Haitian Homeless to be Relocated Out of Capital, Part of Reconstruction

U.N. ponders Haiti's reconstruction as mass relocation starts

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan. 22, 2010, (Xinhua) --

Ten days after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, the United Nations is considering reconstruction programs and hundreds of thousands of homeless are being moved out of the ravaged capital.

While the U.N. continues to provide emergency aid to Haitians, its Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and former U.S. president and special envoy for Haiti Bill Clinton on Thursday signaled an initial strategy to begin reconstruction in the quake-ravaged country.

"We will now have to move from the emergency response phase to ongoing relief and early recovery, and eventually to the reconstruction of the Haitian economy," Ban said in New York after a closed-door meeting with Clinton.

Reconstruction could begin immediately, said Clinton, who suggested nationwide initiatives such as the reforestation of mangroves or accelerated investments in resort ventures outside of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The U.N., along with the World Bank, the International Development Program and the European Commission, had begun working on a post-disaster assessment, Ban said.

On Jan. 25, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes and head of the U.N. Development Program (U.N.DP) Helen Clark will attend a meeting on Haiti's short- and long-term reconstruction in Montreal, Canada.

In Port-au-Prince, order is slowly being restored, with shops starting to reopen on Thursday and banking services expected to resume on the weekend. The capital's port, which was destroyed by the earthquake, has been restored to receive limited shipments of aid.

The Haitian government on Thursday began to move the masses left homeless to temporary accommodations outside the capital.

"A large operation is taking place. We're in the process of relocating homeless people," Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime said.

The first wave of relocation would move 100,000 refugees to tent villages designed to hold 10,000 people each near the northern town of Croix Des Bouquets, he said.

As many as 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless by the quake, and the government has arranged free transportation to move about 500,000 of them outside the quake-ravaged capital, where infrastructure is devastated and people live in overcrowded camps with poor sanitation.

The International Organisation for Migration estimated that at least half a million people are now living in some 447 improvised camps, and warned the number was climbing.

As 43 international rescue teams with nearly 2,000 rescuers still remain at work in Haiti, more aid has been promised.

Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said Thursday that China would contribute an additional 2.6 million U.S. dollars in cash and send a 40-member medical care and epidemic prevention team to the Caribbean country.

The new Chinese contribution followed a Jan. 13 decision of the Red Cross Society of China to donate 1 million dollars in cash to Haiti, Liu said. "On Jan. 15, the Chinese government announced its decision to provide 30 million yuan (about 4.4 million dollars) worth of humanitarian emergency supplies to Haiti," he said.

The World Bank said Thursday it would waive payments on Haiti's debt for the next five years and work to find a way to cancel the remaining debt of about 38 million dollars.

According to U.N. estimates, more than 1.2 billion dollars have been pledged to aid the country.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Haitian homeless to be relocated out of capital

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan. 21, 2010 (Xinhua) --

The Haitian government on Thursday began to move large amount of homeless people left by the devastating earthquake to temporary accommodations out of the capital.

A total of 500,000 victims are to be transported by dozens of buses to the south and north of the nation to set up about 50 villages, in order to mitigate the relief burden of the ruined capital.

Government officials said they were discussing with local mayors about locations of the villages.

Haitian President Rene Preval said the government was regaining control of the situation and was working to resume regular operations. He pledged that the aid would be under organization and the situation would continue to improve.

"It is difficult to work as before, but we're on course to regain control," Preval told reporters at his temporary office near the international airport.

In response to some criticism on his government, Preval said the catastrophe "would have been a major disaster for any country."

On the same day, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said security in the entire country had not deteriorated since the quake and was "under control."

Relief efforts intensified for Haiti

BEIJING, Jan. 19, 2010 (Xinhua) --

 International rescuers on Monday were battling heat and fatigue to look for any survivors still trapped under the rubble in Port-au-Prince six days after the earthquake in Haiti, and doctors were going all out to treat the injured.

The Chinese medical team worked around the clock at the assistance station set up at the Haitian prime minister's residence, giving treatment as well as medical service to local victims. They also handed out medicines and sterilized areas surrounding temporary tents.

Officials said about 280 assistance centers have been set up in schools, churches and public buildings in Port-au-Prince and its six nearby towns. The centers handed out disaster-relief materials and can accommodate about 500 people each.

An official from Brazil said violence for foods was declining since drinking water and food began to be distributed to the victims.

According to the United Nations, the number of Haitians affected by the earthquake could exceed 3 million.

Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia traveled on Monday to Port-au-Prince aboard a military plane with 50 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, blood and plasma. President Evo Morales pledged more medicine and food from Bolivia.

The Brazilian Air Force announced on Monday that another plane full of supplies took off from Rio de Janeiro for Port-au-Prince. The Boeing 707 carried 14.8 tons of food. So far, 14 Air Force planes have left Brazil carrying supplies to Haiti.

European Union (EU) institutions and member states pledged over 400 million euros (about 572 million U.S. dollars) in aid to Haiti, an EU official said Monday.

  People transport relief goods in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 17, 2009. More relief goods arrived at Haiti on Sunday. (Xinhua/David de la Paz)

The European Commission pledged 30 million euros and EU member states offered a total of 92 million euros in immediate emergency aid to Haiti, said EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

EU institutions will provide an extra 100 million euros in "early rehabilitation" aid, and a further 200 million euros for the medium- and long-term reconstruction in the country.

The British government is trebling the amount of aid being provided to Haiti, the prime minister's office announced on Monday. The total sum will rise from 6.1 million pounds (10 million dollars) announced on Thursday to 18.4 million pounds (30 million dollars).

The Swedish government said it would disburse its entire annual contribution of 425 million Swedish kronor (about 67 million dollars) to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for quake relief in Haiti.

France decided Monday to provide 10 million euros (14.3 million dollars) in response to a UN call, the country's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a statement. With the new pledge, France's assistance to Haiti amounted to around 20 million euros (28.6 million dollars), according to a government statement.

In China, private donations for quake victims in Haiti have reached 1.73 million yuan (253,280 dollars) as of Monday, according to the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).

Wang Xiaohua, a liaison director of the RCSC, said the donations were made by enterprises, individuals and local branches of the RCSC. The largest donation from a single individual stood at 50,000 yuan.

In Haiti, humanitarian organizations are busy helping the local people quickly develop self-assistance capabilities.

U.S soldiers transport relief goods in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 18, 2009. More international relief goods arrived here on Monday. (Xinhua Photo)

In response to the inaccessibility of potable water, CARE International began to give water purification training on Monday. It has distributed 600,000 water purification tablets and is teaching locals how to use them.

"CARE staff train local volunteers, so they can teach others and distribute the packets according to a careful inventory of families at the site to be sure it reaches those most in need," Dr. Franck Geneus, coordinator of CARE's health program in Haiti, said in a statement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Haiti's public health failures had impaired the earthquake relief effort.

According to the WHO's public health risk assessment on Haiti, the likelihood of infection and tetanus resulting from trauma wounds is high, as vaccination rates are minimal.

WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said Haiti was marked by "diseases associated with poor sanitation systems, low immunization coverage and widespread malnutrition, outbreaks of infectious diseases, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and erratic delivery of medicines and care."

The WHO hopes to address these concerns with mass vaccinations for measles and tetanus, as well as increased access to care.

Amid concerns that security could deteriorate further, roughly 400 UN police and military troops have been brought into Haiti's capital from around the country.

For the time being, security remains under control in the quake-ravished nation, the chief of UN peacekeeping operations, Alain LeRoy, told reporters, but there have been "sporadic incidents" due to Haitians becoming frustrated by sluggish relief efforts.

Editor: Han Jingjing