So, we'll die for Iraqis, but Haitians can starve and drown in mud.

[barbaraann]

It really wouldn't take much to bring Haiti up to a subsistence level from the hell they are living in now and it breaks my heart that our government just doesn't care. It really is tragic.

I'm listening with disgust beyond words to Bush and Allawi crow about all the "improvements" in Iraq.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=5&u=/ap/20040923/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_jeanne

[chimpymustgo]

1. The Black Caucus should be jumping on this.

We must help the Haitis through this tragedy.

[KeepItReal]

8. The CBC was all over the Haiti issue when Bush & Co. regime-changed it

The citizens really need help now, though.

[G_j]

22. no doubt they are

but what the Black Caucus says and does is seldom if ever reported.

[seemslikeadream]

23. They spoke up for the people of Haiti

but few listened

The Truth about Haiti - Ms. Barbara Lee on the House floor

HELP HAITI -- (House of Representatives - March 02, 2004)

GPO's PDF
---
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Blackburn). Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, first, let me thank Members of Congress tonight, the Congressional Black Caucus, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) for our focus and for leading this effort not only tonight but over the years with regard to Haiti.

Of course, Haiti tonight is on the minds and in the hearts of the international community, of many of us here in Congress and throughout the country. And tonight I want to first ask and raise concern for the safety and for the security of President Aristide and Mrs. Aristide and for their family. Given the circumstances of their departure, I think it is appropriate that we be concerned about their safety and insist that our government ensure that they not be put in harm's way.

For many years now we have consistently attempted to increase the Congress's role, the administration's role with regard to engagement with Haiti. We have asked over and over again for immediate humanitarian assistance, development assistance, infrastructure assistance. Really, all of those efforts to allow the Haitian people to live, to survive, and to move forward. Yet, repeatedly, over and over and over again, this administration has blocked any type of assistance, has embargoed efforts to ensure that the Haitian people receive the funding that they have negotiated, every single time. This administration went to the international community and blocked from the world the type of aid and assistance and economic development that Haiti needs.

It is unbelievable the type of circling of the wagons that we have seen as it relates to Haiti. Now, unfortunately, our country has helped to ensure that democratically elected president of Haiti was overthrown and this is totally unacceptable. What I have seen in the last few years is that really this country was setting up the situation which has occurred over the last few weeks. It really has helped democracy fail in Haiti, and that to me is a shame and it is a disgrace. Over and over again this administration has undermined and undercut President Aristide's attempts at social and economic development and the political challenges that have devastated his country. Over and over again I witnessed President Aristide comply with all of the requirements of the United States. One month it was this. The next month it was that. The next month it was something else. The Haitian government continually complied, continually stepped up to the plate even when it caused some discussions and some turmoil in their own country as a result of, for instance, having to raise the price of gasoline so that the international banks would be satisfied so that they could get the money that then negotiated for their loans. Outrageous kinds of requirements this country put on the Haitian government. Yet, still President Aristide responded and complied.

So what we have witnessed over the last couple of weeks really was the march to a coup d'etat. We witnessed the execution of a plan that I believe was really developed by, of course, those; and we are having hearings tomorrow so we will begin to expose and at least ask the questions, but it was the execution of a plan that we saw, I remember I think during the 1980s around Nicaragua, around some of the attempts to overthrow governments in Latin America, the U.S. ambassador, Negroponte, and Noriega who then was Senator Helm's person. We see many of the same kinds of players in place. And so, unfortunately, I am seeing an updated repeated performance of what we saw in the 1980s in Latin America. And, yes, this country has said that central to its foreign policy is regime change. That is a public kind of policy. And regime change manifests itself in many, many ways.

If I were Venezuela or Brazil, not to mention Cuba, I would be a bit concerned with what we know now and what we see taking place in terms of how the execution of a regime change, foreign policy takes place.

Finally, let me just say, when Secretary Powell says, it is nonsense and we are engaged in conspiracy theories, I would ask people to look at the ``U.S. War Against Haiti, Hidden From the Headlines.'' These are the facts. We will begin to expose it tomorrow.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r108:68:./temp/~r... ::


Congresswoman Maxine Water's Statement on Kidnapping of Aristide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2004 Contact: Ron Dungee
[phone]


Congresswoman Maxine Waters' Statement on Kidnapping of Haitian President Aristide


"I spoke to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide by telephone this morning and he told me that did not resign. He said he was kidnapped by American military and U.S. diplomats and military officials and was being held in the Central African Republic.

