Haiti: Josh Shahryar's News LiveBlog (18/19 January)

EA's Josh Shahryar with the latest from Haiti. See also his LiveBlog on humanitarian developments:

0827 GMT

More updates on Haitians trapped under the rubble even a week after the earthquake:

A source in Haiti posted this on their Facebook page:

Martine Peirre is still sending messages out! She is alive under the rubbles at Universite Caraibes at Delmas 29 with others send help

(Can someone help? Please?)

0810 GMT

As the earthquake ruins more families and shatters more lives, the people of Port-au-Prince are forced to leave their homes and try to get as far away from the disaster zone as possibel. The New York Times reports on this tragic development:

“My only hope is to return to my family’s arms.”

Ms. Verly joined thousands of others, as the exodus from the capital accelerated on Monday, by boat, bus, car and truck, in uncertain quest for shelter, fresh water and stability in the countryside. They sought to leave an anarchic city marked by acute shortages of basic goods and aid efforts hampered by bottlenecks and security fears.

“I don’t know if I’m coming back,” said Marcelaine Calixte, 20, a student whose house and college had collapsed, sitting on a crowded bus Monday afternoon headed to Les Cayes, a southern town.

Read the whole story by CLICKING HERE.

0726 GMT

The long-term damage to Haiti is going to be staggering and the country will require much more help, as this report from Reuters suggests:

Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez proposed to international donors on Monday the creation of a $2 billion-a-year fund to finance for five years Haiti’s recovery from a devastating earthquake.

“We’d be talking about a five-year program of some $10 billion,” Fernandez told representatives of foreign governments and international financial institutions at a preliminary donors’ conference in Dominican Republic, Haiti’s neighbor on the island of Hispaniola.

0708 GMT

TPM updates:

The FBI and the National Center for Disaster Fraud have created a hotline to report suspected Haitian earthquake relief fraud. The number is (866) 720-5721, and is staffed 24/7 by a live operator.

0606 GMT

After criticism from the French government and the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’accusations that the US military was ‘occupying’ Haiti and that the US military role was inappropriate, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates today attempted to quell these fears. The Associated Press reports:

Gates said he does not foresee an expanded policing role for the United States, however. The United States is chiefly involved in distributing relief and will support the United Nations in providing security, Gates said. “I haven’t heard of us playing a policing role at any point.”

There are currently 1,000 U.S. troops in Haiti while 3,000 are helping out with relief efforts from aboard their navy ships. 12,000 more US forces are expected to land in Haiti soon.

This all comes at a time when:

A joint statement Saturday from the Haitian president and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to an expanded U.S. security role.

“President Preval, on behalf of the Government and people of Haiti, welcomes as essential the efforts in Haiti by the government and people of the United States to support the immediate recovery, stability and long-term rebuilding of Haiti and requests the United States to assist as needed in augmenting security in support of the government and people of Haiti and the United Nations, international partners and organizations on the ground,” the document reads.

0534 GMT

Haiti Year 0, Day 7

After the Red Cross created a page to help find survivors and Google, Inc. released a tool to help in the same cause, CNN has now also created a web page to assist in the location of lost loved ones in Haiti.

You can visit their page by CLICKING HERE.

0448 GMT

More reports coming in from Haiti give many hope of finding more survivors trapped under the rubble in the Caribbean Supermarket in Port-au-Prince. According to Twitter userfiresideint, Haitians trapped beneath the walls of the market have been able to survive this long because they had access to some food and water that was entombed with them under the concrete and metal.

(Hopefully, more rescue workers will get there in time to help these people.)

0431 GMT

A reliable Twitter source firesideint tweets about the situation in Haiti, personal feelings and comments on news, (eye-opening):

(I’m posting the tweets as is, starting from the earliest to the latest)

- Just got back from Darbonne (epicenter). Passed about 12 UN relief vehicles LOADED with rice & supplies as we were leaving. YES!

- Aid is finally being delivered in mass quantity.

- Changed my underwear today. The first time in 5 days. Someone had given my other ones away. Thanks, Kent, for bringing new ones!

- I had a COMPLETE meltdown today. My first one. Very cathartic. Talked to my kids on phone. I popped.

- Found out that part of the delay is the reception of expired food & meds. @ airport, they have to sort through donated items first.

- Do not believe the hype. Things are relatively stable here. I’ve been in the thick of it. But I don’t have sponsors to please, do I?

- An earthquake moves adoptions along (http://bit.ly/8TeeIr). How bad do you have to be at your job to get bested by an earthquake?

- I am not sending out my family because we are scared of Haitians. Then why? We don’t need to be using up their precious resources.

- All we need is Love… and Transparency.

- Begging stopped when the earthquake hit. A few kids begged from me today. It’s nice to see things getting back to normal.

- The other night I got stuck downtown and asked a Haitian family for a ride. They declined but then gave me money to hire one. I was humbled.

- “Some are saying” often means there is no source. Any journalist worth his weight can hand over a direct source. Be critical.

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