Cosa possiamo fare per aiutare Haiti, ora e in seguito
– Bill Clinton, 42° presidente USA, è stato nominato a giugno 2009 inviato speciale ONU per Haiti;
● obiettivo: promuovere l’attuazione del piano di sviluppo a lungo termine di Haiti
o incrementando l’assistenza dei governi esteri e l’investimento privato,
o e coordinando ed accrescendo il contributi di gruppi non governativi con il coinvolgimento di un numero maggior di persone della diaspora di Haiti.
● Spazzate via le macerie, costruiremo un futuro migliore ricostruendo meglio Haiti, edifici più resistenti, scuole e sanità migliori; più industrie manifatturiere e meno deforestazione; agricoltura più sostenibile, energia pulita.
– Dalle prime stime si calcola che necessiterebbero di aiuto circa 3 milioni di persone, circa 1/3 della popolazione di Haiti; si tratta di una delle maggiori emergenze umanitarie della storia delle Americhe.
● quando sarà finita l’emergenza, occorrerà recuperare e ricostruire.
● Io e Hillary ci siamo recati per la prima volta ad Haiti nel 1975, già allora si impegnarono ad un piano di sviluppo a lungo termine il governo, i cittadini e la diaspora haitiani, con i paesi vicini, gli alleati, le NGO e gruppi internazionali, progetti da non abbandonare ma correggere a seguito del disastro attuale.
● In qualità di presidente USA mi sono dato da fare per porre termine alla dittatura militare e a reintegrare il presidente eletto di Haiti [Jean-Betrand Aristide].
Gli USA consentono agli immigrati illegali haitiani di rimanere, respingeranno però i rifugiati
+ Gli USA sembrano voler riprendere un ruolo importante ad Haiti
JAY SOLOMON, YOCHI J. DREAZEN, PETER SPIEGEL
● Janet Napolitano, ministro USA alla Sicurezza interna: estesa temporaneamente l’amnistia agli immigrati haitiani illegali, la guardia costiera respingerà però nuovi rifugiati che fuggono dalla devastazione.
o Sarebbero dai 100mila ai 200mila gli haitiani negli Usa che potrebbero usufruirne, per rimanere altri 18 mesi.
o Il calcolo è che il lavoro di questi immigrati potrebbe aiutare i familiari ad Haiti e scoraggiare la loro emigrazione.
o Due milioni circa gli haitiani all’estero, per la maggior parte in USA, Canada (150mila), Francia (50-80mila, esclusi coloro che abitano nei dipartimenti francesi dei Caraibi, Guadalupa, Martinica, S. Martin e Guiana francese, considerato territorio francese) o Rep. Dominicana.
● Il cosiddetto Status temporaneo protetto (TPS), offerto in precedenza alle vittime di disastri naturali, in particolare ai rifugiati di El Salvador, nel 2001, dal Nicaragua, Honduras, Somalia e Sudan,
● non era stato mai fino ad ora stato concesso agli haitiani, nonostante le richieste avanzate dopo uragani e guerra civile.
● Nonostante l’Amministrazione USA di Obama abbia dichiarato di non voler riprendere una presenza di lungo termine ad Haiti, specialisti (Michael Shifter, vicepresidente di Inter-American Dialogue, una think tank di Washington) e leader politici valutano che gli USA non hanno altra scelta, se non quella di assumere un ampio ruolo amministrativo ad Haiti.
– Marina ed aeronautica americane (5 aerei cargo C-17, la portaerei USS Carl Vinson, 3 000 soldati della 82a Divisione di fanteria; la nave anfibio con 2200 marinai; in arrivo USS Bataan, e la più grande nave ospedale USNS Comfort) stanno dimostrando di essere gli unici strumenti in grado di portare ordine ….
– Una missione USA di lunga durata ad Haiti accrescerebbe i costi per i contribuenti e il carico militare, già pesante in Irak ed Afghanistan … e nelle campagne per Yemen e Pakistan di recente preannunciate da Obama.