"Mr. Aristide said that Luis G. Moreno, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, came to his home in the wee hours of the morning with other diplomats and with U.S. Marines. He said he was told to leave and leave now or he and many Haitians would be killed.

"He told me, 'The world must know it was a coup. I was kidnapped. I was forced out. That's what happened. I did not resign. I did not go willingly. I was forced to go.'

"Mr. Aristide told me he was being held under guard in Central Africa's Palace of the Renaissance and felt like he was in jail.

"I also spoke with President Aristide's wife, Mildred. The first thing Mildred said was, 'The coup d'état is complete. It has been completed.'

"I talked to the president and his wife for about 15 minutes. He was anxious to get the word out that he did not leave voluntarily, that he was kidnapped, that he was forced out.

"President Aristide told me he had not been abused, but he sounded angry, stressed, determined; really anxious that people know he was kidnapped, that he did not go willingly, that he was forced out.

"I am deeply saddened that the United States government appears to be complicit in the overthrow of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. The Bush Administration refused to lead an international peacekeeping force to end the violence in Haiti and allow President Aristide to finish his term in office; then the Administration forced him out of the country in the dark of night.

"Last Thursday, the Congressional Black Caucus had an emergency meeting with President Bush, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell. We laid out a very clear case for intervention and asked the president to lead an international effort to keep the peace, stabilize the volatile situation and preserve the government of Haiti's first democratically elected president.

"I have visited Haiti three times since the first of the year and was able to provide first hand information about what was going on in that country. I explained that the so-called opposition was a conglomeration of former supporters of the dictatorial Duvalier regime. Andre Apaid, an American citizen in charge of the Group of 184 started this coup three weeks ago. Guy Philippe, who was exiled to the Dominican Republic after he tried to stage a coup in 2002 was leading a band of exiled military criminals, thugs and murderers-some convicted in absentia for killings they committed in ousting Aristide from office when he was first elected. These were the people pursuing a coup d'état to return Haiti to the corrupt dictatorial rule of the past.

"The CBC asked the president to intervene immediately to stop the bloodshed in Haiti. Scores of Haitian people had been killed and thousands of others held hostage as Philippe and his army of thugs seized town after town as they advanced toward Port-au-Prince. We pointed out that the obstacle to a peaceful solution was not Aristide. I was in Haiti when Aristide signed off on a peace proposal worked out by CARICOM (the Caribbean Community) and others in the international community. It was the opposition that rejected the proposal and refused to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

"However, we did not go to the White House to ask for help in Haiti solely for humanitarian reasons. We went there because the United States government was actively involved in the creation of this crisis and had an obligation to do something about it. For several years, the United States blocked $145.9 million in development loans to Haiti by the Inter-American Development Bank. These loans were supposed to fund health, basic education, rural road development, potable water and sanitation programs. Blocking those loans further impoverished the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Our government prevented the money from going to Haiti until the Congressional Black Caucus intervened last year.

"We tried to impress upon the president that the situation of Haiti was extremely critical and immediate action was needed. We did not need a massive military presence in Haiti and it did not need to be a lengthy occupation. All we asked was that the United States and other countries provide immediate assistance to Haiti to strengthen the Haitian police so that they could restore law and order. We could have been in and out in a short period of time, but the president asked for more time to think about it. He was holding out for a political solution to the crisis.

"Now we know the political solution for which he was holding out.

"The thugs and military criminals have accomplished their mission of deposing Aristide with the overt approval and support of the Bush Administration. Now, other members of the Aristide Administration are seeking asylum in other countries.

"This should have been prevented and could have been prevented if the Bush Administration had acted to help stabilize the situation in Haiti

http://www.house.gov/waters/pr040301.htm

[G_j]

25. "few listened"

says it all!

Lee and Conyers were also on Democracy Now a number of times talking about this.

Kerry made a statement critical of the coup early on, but I don't think he has said anything since.

