The Haiti Super Thread- Merged

[Yrys]

Haitian mom gives birth in Jacmel, names newborn after Canadian helpers

By The Canadian Press

JACMEL, Haiti - A baby girl has been born in Haiti, and her name
was born in Canada.

Monique-Lucie Marie, who weighs about six pounds, was delivered
today at a Canadian military hospital.  She is the first baby to be
delivered there, although others have been born at the Canadian
clinic a two-hour drive away in the hard-hit town of Leogane.

The Canadian military and volunteers have been handling much of
the medical work for some communities in southern Haiti, most
notably Jacmel, where the Disaster Assistance Response Team is
deployed.

But this one had a special ending: a pair of Canadian medical
technicians, Cpl. Monique Bartlett and Master Cpl. Lucie Rouleau,
helped deliver the baby. They also contributed Monique-Lucie's first
name, which was chosen by a grateful mother.

 

[leroi]

Yrys, glad you shared that.

What a beautiful name it is too and sounds like pretty music.

Maybe one day this little child will become a Governor General of Canada!

Kudos to the CF medical technicians in particular and the CF in general--what an honour!

 

[PMedMoe]

I know Lucie Rouleau, she's from my unit.  I'm sure she'll have good stories to tell (like this one).  Hopefully, they outweigh the bad ones.

 

[ballz]

Canada does it "just right" ;D

http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23352085

The underlined stuff is my emphasis.

Canadians approve of Haiti response: poll

A clear majority of Canadians believe the government's response to Haiti's deadly earthquake was "just right," a poll done exclusively for CBC News indicates.

The poll, conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26, asked respondents: "As you may have heard, Haiti has recently suffered from a devastating earthquake. From what you know, do you believe that the government of Canada's response to this disaster has been too slow, too fast, or just right?"

Sixty-six per cent of respondents answered "just right," while 16 per cent felt the government's response was" too slow" and seven per cent, "too fast." Ten per cent were undecided.

The poll was begun eight days after the Jan. 12 quake and conducted for CBC TV's current affairs program Power and Politics with Evan Solomon.

"Clearly, there is both broad sympathy with the human devastation and a strong sense that the Canadian government's response has been both swift and generous," EKOS president Frank Graves told CBC News.

But Canadians who identified themselves as Conservatives were more likely to favour the government's response than their Liberal or NDP counterparts.

More than 78 per cent of Conservative-leaning respondents answered "just right," compared with 66 per cent of Liberal respondents and 57 per cent of New Democrats.

Geographically, support for the government response was highest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, at 73 per cent. It was lowest in British Columbia, at 62 per cent.

Slim majority approve resources

Asked about the resources given to the relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, a slim majority, or 51 per cent, of respondents felt it was "just the right amount." Eleven per cent felt the government should have given less, while 18 per cent felt it should have given more. A fifth of Canadians said they didn't know.

The poll suggests support is lukewarm at best for Canada's actions in the area of immigration. On Jan. 16, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Canada would speed up immigration requests from Haitians with family in Canada and allow Haitians in Canada temporarily to extend their stays.

Asked if the government should "temporarily loosen its rules to allow more Haitians to settle permanently here," 16 per cent strongly agreed it should, while 21 per cent answered it should certainly not. Of the remaining 63 per cent of respondents, almost half said they somewhat agreed, 22 per cent said they somewhat disagreed and just under 10 per cent said they didn't know.

Finally, fully 63 per cent of poll respondents agreed the government should focus on long-term assistance to rebuild the Caribbean country, compared with 37 per cent who would prefer short-term humanitarian assistance be the focus.

Overall, "what is clear is that there is a strong sense that the government has done well in the initial stages of the Haiti crisis," Graves said.

EKOS surveyed 3,206 Canadians over the age 18 from across the country. The margin of error for this survey was plus or minus 1.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

 

[Larkvall]

7 percent of the respondents said the government response was 'too fast'?

???

