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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2016)
October 12, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 News Haitians Await Aid, Help Each Other Regain Some Normalcy By Ben Fox and David Mcfadden, Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — People throughout Haiti’s devastated south- west peninsula formed makeshit brigades Tues- day to clear debris and try to regain some sem- blance of their pre-hur- ricane lives as they grew increasingly angry about the delay in aid for re- mote communities more than a week ater the Cat- egory 4 storm hit. A community group that formed in the south- ern seaside community of Les Anglais began clearing tree limbs from streets and placing them into piles while others gathered scraps of wood to start rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. Carpenter James Nas- sau donned a white con- struction helmet as he rebuilt a neighbor’s wall with recycled wood, hop- “ about 750,000 people in southwest Haiti alone will need “life-saving as- sistance and protection” in the next three months. U.N. oicials said earlier that at least 1.4 million people across the region need assistance and that 2.1 million overall have been afected by the hur- ricane. Some 175,000 peo- ple remain in shelters. The National Civil Pro- tection headquarters in Port-au-Prince raised the oicial nationwide death toll to 372, which includ- ed at least 198 deaths in Grand-Anse. But local oicials have said the toll in Grand-Anse alone tops 500. In the western seaside village of Dame Marie, 300 patients with fester- ing wounds lay silently on beds at the main hos- pital waiting for med- icine a week ater the storm hit. Among the injured was Beauvoir Luckner, a cobbler and farmer who There’s no water, no antibi- otics. Everything is depleted. ... We hear Helicopters lying overhead, but we’re not get- ting anything ing to earn a little money to take care of 10 chil- dren, including those let behind by his brother, who died in the storm. “My brother let ive kids, and now I’ve got to take care of them,” he said. “Nobody has come to help.” The scene repeated it- self across small seaside and mountain villages dotting the peninsula, where people pointed out helicopters buzzing overhead but questioned why they haven’t re- ceived any help. Israel Banissa, a car- penter who lives near the tiny mountain town of Moron, said a Red Cross assessment team stopped outside his village to ask people questions but did not leave any supplies. “There’s no aid that’s come here,” he said as he sawed wood to help rebuild his home and dozens of others. “I don’t think they care about the people up here.” Some Haitians opted to travel to the capital of Port-au-Prince and stay with relatives until the situation slowly im- proved. The U.N. humanitar- ian agency in Geneva has made an emergency appeal for nearly $120 million in aid, saying walked 12 kilometers (seven miles) in three days ater a tree fell on his house, crushing his leg and killing his moth- er. The leg might have to be amputated, but all doctors can do is clean his wounds because the hospital has run out of everything, including painkillers. “There’s no water, no antibiotics,” Dr. Herby Jean told The Associated Press. “Everything is de- pleted. ... We hear heli- copters lying overhead, but we’re not getting any- thing.” Meanwhile, Luckner lay on a mattress with no sheets, a bandage wrapped around his let leg. “It took a lot of misery to get here and now that I’m here, there’s still mis- ery,” he said. Concern also was grow- ing about an increase in cases of cholera, which has already killed rough- ly 10,000 people and sick- ened more than 800,000 since 2010. Dr. Dominique Legros, a top cholera oicial at the World Health Organi- zation, said Tuesday that the agency had decided to send 1 million doses of cholera vaccine to Haiti “as soon as possible” and said safe drinking water and treatment of those afected by the disease are top priorities. U.N. Secretary-Gener- al Ban Ki-moon told re- porters in New York on Monday that a “massive response” was needed to help Haiti emerge from the storm’s atermath. He noted that crops and food reserves were de- stroyed and that at least 300 schools have been damaged. McFadden reported from Moron, Haiti. Asso- ciated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report from Geneva. AP PHOTO/REBECCA BLACKWELL U.N. has made an emergency appeal for nearly $120 million in aid for Hurricane Matthew recovery A sign in French announcing a music concert sits among salvaged clothes drying on the remains of a home destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 10, 2016. Nearly a week after the storm smashed into southwestern Haiti, some communities along the southern coast have yet to receive any assistance, leaving residents who have lost their homes and virtually all of their belongings struggling to ind shelter and potable water.