[seemslikeadream]

29. PatrickLeahy, Chris Dodd, Jan Schakowsky and Sheila Jackson Lee

HAITI -- (Senate - March 04, 2004) Senator Leahy


HAITI -- (Senate - March 04, 2004)


---
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, over the past week, we have all watched the images of killings, chaos, and looting in Haiti. I am sad for the Haitian people. Once again, their leaders and the international community have failed them, and the poorest and the most vulnerable are enduring the greatest suffering.

I am also deeply disappointed with the Bush administration. Over the past several years, this administration ignored the simmering problems in Haiti and hoped they would somehow resolve themselves. That approach obviously backfired. Things have spiraled out of control. We now have a full-blown crisis on our hands, accusations that the administration helped to engineer a


coup of President Aristide, and the deployment of thousands of U.S. Marines into a difficult situation. Bringing change to Haiti will now be a far more dangerous and costly undertaking. Moreover, the U.N. or some other impartial organization will have to conduct an investigation to answer nagging questions about Aristide's departure.
I recognize that many administration officials did not support President Aristide. I can understand that view, as I also lost confidence in him. There is no question that serious allegations of corruption and abuse surround President Aristide and his associates and that these issues should have been dealt with. President Aristide and other Haitian leaders should be held accountable for their actions. Having said that, we should not forget the courage that President Aristide displayed when he first spoke out against the excesses of the brutal and corrupt dictatorship of Jean-Claude Duvalier.

But this administration did not want to make the effort to help clean up the Haitian Government, build a reform-minded opposition, and restructure the economy.

Instead, the Bush administration simply disengaged. During his first year in office, President Bush reduced aid to Haiti by about 25 percent. Concerned with the growing problems in Haiti, Senator DODD and I sent a letter to USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios in February 2002, urging an overhaul of our foreign aid program to Haiti. The response to our letter was essentially: ``Thanks for writing. We have a limited budget, but we will remain `flexible' in our approach.'' The results of this flexible approach speak for themselves.

To be fair, USAID was under heady pressure to absorb activities that the State Department should have funded. USAID does not deserve the blame for an administration-wide policy failure.

During the last month, United States policy toward Haiti crystallized around the goal of getting rid of President Aristide. For all the administration's tough talk aimed at President Aristide, this White House has embraced corrupt leaders with far less democratic credentials than President Aristide when it has suited its purpose. This episode is yet another reminder of how the contradictory policies and rhetoric of this administration are damaging U.S. credibility around the world.

In some respects, President Aristide's departure begins a new chapter for Haiti. In other ways, it is not clear just how new it is. For the third time in 20 years, a Haitian leader has been forced into exile, and at least for the third time in 90 years, the U.S. military has intervened in Haiti.

What is to show for years of interventions and hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. assistance? Haiti remains one of the poorest and most corrupt countries on Earth, facing a myriad of complex problems. Removing President Aristide will not solve these entrenched problems, but it may provide a way forward.

The United States has compelling reasons to help. Haiti is just a few hundred miles away from our shores, and the social turmoil there could easily spread to the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and elsewhere in our neighborhood. The United States has a long relationship with Haiti and many Haitian Americans live in the United States. Perhaps most importantly, we have a moral responsibility to help a nation where so many have been suffering for so long.

The United States, France, and others must work with the United Nations, the Organization of American States to help fill the power vacuum in Port-au-Prince. The international community must also come up with a substantial aid package to help the Haitian people get back on their feet.

This will be a long, slow process. If we are to succeed in meeting the challenge of recovery and rebuilding in Haiti, the United States and the international community must stay engaged. Most of all, the Haitians themselves must take responsibility, especially the religious and political leaders. But we must take care not to overlook a key group that must be involved in this process--middle-class Haitians who have left the country over the past few decades.

As Garry Pierre-Pierre, editor in chief of the Haitian Times, points out in Monday's Wall Street Journal, involving Haiti's middle class is essential. He writes:


The international community has to bring the country's middle class not merely to the table, but back to Haiti. This middle class has been fleeing Haiti for the U.S., where it has consolidated itself, for the last 30 years. We should look to that group, the Haitian diaspora, educated at the best schools in the U.S. and Canada, to help lead the country out of its perpetual cycle of violence and misery.


I agree with Mr. Pierre-Pierre, and believe that the administration should heed his advice.

