Few people are unaware of the earthquake to hit Haiti on Tuesday evening and information about the number of victims and difficulties in getting aid and assistance to Haiti in time in order to free those trapped under rubble, to give food and water and to give medical treatment is coming out by the minute. Many countries are making a valiant attempt to send crisis relief workers and assistance and remove their citizens from the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince or via a land route coming from The Dominican Republic. Large Haitian immigrant communities in Paris and France, as well in Quebec, Canada in the city of Montreal have created networks for the Haitian communities in those countries abroad to pass info to families and distribute information to local charities to help relieve some suffering for their families and communities in Haiti. Canada’s Governor General, the Queen’s representative for Canada is of Haitian origin and has made an emotional appeal for assistance to the Haitian people. While information is constantly being streamed in from Haiti, I encourage all to seek out their local charities and aid organizations for donations and try to keep any information coming through twitter and blogs, and avoid publishing any rumours if at all possible as a focus on aid and assistance is crucial. As well, for those blogging and writing on Haiti, I encourage all to keep the focus on the issues surrounding Haiti as much as possible in order to keep this often forgotten country on the front pages of world media and charities.
Here are some local charitable organizations to contact for aiding those in Haiti. Please find your local Red Cross or Red Crescent as well as World Vision, UNICEF and Oxfam. Some links for countries with Haitian immigrant communities are listed below. I encourage people to publish more in the commentary if possible:
France:
http://www.fondationdefrance.org/La-Fondation-de-France/Actualites/Solidarite-Haiti
UK:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/haiti-earthquake.html
USA:
http://www.haiti.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131&catid=69
http://www.wfp.org/stories/haiti-wfp-bring-food-devastating-quake
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2010/haiti-relief.html
Canada:
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=33900&tid=001.