 

[ballz]

Yeah about that... I just added that figure onto the 66% that said it was "just right" and looked at it as a 73% approval rate ;D

 

[leroi]

A  sweet video add-on to Yrys post above, re: Haitian baby named after Canadians

Canadian Press: January 29, 2010

More on: DART Medical Platoon in Haiti

 

[gwp]

Reporters view of Navy support

CBC Reporters Blog
The Final Dispatch
Craig Paisley — Jan 27, 2010 at 3:01 pm
The highlight of my 22 year journalism career has just come to an end.
Just moments after the last crew members who had gone ashore were safely back on board last night, HMCS Athabaskan sped away from the coast of Haiti.
For the past week, the ship has been 'on station' about a kilometer off shore near the town of Leogane. It left only to re-supply its food and fuel stocks in Kingston Jamaica. That will take about 6 hours. Then it will be full steam ahead, about 24 knots, back to the Haitian coast to continue a job that may never end.
Jamaica is where I left the ship, and an assignment I have been extremely fortunate to experience.
The mission began January 14 when the ship and 276 crew members left Halifax in a flurry. It was just two days after the earthquake that devastated Haiti initiated a call to the world for help. The people posted to the Athabaskan and HMCS Halifax were among Canada's first responders.
The people serving on the Athabaskan were not sure what they would be doing, what they would see, how they would react or how they would feel. They were all warned it could be a life-altering experience. The toll -- physically and mentally -- could be extreme.
Crew members -- some on their very first mission, others who'd been deployed after Hurricane Katrina or the crash of Swiss Air flight 111 -- were eager to step up. The fact they only had a few hours to pack their bags, load the ship and say good bye to loved ones didn't change the fact they knew they had a job to do.
I was aboard the Athabascan for 13 days.
The CBC only allowed me to go in the first place, if I DID NOT LEAVE the ship. Haiti is considered a country of risk, and I didn't have the necessary hazard training. At first I was frustrated, even angry as I watched colleagues from another media outlet join the troops going ashore.
Time to improvise.
I had packed several mini 'Flip' cameras that I sent with the sailors. What they came back with every day were images and sounds that enabled us to tell the stories we have. It was raw and it was real. An honest accounting through their eyes. From amputations without any medication to numb the pain and suffering, to rebuilding basic shelters at an orphanage where the children now play in the rubble that was their home. It was an unorthodox way to construct a news story. I hope it worked, and showed people at home what these very dedicated people are doing.
I'll be honest. I made new friends aboard the ship I will undoubtedly stay in touch with when they do come home. It did not impact the journalism I was doing. They documented the stories. I just delivered them home. That was a daunting task in itself: gathering tape, editing and feeding the stories from a moving ship. It was only made possible by Les (thank you sir, so much, again).
Now on the winding mountainous road that takes us from Kingston to Montego Bay where we will catch a flight home, I feel sad but honoured. Sad to leave the 'mission'. Honoured to have met so many dedicated people, who will step on to the beach again tomorrow and continue to help in whatever way they can.

Stay safe. Stand proud.
As the saying goes on board the Athabaskan's loudspeakers, "That is all. We fight as one."

 

[vonGarvin]

Re-read the question.  I would offer it up as a false tricotomy (if such a thing exists).  Too slow?  Too fast?  Just right?  Talk about extremes.
In polls I've previously completed, I was offered a scale of 10, from 1 meaning "Absolutely not", 10 meaning "Absolutely" and 5 "in the middle".  In the manner in which the question was posed, 70% of the "sway" was removed, leaving only 1, 5 and 10.
Perhaps a more appropriate list of "possible responses" could have been posed.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Do they stay or do they go? Ottawa needs to decide on Van Doos future in Haiti
Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press, 2 Feb 10

The Conservative government, which has enjoyed positive reviews for its handling of the Haiti disaster, needs to make tough decisions soon about whether to keep troops in the earthquake-ravaged country, say defence experts.

About 1,000 soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, Que., that were sent to Haiti are on a tight schedule.

The same unit, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment, goes to Afghanistan in December and is slotted for combat training in Fort Irwin, Calif., this April.

That means the so-called Van Doos will have to be out of Haiti by mid-to-late March, just when defence analysts say security in the disaster zone may need to be increased.

"I just don't know how you maintain it, but by the same token I don't know how you pull out given that it's such a continuing human crisis," said Robert Huebert, of the University of Calgary ....

 

[leroi]

Canadian Forces making a difference and providing HOPE as they re-build an orphanage at Leogane:


Haitian Orphanage Finds Grace In A Time Of Despair

National Public Radio: February 2, 2010
(Reproduced in accordance with the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act.)

