International coalition rallies for Haiti

[Judi Lynn]

HAITI
International coalition rallies for Haiti
International donors and the U.S. government are coming under pressure to act quickly to stave off a disaster in Haiti.
Posted on Fri, Apr. 25, 2008

By JACQUELINE CHARLES AND PABLO BACHELET
[e-mail]



THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Students at a school near Port-au-Prince
have lunch Tuesday. Food riots in Haiti
have raised pressures on international
donors to increase their aid to the country.

WASHINGTON -- Alarmed that Haiti's hard-won stability could be swept away by the food crisis, a broad coalition of international donors and countries is rallying to assist President René Préval with emergency grants and soft loans.

On Thursday, an international delegation led by the head of the Organization of American States and top officials from the United States, Canada, the European Union, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina traveled to Haiti to meet with Préval, who is attempting to form a new government after his prime minister was forced out following riots over rising food prices. Officials from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are also in Port-au-Prince for discussions.

''The world community has an obligation to do everything it can,'' said Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, who on Wednesday sent President Bush a letter asking for more assistance. ``And even when it feels it's done enough, to dig deeper and do more.''

Haiti was supposed to be the venue for a donor's conference this week, but earlier this month at least five protesters and one U.N. peacekeeper were killed during riots, forcing the conference's postponement. The international delegation led by OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza flew to Haiti anyway, reflecting the international community's concern that the country, after billions of dollars in international assistance and the presence of 9,000 United Nations security forces, could slip into chaos as Haitians grow angry over the soaring costs of rice, wheat and other staples.

The crisis also drew delegations from Cuba, Venezuela and France and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the leader of Rainbow/Push Coalition. Though Haiti will get an infusion of cash, Préval is renewing his calls for greater assistance, including more help to deal with drug-trafficking gangs, quick passage of a textile trade bill by the U.S. Congress and temporary protected status for its migrants in the United States.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/508918.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haiti food crisis sparking new wave of "boat people"?
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Thu, 04/24/2008 - 18:16.

At least 20 Haitians fleeing their impoverished homeland were killed when their boat went down off the Bahamas April 20, leaving only three known survivors—including an alleged migrant smuggler from Honduras, according to the US Coast Guard (AP, April 22) The news comes as World Food Program chief Josette Sheeran called soaring global food prices a "silent tsunami," warning that hundreds of millions worldwide are facing famine. (Radio Netherlands, April 23)

The director for Haiti's national migration office, Jeanne Bernard Pierre, said that since the food crisis began, her agency has received more repatriated Haitian boat people in a week than it used to receive in a month or more. "We have received 212 repatriated last week, we have just received 227 and we are receiving 114 tomorrow," Pierre told Reuters.

"It is clear that more boat people have been leaving the country and you should expect even more if they cannot find an alternative," said Pierre, who urged the government and the international community to set up programs to address the crisis. The US Coast Guard has intercepted 972 Haitian migrants at sea since Oct. 1, compared with 376 during the same period last year. (Reuters, April 23)

http://ww4report.com/node/5397

[Judi Lynn]

1. Starving Haitians board boats bound for U.S.

Starving Haitians board boats bound for U.S.


www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-25 19:00:12

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Hunger bordering on starvation and the rising cost of living could send a new wave of boat people to the United States from Haiti, where rising food prices set off deadly riots two weeks ago and drove the prime minister from office, officials and analysts say.

In the small town of Montrouis, about 50 miles north of Port-au-Prince, desperate Haitians say they will seize the first opportunity to take a boat toward the U.S. coast to escape the misery that plagues Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.

"I will leave with the next boat going to Miami because I can no longer resist this hunger," Marcel Jonassaint, 34, told Reuters on Tuesday as he sat barefoot near the dock in Montrouis, throwing a handful of small rocks into the ocean. "I have four children and I don't have a job and everything is expensive, even for those who are working. "So what do you want me to do?"

The director for the country's national migration office, Jeanne Bernard Pierre, said since the food crisis, her agency has received more repatriated Haitian boat people in a week than it used to receive in a month or more.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/25/content_8051299.htm