As food and medical supplies continue to arrive in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake ravaged the country, we are told that fears of a mass migration have yet to materialize. But authorities are, without a doubt, considering the possibility and have plans should there be an exodus via boat from Haiti. More important though is the safety of the small children and many orphans in Haiti. Here comes the rush...
Aid groups fear as many as one million children have been left without one or both parents. One million. That is in addition to the 380,000 children who already lost one or both
parents before the quake, according to Unicef. (Daily Mail)
It is now estimated that 200,000 or more may be dead. In Haiti, approximately 50 percent of the population is under the age of 18, and 38 percent is under 14 years. Caryl Stern, president of
the US fund for UNICEF, said, “It’s a reasonable expectation that about 50 percent of those
affected, if not more, are children.” (France24)
The term orphan doesn't necessarily mean the child has no parents. It can mean a child whose father has died and the mother had no means of caring for herself and her child/children. This presents even more problems.
In a statement quoted by The Times,
JCICS said: 'Bringing children into the US, either by airlift or new
adoption during a time of national emergency, can open the door for
fraud, abuse and trafficking.
'Every
effort must be made in a timely fashion to locate living parents and
extended family members. Many children who might appear to be orphaned
may in fact only be temporarily separated from their family.'
Yes the evil Americans who are occupying Haiti with armed soldiers on the ground 
(keeping the peace; distributing food, water, medical supplies; providing large earth-moving equipment, rescue and medical personnel), the evil Americans are providing transportation from Haiti to the U.S. for orphans.
The Catholic Church in Miami is working on a proposal that would allow thousands of orphan children to come to the United States permanently. Other groups and individuals are also involved in bringing Haitian children and orphans to the U.S.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell went to Haiti and brought back 54 children. They arrived in the U.S. today, via U.S. Air Force flight, as part of a rescue mission coordinated by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The children were accompanied by Ben Avon native Ali McMutrie, who is
one of their caretakers at the BRESMA orphanage in Port Au Prince. Many orphans in the House of God's Children center have already been legally adopted by Americans and are awaiting final paperwork and an airplane.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department announced
a new humanitarian parole policy which allows Haitian children to enter the
US temporarily to receive care -- but we are told they will not be allowed
in en masse, but will be judged on a case by case basis. (Fox) We will see.
An EC-130J Commando Solo, a large transport aircraft radio broadcast warns Haitians against attempting escape by boat:
A U.S. Air Force plane serving as an airborne radio station is
broadcasting messages to Haitians urging them not to attempt ocean
voyages to the United States, saying they will be intercepted and
turned back home if they do.
The plane is broadcasting recorded
messages from Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States,
and announcements of where earthquake victims can go for food and aid. (CNN)
Ironically, as Chuck Norris points out, Obama has no problem saving lives in Haiti while ending lives in America.
While White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was announcing Friday
all that the present administration was doing to save lives in Haiti,
he reported that President Barack Obama was meeting with both the House
and Senate Democrats to resolve how they could provide federal funds
via Obamacare to terminate more American lives in the womb.
Also ironically, not even hundreds of thousands of rotting corpses can keep boatloads of vacationers from Haiti. "Ship of Ghouls", New York Post:
Royal Caribbean International
is still cruising to private Labadee Beech, a mere 60 miles 
south of
the earthquake's epicenter -- where mountains of decaying bodies foul
the air and traumatized residents scrounge for food.
Guests on
the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas yesterday lounged in
hammocks, sipped rum and tooled around on Jet Skis an hour's car ride
from devastated Port-au-Prince.
Changing policy:
Between 250 and 400 immigration detainees are being moved from South
Florida's main detention center to clear space for any Haitians who
manage to reach U.S. shores, according to the Homeland Security
Department. The Navy base at Guantanamo Bay could house migrants
temporarily — far from suspected terrorists also being held there — and
the Catholic church is working on a plan to accept Haitian orphans.
The mass migration plan, known as "Operation Vigilant Sentry," was put
in place in 2003 because of previous experiences with Caribbean
migrations, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil, spokesman for the
Homeland Security Task Force Southeast that would manage any Haitian
influx.
"There is no new incentive for anyone to try to enter
the United States illegally by sea," O'Neil said. "The goal is to
interdict them at sea and repatriate them." [snip]
"Because, I'll be honest with you: If you think you will reach the U.S.
and all the doors will be wide open to you, that's not at all the
case," Joseph said, according to a transcript on America.gov, a State
Department site. "And they will intercept you right on the water and
send you back home where you came from." [snip]
The Obama administration's decision last week to grant temporary
protected status to Haitians in the U.S. illegally as of Jan. 12 does
not extend to those attempting to enter the U.S. after that date. (LATimes)
The outcry will be loud, pointing to the destruction in Haiti and stressing the humanitarian thing to do is to allow them into the U.S.
From the Columbus Ohio Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration yesterday:
Mayor Michael B. Coleman talked of how both the United States and Haiti were founded in slavery
and struggled with freedom, and how Africans came to both countries the same way.
"We are one slave ship away from being in Haiti today," he said. (more, hat tip Cristy Li)
There is a charter plane heading to Haiti to pick up 109 children being adopted
by Dutch families, as an adoption expert warned against hastily plucking
children out of the quake-shattered nation. The French and Canadians are also opening their doors to some orphans.
There is no question that the challenges in Haiti are overwhelming, but people are good and they are giving:
US fund for Unicef has collected 14 million dollars this week and has set a target of 127 million dollars for Haitian relief. (France24)
Canada has committed up to $135 million to the relief efforts and is
ready to deploy more police to help stabilize the increasingly volatile
situation if needed. (AP)
The United States promised $100 million additional funds for Haiti relief.Individual groups and associations are donating. The American Society of Radiologic Technologists has made a $10,000
donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for
earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, as just one example.
Here is an excellent spreadsheet of funds donated to Haiti from both organizations and countries. (via Israel Matzav, thanks to Soccer Dad.) I cannot find a central listing of countries taking orphans from Haiti. But as we have seen with earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes, and other natural disasters around the world -- Americans and Western nations are ready to step up and do everything possible to care for those affected, including taking in untold numbers of children.
Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has given nothing, not one thin dime. Yes Haiti is a mostly Christian country, rather than Muslim but other Middle Eastern countries are giving.
The United Arab Emirates, for example, has launched an air bridge for getting relief supplies to Haiti. Qatar has dispatched 50 metric tons of aid to Haiti, and Kuwait has made an initial pledge of $1 million, as has Morocco.
Earthquake-prone Turkey and Iran also are helping. Ankara has dispatched a mobile hospital to Haiti and Tehran has donated 30 metric tons of aid.
Even some poorer Middle East countries are helping out. Jordan has sent a planeload of supplies while Lebanon has committed to taking part in relief efforts. Israel has dispatched medical rescue teams to Haiti.
Saudi King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has sent a message of condolence to Haitian President René Préval. -- Los Angeles Times
Red and Yellow, Black and White,
they are precious in His sight...
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
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