In earthquake-decimated Haiti, huge piles of rubble remain virtually untouched.  But a surprising sight is tucked away in the rural plains just outside of the coastal city of Leogane: Workers are busy constructing two small, wood-frame buildings.  The Canadian military and a U.S.-based aid group are working together to rebuild an orphanage.  It is one of the first signs of rebuilding in an area that was reduced almost entirely to rubble in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

On a recent day, Pastor Jean Claude Charlier stands where the Christian School and Orphanage of Leogane crumbled on top of him.  Charlier says he was in his office when the ground started to tremble, so he ran for the stairs and tried to grab a girl in the hallway. The bricks fell on top of him, trapping him and the girl. Charlier says he was freed that night; the girl wasn't dug out until the next night.  But both suffered only minor injuries.  The rest of the children, he says, were at recess, outside playing when the quake struck. "All the kids survived, grace of God," Charlier says through a translator.  Pat Bradley, president and founder of the St. Louis based-group International Crisis Aid, says they were among the first aid workers to arrive in Leogane, about 20 miles west of Port-au-Prince.  His group arrived five days after the quake and found the area was about 95 percent in ruins, he says.  They worked their way to an outlying area and discovered what little was left of the orphanage.

"The day that we got here, we checked the storage.  They had about a two-day supply of food left for 100 children.  Kids are sleeping all over the grounds, no shelter, just out in the open.  Everything was completely destroyed, and we made a decision on the spot that this is a project we're going to take on and basically completely tear it down and rebuild it,"  Bradley says.

He says a nearby Canadian military unit asked what they could do to help. The rebuilding operation soon began. "The Canadian army is involved with us.  The [Canadian] navy is sending guys in every day to build structures.  Our goal was to get, within the next two weeks, to build enough structures, shelters so we can have the kids sleeping in a building," Bradley says.

The temporary bunkhouses will each sleep 16 to 18 children; they are scheduled to be completed long before the rainy season starts in the spring. The first two should be completed by Thursday. John Dunn, a Canadian sailor from the HMCS Athabaskan, calls the project "awesome." "Out of all the things you could do, this is probably one of the most fulfilling because it's for the kids," Dunn says. Another sailor, Andrea Rouhoniemi,  says that because of the grim duties they have been assigned to since the quake, there is a bit of competition on the ship for this work.

The Canadians also brought in heavy equipment to remove the rubble of the old orphanage, where Bradley says International Crisis Aid will build a new one. "When we rebuild, we plan to double the size because we know there will be a lot more orphans, because Leogane was totally destroyed," he says.

Already, the orphanage has taken in 10 or 15 more children whose parents were either killed in the earthquake or can no longer care for them.  With so much destruction all around and despair, with many people not knowing where to even begin to clean up, Bradley says this rebuilding project is serving as a small sign of hope.  Memgo guy Marie Michelle, the 13-year-old girl trapped for 24 hours after the quake, says it's a beautiful thing that will help the children, another blessing from God, like her own rescue. Charlier, the pastor, says he knew God would send him refuge after the quake, but he didn't think it would come so soon.

With faith and by the grace of God, he says, not only will his orphanage will be rebuilt,  but all of Leogane,  and all of Haiti,  too.

 

[leroi]

A cute slide show courtesy of the Chronicle Herald: Happy Haitian children singing, "I love you ... yes,  I love you" as  photos of hard-working Canadian Navy personnel (and others) display in the background.

Photo credits: Tim Krochak

Singing Haitian Children Greet Sailors

 

[OldSolduer]

Re-read the question.  I would offer it up as a false tricotomy (if such a thing exists).  Too slow?  Too fast?  Just right?  Talk about extremes.
In polls I've previously completed, I was offered a scale of 10, from 1 meaning "Absolutely not", 10 meaning "Absolutely" and 5 "in the middle".  In the manner in which the question was posed, 70% of the "sway" was removed, leaving only 1, 5 and 10.
Perhaps a more appropriate list of "possible responses" could have been posed.

It sounds like a "goldilocks and the three bears question".

Is your porridge too hot? too cold? Just right?

 

[leroi]

Recently a military commentator was quoted as saying civilian Canadians are having a "love affair" (I hope he meant platonically ;D) with the CF; that made me    (can't remember where I read it)  but with accounts like the one below coupled by your tenacity and integrity in Afghanistan (even sometimes without feeling the full weight of public/political support at your back)  is it any wonder that Canadians love you ...?


Canadian sailors get to work on Haiti's ruined shores

Globe & Mail: February 10, 2010
Jessica Leeder

(Here reproduced in accordance with the Fair Dealing provision, 29, of the Copyright Act.)