We have missed one opportunity after another in Haiti. It is time for us to make the most of this unfortunate situation.

I ask unanimous consent to print the above-referenced letters in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:


U.S. SENATE,

Washington, DC, February 15, 2002.
Hon. ANDREW NATSIOS,
Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. NATSIOS: We are deeply concerned with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Haiti. The political impasse between the Haitian Government and the political opposition has only made a serious situation more dire. As a matter of U.S. policy Haiti is being denied access to monies from the multilateral development banks until the government and opposition resolve their differences. For that reason, the humanitarian needs of Haiti must be met solely from bilateral donations through non-governmental organizations such as CARE, Catholic Relief Services and World Vision.

Violence, poverty, and disease are rampant throughout Haiti. Since the United States is opposing access for Haiti to multilateral monies to address these problems, we believe the U.S. has a moral obligation to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, that U.S. bilateral humanitarian assistance allocations be maintained at adequate levels. However, that does not appear to be the case. As you know annual USAID/Haiti allocations have been cut in half since FY1999 to $50 million for the current fiscal year. Moreover, the Administration's FY 2003 request is only $45 million. At these levels we are very skeptical that USAID will be able to continue many critical programs, including school feeding programs, public health programs for Haitian children ages 0 to 5, and AIDS treatment and prevention programs.

We strongly urge you to review the overall FY 2003 USAID budget to determine whether additional funds can be found for USAID FY 2003 programs in Haiti. Moreover, we do not support efforts to obligate FY 2002 Haiti monies for purposes other than humanitarian assistance programs.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns. We look forward to working with you in addressing the humanitarian needs of Haiti's seven million people.

Sincerely yours,
Patrick J. Leahy,
Christopher J. Dodd,
U.S. Senators.
--
U.S. AGENCY FOR

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,

Washington, DC, April 2, 2002.
Hon. PATRICK J. LEAHY,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.

DEAR SENATOR LEAHY: Mr. Natsios has asked me to respond to your letter of February 15, 2002, concerning the current situation in Haiti and declining U.S. assistance levels. We regret the delay in responding.

We share your concern about deteriorating conditions in Haiti, and are doing our best to help ease the situation within the constraints of current budget realities. Since September 11, 2001, worldwide pressures on overall resources limit our ability to maintain prior year levels for Haiti. We have made up most of the difference using Development Assistance and the Child Survival and Health Programs fund; however, these accounts are heavily subscribed.

Our programs will continue to have a meaningful impact in Haiti through the provision of primarily humanitarian assistance. Approximately 80 percent of the FY 2002 budget and FY 2003 request will go toward health, food aid, and education activities. These programs will still provide health and family planning services to approximately 2.7 million Haitians--mostly women and children--including HIV/AIDS prevention. They will also target food resources in Haiti to children under five and pregnant/lactating women, and will continue to make marked improvements in math and reading achievement test scores for 150,000 Haitian children.

In closing, we are watching the situation very closely and remain flexible on funding options for FY 2002. We welcome a continuing dialogue with Congress on appropriate assistance levels for Haiti as events unfold.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. Please let us know when this office can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
J. EDWARD FOX,

Assistant Administrator,
Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r108:./temp/~r108...



MARCH 2, 2004

SCHAKOWSKY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S MISSTATEMENT OF THE DAY –
HAITI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) issued today’s “Bush Administration’s Misstatement of the Day” on Haiti.
According to a report in the Washington Post today, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide did a “wise and patriotic thing” by agreeing to leave his nation. Powell also stated that it was “baseless” and “absurd” that the United States forced Aristide out of power.

According to the Center for American Progress, however:

The Bush Administration does not deny that it rapidly changed its position and helped force Aristide out, going so far as to issue a "harsh statement" blaming the turmoil on the Haitian president. The question that remains, however, is why did the Administration back a rebel force made up of death-squad veterans and convicted murderers over a democratically-elected government?
Schakowsky said, “While it is unclear exactly what happened early Sunday morning, the message from the U.S. to President Aristide was crystal clear: the U.S. won’t protect you from being killed by the assassins that are on your doorstep.” http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il09_schakowsky/pr... ...


