President Obama's Statement on Haiti Rescue Effort

January 13, 2010

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON RESCUE EFFORTS IN HAITI

Diplomatic Reception Room

10:20 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. This morning I want to extend to the people of Haiti the deep condolences and unwavering support of the American people following yesterday’s terrible earthquake.

We are just now beginning to learn the extent of the devastation, but the reports and images that we’ve seen of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching. Indeed, for a country and a people who are no strangers to hardship and suffering, this tragedy seems especially cruel and incomprehensible. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the many Haitian Americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home.

I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine — that Haitians will need in the coming days. In that effort, our government, especially USAID and the Departments of State and Defense are working closely together and with our partners in Haiti, the region, and around the world.

Right now our efforts are focused on several urgent priorities. First, we’re working quickly to account for U.S. embassy personnel and their families in Port-au-Prince, as well as the many American citizens who live and work in Haiti. Americans trying to locate family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888/407-4747. I’m going to repeat that – 888/407-4747.

Second, we’ve mobilized resources to help rescue efforts. Military overflights have assessed the damage, and by early afternoon our civilian disaster assistance team are beginning to arrive. Search and rescue teams from Florida, Virginia and California will arrive throughout today and tomorrow, and more rescue and medical equipment and emergency personnel are being prepared.

Because in disasters such as this the first hours and days are absolutely critical to saving lives and avoiding even greater tragedy, I have directed my teams to be as forward-leaning as possible in getting the help on the ground and coordinating with our international partners as well.

Third, given the many different resources that are needed, we are taking steps to ensure that our government acts in a unified way. My national security team has led an interagency effort overnight. And to ensure that we coordinate our effort, going forward, I’ve designated the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Dr. Rajiv Shah, to be our government’s unified disaster coordinator.

Now, this rescue and recovery effort will be complex and challenging. As we move resources into Haiti, we will be working closely with partners on the ground, including the many NGOs from Haiti and across Haiti, the United Nations Stabilization Mission, which appears to have suffered its own losses, and our partners in the region and around the world. This must truly be an international effort.

Finally, let me just say that this is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home. So we have to be there for them in their hour of need.

Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to whitehouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute. We must be prepared for difficult hours and days ahead as we learn about the scope of the tragedy. We will keep the victims and their families in our prayers. We will be resolute in our response, and I pledge to the people of Haiti that you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America today and going forward.

May God bless the people of Haiti and those working on their behalf.

Thank you very much.

Pres Obama has a way of conveying exactly this tragedy's scope and particulars that goes deep into the heart of the matter. And, I feel better just knowing that they're on it.

Here's an updated source for ways to donate to the Haitian Earthquake fund.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=55157

I have to say that I don't understand how everything bad happens to Haiti. So sad.

that they've had to endure..from Steve Benen's blog at Washington Monthly.

DEVASTATION IN HAITI.... The damage caused by a large earthquake in Haiti late yesterday afternoon appears to be catastrophic.

Rescue teams struggled in the early morning darkness Wednesday to make their way through the rubble of collapsed buildings after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti late Tuesday afternoon.

The quake, with a magnitude estimated at 7.0, caused the collapse of the National Palace, leveled countless shantytown dwellings and brought more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere's poorest and most disaster-prone.

The earthquake was the worst in the region in more than 200 years and left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's densely populated capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness.

The devastation was so staggering, and emergency services so overwhelmed, it may be quite some time before anyone has an accurate sense of the disaster's scope, including casualties.

Compounding the problem, the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission -- home to the first responders for a crisis -- was itself destroyed by the earthquake. At least one hospital is known to have collapsed, and there may also be damage to the Port-au-Prince airport, where planes with relief supplies would presumably arrive.

It's not like Haiti hasn't suffered enough of late. The poor Caribbean nation has already been ravaged by hurricanes, systemic poverty, and political instability. The NYT noted, "At the end of 2008, four hurricanes flooded whole towns, knocked out bridges and left a destitute population in even more desperate conditions."

And now this.

U.S. officials held emergency meetings in Washington yesterday, and President Obama issued a statement saying, "We stand ready to assist the people of Haiti."

For ongoing coverage, I strongly recommend Mark Leon Goldberg's work at U.N. Dispatch.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

Relief and Development Organizations

Musician Wyclef Jean's grassroots org is mobilizing to help the people of Haiti. Text "Yele" to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone.

The Red Cross has already started to organize a major effort. Text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Partners in Health, a Boston-based non-profit that has worked in Haiti for 23 years, has set up a field hospital there to treat the wounded. PIH is seeking donations and other support. Read more about it here.

Oxfam America,which is based in Boston, has created an emergency relief fund.

The United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, is responding to the disaster with an initial $500,000 donation and support in the field. UNICEF has worked in Haiti since the 1940s. Information about donations is available at the US Fund for UNICEF and the Boston office is reachable at 617.266.7534.

A group called Partners In Development, based in Ipswich, Mass., has a medical clinic in Port-au-prince and is organizing to send a medical team there. Phone: 978-471-9922.

This is a rapidly developing situation, and John Kerry is doing all he can to help the efforts to aid the Haitian people. Any help you can give by donating time or money - or spreading the word about how others can help - would be greatly appreciated.

http://kerry.senate.gov/services/haiti.cfm

Cross Post GDP~

jefferson_dem (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-13-10 11:13 PM

Original message

Obama urged fast movement to save lives, find/rescue Americans. Reg updates. Urgency, Impatience
At meeting, Obama urged fast movement to save lives, find/rescue Americans. Sought reg updates. Key words: Urgency, Impatience

http://twitter.com/MajoratWH/statuses/7735551349

Obama orders rapid mobilization of U.S. rescue, relief efforts for Haiti

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 14, 2010; A01

President Obama mobilized the U.S. government Wednesday for a massive rescue and relief operation in the devastated capital of Haiti, ordering swift military and diplomatic assistance and pledging an aggressive effort to save the lives of those caught in Tuesday's earthquake.

Naval ships steamed south and flights began shuttling search-and-rescue teams to dig through rubble in Port-au-Prince. Military aircraft flew over the island, mapping the destruction, while U.S. officials coordinated the efforts of nongovernmental aid agencies. Coast Guard helicopters began flying seriously wounded Americans from the U.S. Embassy on the island nation to the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about 200 miles away.

"With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long history that binds us together, Haitians are neighbors of the Americas and here at home," Obama said, calling the earthquake an "especially cruel and incomprehensible tragedy."

The U.S. government's response accelerated Wednesday as the extent of the disaster became clear. Obama canceled a speech on job creation as his top advisers huddled in the White House Situation Room throughout the day.

But even as U.S. agencies lined up to help, officials sounded a note of concern, saying they are deeply worried about whether Haiti's infrastructure can handle the influx of help. The island's airport and seaport sustained substantial damage in the temblor.

"If the port is severely damaged, that makes it very, very difficult" to deliver relief supplies, said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. "Jim" Watson IV, director of Atlantic area operations.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/13/AR2010011304840_pf.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x124627