It was in a schoolyard bordered by fallen buildings and beneath a decapitated figure of Jesus Christ – its right arm still attached, palm upturned to the heavens – that Leading Seaman Kathleen Jollimore met her hardest task yet. It wasn't the digging, although excavating a pit in Haiti's hard earth was a sweaty job.  The difficult part was filling it with the half-burned fingers, toes and other bones – castoffs from the barrage of amputations forced by the earthquake.  “They prepared us well for the absolute most devastating thing,” said LS Jollimore, one of 500 sailors attached to Operation Hestia, Canada's emergency aid operation in southern Haiti.  “It still gets you,” she said, eyes welling. “It kind of takes your breath away and gives you a jolt because it's not something you see every day – or that you want to see.”

Over the past three weeks, the sailors onboard the two Canadian warships off Haiti's southern peninsula – HMCS Athabaskan, a destroyer, and HMCS Halifax, a frigate – have taken on an unprecedented land-based mission and witnessed things they could never have imagined.  There was the boy who survived 23 days buried in the ruins (his family passed him food and water through a gap in the rubble) and the woman who came in with a cooked hand – she had been using a gas stove when her roof caved in, sandwiching her hand between ceiling and flame and charring it to the bone.  And there's the endless stream of orphan children who tug at the heart.  “The little guy today, he just desperately wanted to be loved. He's so sad,” said LS Jollimore, describing a despondent toddler named Nixon whom she had kept tightly enfolded in her arms for a good part of the afternoon.  “I was overcome by a need to love this little guy and take him home with me and get him all cleaned up and make him smile. ” Aid and money, she added, go only so far.

In the midst of Haiti's chaos, Canada's sailors have been fanning out daily across the seaside town of Jacmel and the even-harder-hit city of Léogâne, hammers and hardhats in hand, with one guiding principle: Be flexible.  That approach has helped to turn them into unsung heroes on the ground – a place most seamen aren't accustomed to spending their days. Their goal is to do whatever they can to help aid groups fulfill their mandate, which has involved everything from chopping down trees to rebuilding orphanages, providing security for medical teams and repairing faulty machinery.  Athabaskan's flight crew, which operates a Sea King helicopter they call Big Dawg, even spent two days hauling components of a portable hospital over a mountaintop.

The sailors' eagerness, even after three weeks of long days, is palpable and contagious.  Most nights they are still grinning and brimming with energy when they return to the ship from a long day's work. “Time and time again, people come back and say to me,  ‘This was the best day of my life. It has been the pinnacle of my career,'” said Commander Peter Crain, the captain of Athabaskan.

Captain Art McDonald is the senior officer overseeing the naval aspect of Canada's humanitarian mission in Haiti.  After 20 years at sea, the Haiti mission has been a highlight for him, too, largely because sailors have been able to work in such close contact with the people their mission aims to support.  “It's the most rewarding thing that we could be involved in,” Capt. McDonald said. “Everyone is moving faster than they ever thought they could.”

As the situation stabilizes nearly a month after the earthquake, the mission is shifting from emergency response to long-term support.  While it's unclear how long the navy will remain a part of the Canadian operation in Haiti, senior naval officers are adamant that their people – and their multiskilled, multitasking nature – can continue to play a vital role from their offshore base. “This is a very non-traditional mission, for sure,” Cdr. Crain said.  “But we bring some skill sets that are quite useful for a mission like this.” As for the sailors, they're just happy to help.

“Everybody here is utterly proud to be here,” LS Jollimore said.

“Everybody here is willing to do it for as long as we need to do it.”

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Debating if I should also post this in the Engineer Sub-forum or not......

From the CEFCOM Fact Sheet Operation HESTIA and Joint Task Force Haiti

DART
•Engineers
◦1 ROWPU located on a river bank and producing potable water
◦1 ROWPU damaged by silt and salt from processing harbour water —repairs under way; waiting for parts
◦Demolition of unstable buildings under way with permission from Mayor of Jacmel
◦With HMCS Halifax: Fabrication of latrine huts for tent cities and orphanages continues
◦Route 204: 18.6 km at the south end open to two lanes of traffic
◦Providing sanitation support to the U.N. tent city

3 R22eR Battalion Group
•Engineers — 5e Régiment de genie
◦Two ROWPUs producing potable water
◦Supplying Role 2 hospital by water truck
◦Clearing streets in Léogâne with local workers employed by U.N. cash-for-work program
◦Clearing debris at Hôpital Help
◦Building grey-water system for Role 2 hospital
◦Rebuilding irrigation system for U.N. agriculture project on the Momance River
◦Latrine construction continues at tent cities and orphanages

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Angelina Jolie visits CF members at Jacmel airfield

Group photo with the military personnel at Jacmel Airfield

Thursday, February 11, 2010
Jacmel, Haiti - On February 10, 2010, movie star Angelina Jolie visited Jacmel, Haiti where members of the Canadian Forces have been keeping the country’s second air entry point open, thereby ensuring the continued operation of the air bridge between Canada, Jamaica and Haiti.

