Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the
tragic situation in Haiti, the humanitarian
disaster there in the wake of last week’s
earthquake, and the US led response to this
crisis. Last Tuesday, one of the largest
earthquakes recorded in the area hit about
15 miles from the city center of
Port-au-Prince. This massive quake brought
immediate destruction to Port-au-Prince and
surrounding areas, instantly crumbling
houses and buildings, destroying roads and
seaports, and cutting power and water lines.
Most tragically the earthquake has killed tens of thousands of Haitians, who at the time the quake struck, were simply going about their daily lives.
The Government of Haiti has indicated that more than 70,000 Haitians have been killed by the earthquake, while other officials fear that the death toll may be as high as 200,000 people. These heart-wrenching numbers do not even account for those injured, homeless, orphaned and without food, water, shelter or medicine.
And the losses extend beyond Haitians. The United States has lost a dedicated pubic servant named Victoria DeLong, who was serving as the cultural affairs officer at the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, several more Americans have been killed, and many more remain unaccounted for. The United Nations, no stranger to dangerous and difficult situations has suffered its single greatest loss of life in history. Over one hundred UN staffers and peacekeepers remain unaccounted for, and, the Special Representative for Haiti, Hedi Annabi, also lost his life.
On behalf of my colleagues in the United States Senate, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of all those who have lost their lives in Haiti, please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
This earthquake has been called a “disaster of epic proportions.” And when such a disaster strikes one of our neighbors, a country so close to many of us, America responds. I applaud President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah for their immediate, robust and coordinated efforts, which has truly been a “whole of government” response, utilizing the resources, skills and expertise of the State Department, USAID, the Defense Department and others to provide relief as quickly as possible.
We have deployed thousands of troops to Haiti, who are supporting operations at the Port-au-Prince airport and working to provide logistical support. The US has sent an aircraft carrier, with numerous helicopters to deliver aid to otherwise hard to reach places in and around Port-au-Prince, a hospital ship to provide life-saving medical care, and urban search and rescue teams and doctors to help rescue those trapped and treat those who are injured.
In addition to man-power, the United States had pledged money and supplies, including water, ready to eat meals, and medicine to help those in need. This response has demonstrated the generosity and spirit of the American people, especially when it comes to helping others in desperate time of need.
The American people have also responded to the call for aid, once again testifying to the generosity of the American spirit. Aid agencies and NGOs have reported an outpouring of support as Americans have donated money, clothing and supplies to hundreds of organizations operating in Haiti. These donations are absolutely critical at this time, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have joined together to assist the thousands of Americans who want help.
The international community has responded in kind as well. Over 27 international search and rescue teams with 1,500 rescuers are already on the ground, searching through rubble to find those who may have survived. Relief workers, doctors and supplies have arrived from China, Israel, Iceland, Brazil, France, and many other countries. The EU has pledged $604 million in aid.
Despite its own tragic losses, the United Nations has come to the rescue of the Haitian people. MINUSTAH [the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti] has responded heroically to this disaster, organizing supply convoys, conducting search and rescue missions and providing security.
On Saturday, the World Food Program fed 40,000 people, and within the next week or two, that number will increase to two million people. Private organizations are also doing heroic and valiant work, including the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Save the Children, Partners in Health and many, many more.
On the ground in Haiti, the Obama Administration and the international community are working as quickly as possible to distribute aid to those in need, and to help clear the jam of supplies arriving at the Port-au-Prince Airport.
It is critical that aid gets distributed beyond the immediate confines of the airport, because those who survived the quake are now trying to survive once again, without food, water, medicine and shelter. At the same time, we must work as quickly as possible to ensure that violence does not break-out, as people become desperate to survive.
The people of Haiti are our neighbors, and it is our duty to help them weather this storm. I strongly agree with Secretary Clinton who, during her trip to Haiti this past Saturday affirmed to the Haitian people that “we will be here today, tomorrow, and for the time head.”
Mr. President, I want to take a few moments to describe what I believe needs to happen in “the time ahead” that Secretary Clinton referred to.
But in order to do that, we must understand where Haiti was the day before the earthquake struck. Despite its location only a few hundred miles from the richest country in the history of the world, Haiti is desperately poor. It ranks as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line.
While recent years showed some positive trends in economic growth, the 2008 hurricanes devastated the country, causing widespread destruction and severely damaging the agriculture sector, upon which two-third of all Haitians depend. Remittances to Haiti represented more than twice the earnings from exports and accounted for a quarter of GDP. Haiti also has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world.
Clearly, Haiti had a lot of ground to cover before this earthquake struck, and rebuilding Haiti is not going to be an easy task. Many have debated why Haiti remains so poor, and what can be done to alleviate poverty, improve public health outcomes, and help Haiti develop in a sustainable and equitable way. This debate is all the more important and necessary as we move forward.
As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and as an American who knows and cares about Haiti and the Haitian people, I am committed to finding the best solutions to these vexing problems, and to working in close coordination with the Obama Administration, the United Nations, and our neighbors in the region, including Brazil, Mexico and others to rebuilding Haiti.
As we begin to transition from a rescue mission to a medium and long term recovery mission, we must think creatively, and allocate resources to the most effective and efficient methods for sustainable reconstruction and development. We must find ways to make Haitian agriculture better equipped to feed the people of Haiti and we must work to forgive Haitian debt.
In April of this past year, Haiti was added to the IMF and World Bank’s list of Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative, making them eligible for special assistance with debt relief, this is an auspicious start, one that we must build on. Public insecurity has long been a systemic problem, hampering economic growth. Therefore, it is critical that we work with the Haitian authorities, MINUSTAH and others to build and reform the institutions to bolster the rule of law in Haiti that will be necessary to lift Haitian’s out of poverty, rebuild the country and attract and maintain foreign direct investment to jump start the Haitian economy.
Throughout this process we must not get bogged down by old-formulas and hardened ways of doing business as usual. We must think outside of the box, marshal the resources and creativity of our friends in the region, and the Haitian people and devise a medium and long term strategy for this effort that can put Haitians on a track to real recovery.
To that end, Senator Lugar and I will be introducing legislation shortly that will help to speed Haiti’s recovery by instructing the Secretary of the Treasury to work with other nations to relieve Haiti of their outstanding international debt, including debt incurred through 2011. Additionally, our legislation will help to spur economic activity, which is an absolutely essential element in the recovery process, by promoting trade between the United States and Haiti.
The Haitian people have endured
immeasurable suffering in recent days and
years, but their spirit is indomitable. On
Sunday, countless ordinary Haitians came
together to observe Mass amid the bleak
ruins of Port-Au-Prince; their faith in each
other and their future may have been tested,
but it is far from broken. The people of
Haiti are determined to rebuild their
country. I stand committed to working with
them, the American people and the
international community, not just today, but
in the weeks, months and years ahead, to
ensure that our commitment to helping Haiti
recover is meaningful, sustainable, and
rises to the great challenge we face.