Security Council Press Statement on Haiti
The members of the Security Council expressed concern regarding the ongoing political impasse in Haiti. They reiterated the immediate necessity for Haiti’s stakeholders to engage in an inclusive and open dialogue to form a government that responds to the needs of the Haitian people without further delay.
The members of the Security Council noted the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), and the good offices role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti. They stressed the need for all stakeholders to continue to avail themselves of this opportunity and act promptly.
The members of the Security Council emphasized the urgent need to address deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Haiti through coordinated action by the government of Haiti, the United Nations, and the international community.
The members of the Security Council recalled the need for the government of Haiti to address the underlying causes of instability and poverty within the country. They urged all stakeholders to refrain from violence and to resolve differences through peaceful means. They stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible are held accountable and of bringing justice to the victims of the recent spikes of violence, in particular the violent events of November 13 and 14, 2018 in La Saline and November 4 to 7, 2019, in Bel Air.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their commitment to working with Haiti towards a democratic, peaceful, and secure future.
8 January 2020
Clinton can’t escape blame in Haiti failed recovery from the earthquake, critics say
By JACQUELINE CHARLES, Miami Herald
The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, backed by the United States government and co-chaired by former President Bill Clinton, was supposed to be Haiti’s chance to “build back better” after its cataclysmic Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake.
But a decade after the commission’s formation in the wake of the disaster and its eventual dissolution under Haitian President Michel Martelly, Haiti is no better off, its multibillion-dollar recovery effort a dismal failure, according to critics. They say blame lies with the Haitian government, which missed an opportunity, foreign donors who didn’t make good on their billion dollar pledges — and Clinton.
“The [commission] was a full-time job. For Clinton to have done a good job he would have needed to do it full time,” said Jean-Marie Bourjolly, who added that Clinton, who also had served as United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, delegated too much to his staff. “It’s a job that demanded he man up and go fight with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, France, Canada and everyone else who pledged money ... to force them to turn over the money.”
The recovery commission and Clinton did not escape other criticism. Though the commission’s projects were approved unanimously, the Haitian members, including Bourjolly, complained in a public letter that they were being marginalized, and some groups in Haitian society asked for the panel to be dissolved before the end of its 18-month mandate. The commission remained in place until the end of the 18 months, but Haiti did not renew it.
Other criticism centered around accusations that Clinton and his wife, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were running a pay-to-play operation in Haiti, which the Clintons have long denied. Neither the State Department, which Hillary Clinton oversaw, or the Clinton Foundation that Bill Clinton headed, gave favorable treatment to foundation supporters in Haiti, they have said.
Lots more to say about why neither Clinton nor the Haitians are blameless. Start with the huge star role given to Cheryl Mills who was the go-to person for both Bill and Hillary. Look into Preval’s micromanaging through his loyal aide appointed to be the executive director of the commission. Examine the exclusion of Haitian expertise to the benefit of a bunch of inexperienced and unqualified assistants paid huge sums for running around. Dive into electoral manipulation to the benefit of Martelly, Lamothe and the many celebrities who found them a cool bunch to hang with while most Haitians saw them for what they were: carpetbaggers salivating at the million dollar possibilities
“It’s a job that demanded he man up and go fight with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, France, Canada and everyone else who pledged money ... to force them to turn over the money.”
Haiti’s 2010 earthquake killed hundreds of thousands. The next one could be worse.
Ten years ago, when Haiti was hit by its worst natural disaster in more than a century, the country didn’t have its own earthquake surveillance network.
It does now. The problem is, the 10 foreign-trained quake monitors who work there can’t stay in the building that houses the unit overnight because it is not earthquake resistant, and even if it were, there isn’t enough money to pay anyone to spend the night.
When the ground shakes again, they’ll have to run out of the facility’s only exit.
U.S. Embassy Statement
Today we join Haitians and their partners around the world in honoring the thousands of lives lost and forever altered by the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.
We remember, with awe and gratitude, the extraordinary efforts of Haitians during relief, recovery, and rebuilding. We remember how in the most difficult of circumstances, Haitians put all differences aside and worked together to help rescue their fellow citizens and reclaim their country from destruction.
Those efforts, together with the work of the international community, resulted in one of history’s most significant humanitarian responses: heroic rescue efforts; thousands of surgeries and medical interventions; and the largest emergency urban food distribution ever, feeding more than 4 million people. As a longstanding partner and friend of Haiti, the United States through USAID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Coast Guard, the USNS COMFORT, FEMA, and other agencies worked tirelessly alongside Haitians to save lives and start the process of rebuilding.
As we reflect on the past, the United States remains committed to a safe, secure, and prosperous Haiti. May the lessons learned from this day serve as inspiration to all to renew efforts to contribute to a better future for the Haitian people.
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Ricans Left Homeless After Biggest Quake in Century
Nearly 750 people were staying in government shelters in the island’s southwest region as Gov. Wanda Vázquez declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard
By Danica Coto AP Associated Press
Cars, cots and plastic chairs became temporary beds for hundreds of families who lost their homes in southwest Puerto Rico as a flurry of earthquakes struck the island, one of them the strongest in a century. The magnitude 6.4 quake that struck before dawn on Tuesday killed one person, injured nine others and knocked out power across the U.S. territory. More than 250,000 Puerto Ricans remained without water on Wednesday and another half a million without power, which also affected telecommunications.
Another strong aftershock of a 4.7-magnitude struck on Wednesday near the island's southern coast at the same shallow depth as Tuesday's earthquake. No serious damage was immediately reported.
More than 2,000 people were staying in government shelters in the island’s southwest region as U.S. President Donald Trump declared an emergency and Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez activated the National Guard.
"The magnitude of this event is so serious that the state government and the municipal governments of Puerto Rico do not have the capacity to respond effectively,” she said as she praised Trump's decision.
The hardest hit municipality was the southwest coastal town of Guánica. More than 200 people had taken shelter in a gymnasium after a quake on Monday, only for the latest shake to damage that structure — forcing them to sleep outside.
Among them was 80-year-old Lupita Martínez, who sat in the dusty parking lot with her 96-year-old husband by her side. He was sleeping in a makeshift bed, a dark blue coat covering him.
“There's no power. There's no water. There is nothing. This is horrible,” Martínez said.
MILLIONS went to rebuild Haiti’s churches. So why is Notre Dame Cathedral still in ruins?
By Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald
Unlike the Notre-Dame de Paris, the cathedral in France that attracted worldwide attention after a fire broke out in April, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Port-au-Prince has largely been forgotten. There has been no billionaire bailout, and its estimated cost of rebuilding — $50 million — would have taken up all of the money donated by U.S. Catholics to help Haiti reconstruct its fallen houses of worships and other religious structures after the quake.
Still, as Haiti prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy Sunday, the new archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Max Leroy Mesidor, is giving a lot of thought to the twin tower historic landmark that was constructed between 1884 and 1914. Its reconstruction plans once attracted 250 architects from around the world collaborating to submit 134 designs in a blind judging competition sponsored by the University of Miami, the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince and Faith and Form magazine.