Haitian President Appeals For Tents
Posted January 26, 2010 10:08 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Desperate earthquake survivors in Haiti are struggling to snag new canvas tents provided by international aid agencies.
Tens of thousands of family-size tents have been shipped to the nation, but more are needed as violence has broken out over competition for temporary shelter.
The United Nations reports up to one million people need a roof over their heads and on Monday Haitian President Rene Preval issued an appeal for 200,000 more tents and gave aircraft carrying them landing priority at the Port-au-Prince airport.
And in a show of solidarity, Preval said he will live in a tent to be set up on the lawn of the National Palace, which suffered serious damage in the Jan. 12 earthquake.
Six sites have been singled out to place homeless survivors and engineers are working to clear the land and get people set up before the spring rains and summer hurricane season begins.
Five hundred people are currently living in tents on a soccer field in the capital, which is a settlement that is still without latrines or showers.
Officials from more than two dozen countries met in Montreal Monday to discuss long-term solutions for Haiti. Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive asked the international community to provide $3 billion for the reconstruction effort.
No firm plan emerged from the meeting, but Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said it would pave the way for a larger international donor conference in March where solid figures would be put on the table.
The International Monetary Fund plans to offer Haiti a $100 million, interest-free loan, but stopped short of offering immediate debt relief.