– Alle difficoltà ad adempiere ai vari impegni USA di politica estera (MO, Iran …) rischia di aggiungersi quello di “nation building” ad Haiti … Negli ultimi anni gli USA hanno cercato di demandare (con successo) a ONU e paesi vicini (Brasile) il ruolo di appoggio al governo haitiano.
Gli Usa aumentano i fondi di aiuto per Haiti
– La presenza USA ad Haiti sta suscitando le proteste di Brasile e Francia, perché il Pentagono si sta assumendo le operazioni di aiuto. I funzionari USA rispondono che il numero crescente di personale civile e militare americano consente di accelerare le operazioni di aiuto.
– Il Brasile fornisce 7000 soldati alla missione ONU ad Haiti.
By Bill Clinton
– As I write, we don’t know the extent of the damage wrought by the earthquake that rocked the coast of Haiti on Tuesday. But a tragic number of people have been killed or injured, and early estimates indicate that nearly 3 million people — almost a third of Haiti’s population– may need aid, making this one of the great humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas.
I met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday and with other key U.N. leaders to discuss Haiti’s immediate and long-term needs. Those who are still alive under the rubble must be found. The bodies of those who have died must be taken away. Power must be restored and roadways cleared. But what Haiti needs most is money for water, food, shelter and basic medical supplies to bring immediate relief to those who are homeless, hungry and hurt.
– The entire United Nations system is working hard to meet these needs and to regroup on the ground in Haiti after the collapse of our headquarters building and the loss of many of our colleagues. The U.S. government has pledged its full support to the recovery effort, as have the governments of many other nations. Nongovernmental organizations and ordinary citizens have offered to help. Even small contributions will make a big difference in the aftermath of such destruction.
– But after the emergency passes, the work of recovery and reconstruction will remain. Since Hillary and I first traveled to Haiti in December 1975, I have been captivated by that country’s promise and peril and by the persistence of hope among its people even in the face of abuse, neglect and poverty. Already, the Haitian government and citizens, the Haitian Diaspora, neighboring countries and allies, NGOs and international groups were committed to a plan for long-term development. These efforts will need to be amended because of Tuesday’s disaster, but they cannot be abandoned.
– As president I worked to end a violent military dictatorship in Haiti and to restore Haiti’s elected president to office.
– Last June, I accepted the role of U.N. special envoy for Haiti to help implement Haiti’s long-term development plan by increasing foreign government assistance and private investment and by coordinating and increasing the contributions of nongovernmental groups involving more members of the Haitian Diaspora. This work helps create more jobs, better education, better health care, less deforestation and more clean energy for a nation in desperate need.
We made a good beginning, and before the earthquake I believed that Haiti was closer than ever to securing a bright future.
– Despite this tragedy, I still believe that Haiti can succeed.
– First we must care for the injured, take care of the dead, and sustain those who are homeless, jobless and hungry. As we clear the rubble, we will create better tomorrows by building Haiti back better: with stronger buildings, better schools and health care; with more manufacturing and less deforestation; with more sustainable agriculture and clean energy.
Establishing this foundation for a better Haitian future will require assistance from governments, businesses and private citizens. The people of Haiti deserve our support. Those eager to help can donate through the U.N. effort, my own foundation or by text message (text "HAITI" to 20222 to donate $10 to U.N. relief efforts).
In the coming days, stories of loss and the triumph of the human spirit will be told. They will call us to help — not just to restore Haiti but to assist it in becoming the strong, secure nation its people have always desired and deserved.
The writer was the 42nd president of the United States and is the U.N. special envoy for Haiti.
By JOEL MILLMAN
– Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano extended temporary amnesty to Haitians who were illegally inside the U.S. before Tuesday’s earthquake, but warned that the Coast Guard would turn back any new refugees fleeing the devastation.
The so-called temporary protected status, or TPS, doesn’t apply to any Haitians who may try now to get into the U.S. If refugees take to the sea—the normal reaction to turmoil throughout Haiti’s recent history—officials in the U.S. and other countries will have to grapple with how to deal with a new wave of immigrants, most of whom will arrive without visas.