Congresswoman Barbara Lee Questions Bush Administration Officials at International Relations Subcommittee Hearing

Lee Calls for Independent Commission to Investigate Bush Administration’s Haiti Policy

Washington, DC – At a heated Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere hearing today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) questioned a panel of Bush Administration officials about the Administration’s role in the coup d’etat carried out last week against the democratically-elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A member of the International Relations Committee, Lee called for the hearing last week, and with the events over the weekend, the hearing took on an immediacy and urgency.

In particular, Lee grilled Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, who is widely considered the mastermind behind the Bush Administration Haiti policy. Lee challenged Noriega about the State Department’s failure to respond to her suggestions in a February 12 letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, which would have staved off a coup.

Lee also asked Noriega why Aristide would willingly leave Haiti on Sunday morning without a definite place of asylum provided. During the next day, Aristide would be flown around the world until, finally, the Central African Republic (CAR) provided temporary asylum. At present, Aristide is reportedly under guard in the CAR.

Lee also accused the Bush Administration of supporting and sanctioning the overthrow of the Aristide Government by blaming Aristide for the opposition’s refusal to negotiate. Secretary of State Colin Powell last week called the opposition rebels “murderers and thugs,” but later backpedaled to the point that the Administration issued a statement, last Saturday, that said that “the long-simmering crisis is largely of Mr. Aristide's making.”

Lee summed up her disgust with the Bush Administration’s actions by accusing Noriega and the Bush Administration of “aiding and abetting” the overthrow of the Aristide Government. “Regime change takes a variety of forms, and this looks like a blatant form of regime change to me,” Lee told Noriega.

http://www.house.gov/lee/releases/04Mar03b.htm



Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Urgent Need for Aid in Haiti

For Immediate Release Contact: Dana J. Thompson
March 3, 2004 [phone]

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Participates in Subcommittee Hearing to Stress Urgent Need for Humanitarian Aid in Haiti

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, First Vice Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Control will participate in a hearing of the House International Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere concerning the crisis in Haiti. Testifying before the Subcommittee will be Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega, USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin America, Robert McGuire of Trinity College, and Jeff Sachs of Columbia University. “This hearing is important to make Congress clear as to the grave humanitarian need that exists in Haiti right now. In addition to the loss of stability, peace, and adherence to democratic principles, there is a loss of lives at the hands of lawless thugs in the region,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

Yesterday, the Congresswoman issued letters to Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi urging that they schedule immediate congressional hearings to investigate the events surrounding the alleged removal of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the United States’ alleged involvement. “The purpose of our involvement in Haiti should have only been to help restore peace, give humanitarian aid, and to uphold the principles of democracy and the rule of law,” said Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee stresses the need for the Administration to give Haitian asylum-seekers relief through amendments in U.S. immigration laws. “Haitian asylum-seekers must be given a fair chance to satisfy the requirements for entitlement to an asylum hearing. I am disturbed by the lack of parity between the Haitian refugees and the Cuban refugees. While Haitian refugees are detained and then removed from the United States, Cuban refugees who reach American soil are welcomed. They are admitted or paroled into the United States, and a year later they are eligible for adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent residents. This difference in treatment is unfair and unjustifiable. Temporary Protective Status must be extended to Haitian asylum seekers now to end the bloodshed that comes from their wrongful refoulement, or return to Haiti,” concluded Congresswoman Jackson Lee.

http://www.jacksonlee.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=8031

[baldguy]

2. And Theresa was criticized

for saying "forget about clothes for now....these people need food, water and shelter".

[baldguy]

3. dupe

[the Kelly Gang]

4. they don't have oil

[noiretextatique]

5. bingo

:eyes: no oil = s.o.l.

[Tom_Foolery]

7. Bull's eye!!!

There's no way for Halliburton to make a few billion.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

9. Amen. n/t

[EEgrad2003]

6. Sad thing is.....

They WANT OUR help. But, since Halliburton can't capitalize off of them, they're left fending for themselves. Damn the Bush Adminstration!!:mad:

[seemslikeadream]

10. Colin, where are you Colin?

EVERY DEATH CREATES NEW ENEMIES
MORE TERRORISTS
MORE DANGER
MORE DEATH
AND REMEMBER...

HE IS JUST GETTING STARTED...

