President Rene Preval is now working in an office protected by two guards from his security detail.
Preval has admitted that the Haitian government's response had been ineffective.
"The government has lost its capacity to function properly, but it has not collapsed," said the president.
Inadequate infrastructure
Although over 74 countries have responded to the crisis by sending aid to Haiti, the effort remains largely uncoordinated, and relief has been slow to reach survivors.
Food and water, as well as tents, blankets, and medical supplies are making their way into the country, but the lack of infrastructure has slowed their delivery.
American troops who have taken charge at the capital's clogged airport - Haiti's only link to the outside world - are trying to organize delivery of aid to anxious survivors in the capital.
On Saturday, the Netherlands dispatched a warship carrying supplies after a plane they previously sent was unable to land at the crowded airport.
A plane carrying a portable medical clinic from the German Red Cross left Berlin on Saturday, and is expected to arrive in Haiti on Sunday morning.
smh/afp/rtre
Editor: Kyle James