Haiti's Main Port Totally Destroyed, Survivor Says Country Will Starve Without It
CNN has a very disturbing report about the total destruction of Haiti's main port. This is the only port that is capable of handling large ship traffic: Haiti's food, water and medical supplies all come through this port. Business owner Raymond Thomas talks to Susan Candiotti of CNN about the situation. He owns a fleet of trucks and employed 50 people -- all of whom are now unemployed. Two of his trucks are at the bottom of the ocean now. Take a look:
In the accompanying article, we learn that Raymond is wearing a bullet proof vest because the port is in a bad part of town, and he has been attacked by looters.
Haiti only has one working airport, and it is tiny. Getting supplies to the country is unbelievably difficult, and there are no roads to get the supplies from the airport to the city.
President Bush and President Clinton reiterated that the best way to help is to donate money. But please only donate to organizations that have experience handling disasters of this scale, such as the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. Experts are saying that no matter how well-intentioned some charities may be, if they don't have the right experience and the massive infrastructure in place to get aid to the people who need it most, they won't be of much help and may even get in the way of the experienced aid workers.
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
collects donations, then distributes them to established, experienced charities.