BUSH'S PLAN FOR PEACE
IS THE PEACE OF THE COMMON GRAVE

http://www.bushflash.com/pax.html WATCH THIS VIDEO TAKES 3 MINUTES


Wumpscut
Totmacher

sie ahnten nichts von mir
von meiner wilden gier
doch als du kamst zu mir
da wurde ich ein tier
kein gedanke an danach
als ich dir die knochen brach

tot tot tot ich mache dich tot
tot tot tot von blut alles rot

tot

fuer mein naechstes leben
schoepfe ich neue kraft
ich bin dem toeten ergeben
in der einzelhaft

tot tot tot ich mache dich tot
tot tot tot von blut alles rot
tot tot tot ich mache dich tot
tot tot tot von blut alles rot

ein dahinsichen
von gottes hand
ich kann dich riechen
und das denken verschwand

tot tot tot tot tot tot tot ich mache dich tot
tot tot tot von blut alles rot tot tot tot tot

ich mache dich tot ich mache dich tot
ich mache dich tot ich mache dich tot

sag mir was du willst
dass du meine sehnsucht stillst
ich mache dich tot fuer immerdar
von blut alles rot auf gottes altar

tot tot tot ich mache dich tot
tot tot tot von blut alles rot

ich mache dich tot fuer immerdar
ich mache dich tot glaub mir es ist wahr
ich mache dich tot fuer immerdar
ich mache dich tot auf gottes altar

[HysteryDiagnosis]

11. Excellent video.... kudos to them all..... yes, where is Mr. Powell? n/t

[Karenina]

12. Yes, EXCELLENT!

[sandersadu]

13. Haitians

We're not helping them b/c

(1) They're black;

(2) They don't have oil.


It's that simple.

[Morning Dew]

14. I believe the Haitian death toll is nearly 4,000

in this year's hurricane season.

4 grand.

edit fer speeling

[G_j]

16. In May 2,600 died in floods

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-06/15/content_339503.htm

(didn't hear too much about this either)


Disease, hunger dog Haiti flood victims
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-15 09:49

Doctors are fighting to prevent multiple epidemics among survivors from the drowned Haitian town of Mapou, one of the worst-hit areas in floods that killed about 2,600 people three weeks ago.


A small team of doctors from Cuba and from the Paris-based Doctors Without Borders are fighting outbreaks of mosquito-borne fevers like malaria and dengue in Mapou, which is still under water following the May 24 floods.


"Now the situation is under control. We are trying to prevent an epidemic. But it can explode any time," Cuban physician Miuber Castillo told reporters on Sunday.


The floods, triggered by days of torrential rains, swamped entire villages in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

..more..

[Morning Dew]

27. Oops, I think I counted the flood victims in with the hurricane victims.

[G_j]

31. Haitian storm toll may pass 1,800

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5022351-107406,00.html

Haitian storm toll may pass 1,800

John Vidal and agencies in Gonaives
Thursday September 23, 2004

The Guardian

The death toll from flash floods and mudslides in northern Haiti could rise to more than 1,800 when a full assessment of tropical storm Jeanne's devastation is complete, say government officials.
More than 1,000 people were declared missing yesterday, and 800 have been confirmed dead.

"It appears that many people were swept away to the sea," said Dieufort Deslorges, a spokesman for Haiti's civil protection agency. "There are bodies still buried in mud and rubble, or floating in water, and that's not to mention the hundreds who are missing and the places we have not yet been able to reach."

Several countries pledged help yesterday. The European Union offered €3m (£2m) and Venezuela $1m. But with many roads impassable, only limited assistance is arriving.

..more..

[seemslikeadream]

15. Conclusive Evidence of U.S. Role in Kidnapping and Coup

Conclusive Evidence of U.S. Role in Kidnapping and Coup


PRESS ADVISORY
Monday, April 4, 2004
Media Contact: Dustin Langley 212-633-6646

As Bush Administration Scrambles to Shore Up Appointed Haitian Regime Commission to Present Conclusive Evidence of U.S. Role in Kidnapping and Coup

Date: Wednesday, April 7
Time: 6:30- 9:30 pm
Location: The Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College

Panel to include: Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Major Owens, Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Ossie Davis, Gil Noble, Amy Goodman, Ron Daniels, and other prominent activists and journalists

The Bush Administration is facing a growing crisis over its role in the coup in Haiti and the kidnapping of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who continues to speak out about his abduction by the U.S. The 15-member organization of Caribbean nations, CARICOM, has refused to recognize the U.S.-installed regime and has called for an investigation, despite intense pressure and threats from the U.S. The 53-member African Union has raised the same demand.