Ms. Napolitano warned that no new arrivals would get amnesty and the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities would move quickly to stop new migrants. "People should not leave Haiti with the false belief that they will be entitled to TPS in the United States," she said. She also said, "We are seeing no signs of any sort of migration of that nature at this point."
– TPS has been offered to victims of natural disasters before, particularly to refugees from El Salvador in 2001, as well as from Nicaragua, Honduras, Somalia and Sudan. But until Friday, TPS had never been granted to Haitian refugees, despite calls for relief following hurricanes and civil strife, mainly because successive White House administrations have feared it would trigger a stampede of refugees seeking haven in the U.S.
– Ms. Napolitano estimated there are 100,000-200,000 Haitians in the U.S. who could benefit from Friday’s TPS declaration, which allows illegal immigrants who were in the country before Tuesday to stay and work for 18 months.
Ms. Napolitano, speaking to reporters in a conference call Friday evening, said authorizing Haitians to legally work could speed recovery by generating more funds that could be wired back to devastated families.
"The statute was written to deal with exactly this type of a situation," Ms. Napolitano said of the law extending temporary amnesty. "It’s an act of compassion among other things," she said.
Ms. Napolitano said the decision was made in consultation with the White House and the State Department.
– Following the earthquake, Democrats and Republicans from Florida’s congressional delegation had joined immigration activists calling for the White House to grant TPS.
"It’s a good day!" said Cheryl Little, executive director of Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, a Haitian activist group, after Ms. Napolitano’s announcement.
– Ms. Little said the tens of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. who now will be eligible to work will be able to remit money back to Haiti, which she said should "discourage some Haitians from risking their lives at sea."
– Most of the two million Haitians living abroad reside in the U.S., Canada, France or the Dominican Republic.
– Canada, with some 150,000 Haitian-born residents, says it is working to fast-track Haitians seeking refuge. On Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney were discussing ways to ease refugee rules to allow more Haitians into Canada.
– Like the U.S., France and the Dominican Republic have suspended expelling illegal immigrants from Haiti. The Haitian community in France numbers about 50,000 to 80,000, French officials estimate.
– That doesn’t include Haitians living in the Caribbean departments—Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Martin and French Guiana—which are considered part of France proper. Suspending deportation may encourage more Haitians to relocate to these places, particularly Guiana, where an estimated 70,000 Haitians have arrived in the past decade, mostly through neighboring Suriname.
– The Bahamas is bracing for an influx of Haitian refugees on the island of Inagua, the part of the archipelago that lies closest to Haiti. On Thursday, immigration officials rushed tents, medical supplies and policemen to Inagua and beefed up personnel at detention centers. Officials had been slated to repatriate 72 Haitians on Wednesday, but those deportations have been suspended until regular air service resumes.
JANUARY 16, 2010, 2:10 P.M. ET
By JAY SOLOMON and YOCHI J. DREAZEN in Washington and PETER SPIEGEL in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
The Obama administration says it doesn’t seek a return of a long-term American presence in Haiti, the poor Caribbean nation the U.S. colonized from 1914 to 1934. [vedi doc. salvato in USA/pol. estera; http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/ushaiti0114.pdf]
– But as the nation’s death toll and governance challenges mount in the wake of Tuesday’s earthquake, many Latin America specialists and leaders said the lone superpower across the sea will have little choice but to play an extended administrative role in Port-au-Prince.
– Already, U.S. naval and air power are proving the only tools capable of bringing order to a decimated Haitian capital in a country long known for vigilantism and political disorder. Much of the Haitian government’s infrastructure is destroyed and many of its leaders are missing.
– An extended U.S. mission in Haiti would tax U.S. coffers and military capabilities already stretched by the Pentagon’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Obama has also committed the U.S. in recent weeks to ambitious new stabilization campaigns for Yemen and Pakistan in a bid to curb mounting al Qaeda terrorism threats.
– Any nation-building role in Haiti, said foreign policy analysts, risks crowding out an Obama administration foreign-policy agenda already showing signs of stalling in areas like Middle East peace-building and nuclear nonproliferation. It could also challenge Mr. Obama’s hopes to remain focused on domestic issues and the rehabilitation of the precarious American economic recovery.