Angelina Jolie travelled to Haiti in support of the humanitarian efforts that have been made by the international community since the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Early in the morning, the star set down at Jacmel airfield aboard a United Nations aircraft.

Maj Skirrow and Maj Cyr, welcoming Angelina Jolie at Jacmel Airfield, Haiti.

Welcomed by Major Kevin Skirrow, commander of the Theatre Air Support Element from 8 Air Maintenance Squadron, 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., and Major Eric Cyr, commander of the 8 Wing Mission Support Squadron, Ms. Jolie was unsparing in her praise for the Canadian troops based at Jacmel Airfield.

“I think that all the efforts being made to deliver aid to Haiti are amazing. It’s beautiful to see the enthusiasm of the people who are here in support of the Haitian people. The cooperation among all the nations who’ve come here is wonderful and heart-warming,” said Ms. Jolie.

As for Maj Skirrow, he couldn’t contain his enthusiasm at welcoming a star of this magnitude at Jacmel Airfield.

“Ms Jolie’s presence here draws the world’s attention to the cause we’re working for in Haiti. I would like to thank her for coming here in support of the Haitian people. Just like us, she’s contributing to the humanitarian effort. Our mission in Jacmel is to maintain the airfield’s services in support of the air bridge, which allows for humanitarian aid to be brought into the country,” said Maj Skirrow.

Mme. Tiffany Keenan, NGO coordinator working with the Canadian troups at Jacmel airport, Maj Skirrow and Angelina Jolie.

“It makes me proud when I see that, military personnel or stars, we’re all making an effort. I was also very happy to give Tiffany Keenan, coordinator for the non-governmental organizations working with us at Jacmel airfield, the opportunity to show Ms. Jolie her projects.”

As for Ms. Keenan, she was very pleased with her meeting with the star.

“Angelina Jolie was highly supportive of our efforts in Haiti. She has a good understanding of the situation and how the different countries can help on the ground,” she said.

For the troops based at Jacmel airfield, the star’s visit was a very pleasant experience.

“Madame Jolie seemed like a very human, very warm person. Even with her busy schedule, she took time to pay tribute to the troops and went out of her way to talk with them and have photos taken. Her visit was highly appreciated,” said Maj Cyr.

The troops will have a very warm memory of Angelina Jolie’s visit. The most important aspect of the visit remains, however, her contribution to the humanitarian cause in Haiti, a cause in which the Canadian Forces are playing a role.



Article by Captain Alexandre Muñoz, PAO, 3 Wing, Bagotville

 

[vonGarvin]

I wonder if she tried to adopt any of the CF members there at Jacmel?


(I know that she's the UN ambassador for "something", but...)

 

[Nfld Sapper]

From the CEFCOM Fact Sheet Operation HESTIA and Joint Task Force Haiti

DART
•Engineers
◦1 ROWPU located on a river bank and producing potable water
◦1 ROWPU damaged by silt and salt from processing harbour water; awaiting parts
◦Street clearance and demolition of unstable buildings under way in co-operation with Jacmel civic authorities
◦With HMCS Halifax: Latrine excavation and construction continues at tent cities and orphanages
◦Route 204: 28.6 km clear of rubble

HMCS Halifax
◦(with DART Engineers)
■Digging latrines at orphanages
■Clearing rubble

3 R22eR Battalion Group
•Engineers — 5e Régiment de genie
◦2 ROWPUs producing potable water
◦Supplying water to Role 2 hospital and Médecins sans frontières
◦Clearing streets in Léogâne with local workers employed by U.N. cash-for-work program
◦With HMCS Athabaskan: Latrine excavation and construction continues at tent cities and orphanages

 

[The Bread Guy]

I wonder if she tried to adopt any of the CF members there at Jacmel?


(I know that she's the UN ambassador for "something", but...)

Apparently, UNHCR's Goodwill Ambassador, with her own UN web page.

Well done, folks on the ground, and those here at home helping them....

<tangent>.... but jargon-Watch:  "air entry point" vs "major airport"? I won't make any Mile High Club jokes </tangent>

 

[mover1]

I just flew from KAF to YTR with 2 x ROWPU units as cargo. I can only guess where they are headed from here