On Wednesday, April 7, the Haiti Commission of Inquiry will initiate a public inquiry of the role of the Bush Administration in the crisis in Haiti. Delegations that visited both the Central African Republic and the Dominican Republic will present conclusive evidence that U.S. Special Forces armed, trained, and directed the "rebels" and engineered the abduction of President Aristide.

The preliminary report from the Commission states, "two hundred U.S. Special Forces soldiers came to the Dominican Republic as part of 'Operation Jaded Task,' with special authorization from President Hipólito Mejia. We have received many reports that this operation was used to train Haitian rebels. We have received many consistent reports of Haitian rebel training centers at or near Dominican military facilities. We have received many consistent reports of guns transported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, some across the land border, and others shipped by sea."

Johnnie Stevens of the International Action Center, a member of the delegation to the Central African Republic, said, "The U.S.-installed Prime Minister, Gerard Latortue, has hailed the paid mercenaries as freedom fighters, and had thus discredited himself among the Caribbean nations."

Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a desperate bid to lend some credibility to the Latortue government, is now visiting Haiti for the first time. This attempt to put U. S. weight behind the isolated colonial-style regime is a response to its growing isolation. Sara Flounders, of the International Action Center, said, "This visit by Powell is a sign of the Bush Administration’s growing isolation and disarray. The U.S. is desperately trying to shore up a discredited regime in the face of international opposition to the appointed government of Haiti after the stinging rebuke directed at the U.S. by the recent CARICOM meeting." Flounders is a member of the Haiti Commission of Inquiry and was part of the delegation to the Central African Republic, where she visited with President Aristide shortly after his kidnapping.

Kim Ives from Haiti Progres, who was part of the delegation to the Dominican Republic, told the media, "In the course of our investigation here, we met with many Haitians who were forced to flee Haiti following the coup d'etat of Feb. 29. Their testimony gave very concrete names and faces to the stories of violence which we have heard that the so-called rebels, trained and assembled in the Dominican Republic, have carried out in Haiti over the past month. We were also touched by the tears of refugees who told us of how they are apprehensive over the fate of their loved ones left behind in Haiti."

http://www.iacenter.org/haiti_0407press.htm



From 2/23/2003:

US Troopers Secretly Land in Dominican Republic
http://english.pravda.ru/world/2003/02/20/43514.html
The military training operation nicknamed Jaded Task took by surprise Dominican Foreign Ministry.

The US Army started today a training operation in the Caribbean country as part of routine maneuvers of the Southern Command. The landing had been kept so secretly that Dominican Foreign Ministry Hugo Tolentino was reported... by the TV.

As per the first reports, the US troops are training Dominican soldiers on anti-terrorism operations in the north of the island. When the national media started announcing the landing, country's Foreign Minister was having a lunch. Tolentino said that, as chief of the Dominican diplomacy, he should have been formally advised, as personally requested to the Dominican Army and the US Embassy to Santo Domingo.

(snip)

However, the most interesting thing, here, is that the Communist Party of the Dominican Republic did know about the operations. This correspondent had access to two formal communications issued by the US Embassy including details of these activities, during the Communist summit held in Buenos Aires in January. There, the US ambassador to Santo Domingo reported about 10.000 soldiers coming to the Dominican Republic to take part of the training.

Moreover, the communists and other leftist forces in the country made know such documents to the local media in November. According to the denounce, US soldiers can freely enter and leave the country without any kind of permission. Also, they can do it through owned means of conveyance.