– In recent years, successive U.S. administrations have sought to strengthen Haiti’s government by carving out a greater support role for the United Nations and Haiti’s neighbors. U.S. officials commend Brazil, for example, for leading a peacekeeping mission largely seen as successful.
– "The U.S. has little choice but to be heavily involved in Haiti for the long haul," said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. "The sheer gravity of the emergency demands such attention. The traditional, intermittent approach to the country is no longer viable."
– On Friday, marked a sort of beginning of that engagement. U.S. air and naval assets began arriving in Haiti in a large scale for the first time since Tuesday night’s 7.0 temblor.
American Air Force personnel sought to restore order to Port-au-Prince’s international airport, which had been rendered almost useless by the earthquake. On Thursday, Haitian and United Nations authorities were forced to turn away some aid flights when the large influx of overseas aircraft overwhelmed the facility’s small tarmac.
By daybreak Friday, a 115-person Air Force team, which flew in five C-17 cargo planes of communications and air-traffic management equipment overnight, had undone most of the logjam with a hodgepodge group of fewer than a dozen planes still lined up along the airport’s concourse.
– In a sign of how closely Mr. Obama intends to monitor the relief effort, Denis McDonough, a deputy national security adviser and the president’s longest-serving foreign-policy aide, arrived in Port-au-Prince Friday morning on the third of the Air Force team’s five C-17 cargo planes accompanied by a senior officer on the staff of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
– Meantime, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson also took up position off Haiti’s coast. More than 3,000 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Infantry Division will be on the ground in Haiti this weekend, and the USS Bataan, an amphibious ship carrying 2,200 Marines, is to arrive off the coast of Haiti next week alongside the USNS Comfort, the military’s largest medical ship.
U.S. military leaders, confronting charges the Pentagon was slow in responding to the earthquake, noted that the destruction to Haiti’s communications networks and civil infrastructure made it impossible to bring aid sooner.
"Speed is of the essence in a crisis like this, but with the airport and the harbor so badly damaged there are clear limits to the amount of supplies that can be brought in any one time," Capt. Bruce Lindsey, the Vinson’s commanding officer, said in an interview..
The U.S. State Department said the arrival of supplies marked an acceleration of a relief operation that to date focused largely on extracting Haitians from collapsed homes and finding and repatriating American citizens.
– Officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development said they’re preparing to distribute 600,000 daily food ration packets and 100,000 10-liter water containers. USAid has also mobilized $48 million in broader food assistance for Haiti.
Senior U.S. officials said Washington is also beginning to map out a reconstruction plan for Haiti.
Many said Port-Au-Prince would need a near total makeover given the extent of the damage to its critical infrastructure.
The State Department’s point person on Haiti, Cheryl Mills, stressed Washington wasn’t drafting plans for a U.S. interim administrator. She also said the administration wasn’t planning to maintain a long-term U.S. military presence there.
U.S. embassy staff in Port-Au-Prince have been holding regular strategy meetings with Haiti’s president and top leaders, Ms. Mills said. And Mr. Obama spoke with his Haitian counterpart, President Réne Préval Friday.
Washington and international donors "are not looking in any way to be anything other than a partner to Haiti and ensure Haiti’s long-term sustainability," Ms. Mills said. "We cannot do that by taking over. We have no intentions of doing so."Still, the inevitable American presence is bound to resound in a region that had given relatively shrift by Washington since the terror attacks of 9/11."The energetic response from the U.S. underscores the reality that people are going to watch closely how the U.S. responds to this crisis," said Peter DeShazo, a former permanent U.S. representative to the Organization of American States.
"The response has meaning as far as the perception of the Obama administration’s concern and strategy for the Americas."
– The Haiti crisis comes amid a political flux in the Caribbean, fueled by the decling health of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and the economic problems faced by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.
Already, concerns are mounting that Haiti’s law and order could break down as the country’s police force has been decimated. There is also a sense that only American troops could provide the logistical support needed to rebuild Haiti’s roads, government offices and dams.