(more at link)




Who's who of the Haiti Coup - death squad veterans and convicted murderers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1307941

[seemslikeadream]

17. WHILE I SIT HERE TRYING TO THINK OF THINGS TO SAY

SOMEONE LIES BLEEDING IN A FIELD SOMEWHERE

SO IT WOULD SEEM WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO

I'VE SEEN ALL I WANNA SEE TODAY

WHILE I SIT HERE TRYING TO MOVE YOU ANYWAY I CAN

SOMEONE'S SON LIES DEAD IN A GUTTER SOMEWHERE

AND IT WOULD SEEM THAT WE'VE GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO

BUT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE

SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO

SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY

WHILE I SIT AND WE TALK AND TALK AND WE TALK SOME MORE

SOMEONE'S LOVED ONE'S HEART STOPS BEATING IN A STREET SOMEWHERE

SO IT WOULD SEEM WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG LONG WAY TO GO, I KNOW

I'VE HEARD ALL I WANNA HEAR TODAY

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO (TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO)

SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY (SWITCH IT OFF IT WILL GO AWAY)

TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO (TURN IT OFF IF YOU WANT TO)

SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY (SWITCH IT OFF OR LOOK AWAY)

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

SWITCH IT OFF

TURN IT OFF


thanks to
phil collins for the words

[barbaraann]

18. Those pictures are making me cry.

I think John Kerry will do something to help them.

[barbaraann]

19. MSNBC: George Bush, Nation Builder?

In Haiti, the real answer will emerge.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448418/

[G_j]

20. and even the UN abandons them

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2337137
(notice this thread had no replies)

Haiti: UN Opens the Door to Reborn Army
Haiti Support Group
September 6, 2004

The Haiti Support Group once again sounds the alarm about the grave threat to human rights and democracy in Haiti posed by the increasingly bold campaign currently waged by armed groups demanding the return of the Haitian Army.

According to local media reports, groups composed of former members of the Haitian Armed Forces - an entity disbanded in 1995 - have assembled and set up bases in Petit-Goave, Grand-Goave, Jacmel, Belladere, and Gonaives. In many cases, they have chased away the police, occupied the police headquarters and painted the buildings mustard yellow - the traditional colour of Haitian Army barracks and outposts. It should be noted that in some parts of the country - notably in Cap-Haitien and Hinche - the former soldiers have been ever present since February when they took over towns as part of their armed insurrection against the government.

These irregular - and illegal - armed groups are now pressing the interim government to recognise the existence of re-born Haitian Army, and to grant ten years of back-pay to all members dismissed in 1995. Their spokespeople ridicule suggestions that they be disarmed, and are issuing a series of deadlines for their demands to be met.

All the while, the US-led multinational force and now the Brazil-led United Nations force has been treating them with 'kid gloves', preferring to negotiate and establish the grounds for co-existence, rather than making it clear that they cannot continue as a parallel armed law and order force.

..more..
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/haiti/2004/0906reborn.htm
--------------------------------

[buddhamama]

21. No Oil, we're not interested

we've taken whatever valuable resources could be found there already,
so, yeah, what's the point in helping-sarcasm

truly disgusting!

[G_j]

28. Sweatshops

Haiti's cottage industry?

just two of many articles and reports out there,

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=55&ItemID=5927
Gildan Activewear
Taking Sweatshops to new depths in Haiti

<snip>
Haitian labor unions have reported (3) that the 70 gourde minimum wage (paltry, but fought for and attained by the Lavalas government in 2003) is being rolled back (to its pre-2003 36 gourde level) now that a puppet/military regime is in place and are looking the other way while sweatshop owners exploit workers and expand operations in this more “favorable” environment. People like Andy Apaid, who is one of Gildan’s “local” subcontractors (4), according to former workers, never honored the minimum wage and would fire workers who dissented. In addition, feudal lords like Apaid would force workers to attend anti-Aristide “opposition” rallies under threat of termination or reprimand.

It should be recalled that Apaid, despite the fact that he is a US citizen, was the leader of the International Republican Institute-spawned Group of 184- anti-Aristide “opposition”, and that Apaid’s family gave financial support to the 1991-94 military junta that overthrew Aristide the first time. Apaid, along with other members of the tiny “Haitian” elite and former death squadrons, orchestrated the destabilization and eventual overthrow of Aristide . That Gildan has benefited directly from this may or may not be a coincidence, but we must carefully consider the timing herein.
<snip>
-----------
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/295.html
Haiti sweatshops: Your taxes at work - pushing wages down

----------

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. we wouldnt have died for the social welfare of any non-white country

now occupying a country which in no way is good for them is something we can do

[AgadorSparticus]

26. you got that right!!!! the * hypocrisy is suffocating sometimes.

it makes me sick.

[G_j]

30. kick