"I would be inclined to think that the size of the commitment that the Obama administration has promised, combined with the enormous outpouring of support, could be a game-changer in the longer term picture," said Brian Dean Curran, who was U.S. ambassador to Haiti from 2000 to 2003.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration expects U.S. relief aid to Haiti to far exceed its promise of $100 million, as the White House accelerates the humanitarian assistance and deploys thousands of new American troops to the Caribbean country.
– The U.S. presence in Haiti already is stirring complaints from countries like Brazil and France that the Pentagon is taking over the earthquake-relief operation.
o But numerous reports of rioting and looting over the weekend have hastened calls from some local leaders for a more expansive U.S. peacekeeping role.
– Senior U.S. officials Sunday played down prospects of a large American security role in Haiti, and stressed that all U.S. actions in Haiti were being closely coordinated with the Port-au-Prince government, the United Nations and other donor countries.
– "We are here on a humanitarian mission" and it’s believed that the U.S. and U.N. have "exactly what they need to ensure this is done in the most secure fashion," Denis McDonough, deputy National Security Council adviser, said Sunday. "We do feel that we have the resources to allow this to continue to move forward."
– Mr. McDonough specifically cited the 7,000 Brazilian forces that make the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti. He also said a growing number of Haitian police officers were returning to their jobs following the Tuesday evening earthquake.
– Mr. McDonough said he understood why some countries were emotional about their roles in the humanitarian operations as everyone was "directed at improving the process." Still, he said: "One thing none of us will apologize for is the hard work to relieve the suffering of the Haitian people."
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Haitian President Rene Preval in Port-au-Prince and announced the two countries would release a communiqué formally outlining how humanitarian and security operations would be coordinated.
– U.S. officials have suggested that Haiti’s parliament should passage a resolution giving Mr. Preval emergency powers. That could pave the way for the Pentagon to play a broader security role, such enforcing curfews.
– The U.S. has 1,000 troops deployed in Haiti with another 3,600 stationed offshore on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Pentagon officials said Sunday that two more companies from the 82nd Airborne are scheduled to land soon in Haiti along with significantly more air, land and aquatic equipment and personnel.
Military planners also suggested the U.S. could end up deploying more troops to address the security situation. "We’re going to be here as long as needed," Lt. Gen. Ken Keen, deputy commander of the U.S.’s Southern Command, said on CNN Sunday. "Security is an essential component."
– U.S. officials said that growing numbers of American civilian and military personnel are allowing for a significant acceleration in relief operations. On Saturday, U.S. aid agencies helped deliver 50,000 emergency food packets to Haiti as part of an initial effort to distribute $48 million in food aid. Roughly 250,000 liters of water have also been distributed through 52 relief centers in recent days.
– American aid directors said the securing of Port-au-Prince’s international airport has been fundamental to improving the distribution of food and water. Around 63 flights are landing at the Haitian airfield that was initially made inoperable by the 7.0 magnitude temblor. The airport usually receives just three flight arrivals per day, said these officials.
"It gets better every day as we refine the process, said Col. Buck Elton, whose Special Operations Command in Haiti is helping to run the airport. "Overwhelming international support initially exceeded our capacity to get them in and out."
U.S. officials said they are continuing to push forward with search and rescue mission, despite fears that time is running out for finding survivors. Haitians said they fear there could be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead, an estimate the Obama administration isn’t challenging. So far, international organizations have reported rescuing 61 people from the rubble.
– The Obama administration and the U.N. are already beginning to look forward to a longer-term rehabilitation of Haiti, once the initial crisis-phase ends. On Saturday, President Barack Obama named former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to oversee a fund aimed and channeling American donations to Haiti.
Mr. Clinton also serves as the U.N.’s special representative to Haiti, and on Sunday he said he will travel to Haiti on Monday to deliver emergency supplies and meet with President Preval, other members of the government and international community, and with personnel and volunteers.
On Sunday, Mr. Clinton said he hoped the international community could work together to improve conditions in Haiti beyond what they were before the earthquake struck.
"If they could succeed where they have failed for 200 years, that would change our idea of what is possible not just here but in Africa and East Asia and everywhere else," Mr. Clinton said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." "We know we’ve made mistakes in the past. We want to make changes."