Haiti: Challenges to come
Haiti, prior to the earthquake, was perhaps best known as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. A tragic title to bear, and a reality that is going to make recovery all the harder for a desperate nation at its most desperate time.
We've been covering the situation Haiti for years - it was one of the first places Vanguard deployed to after Current launched. Laura Ling embedded with the UN peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince, distributing food and visiting the dangerous Cite de Soleil neighborhood of the capital.
Haiti's Hotzone (Video)
Things were steadily improving in Haiti since then. It had been slow, surely, but many programs found innovative ways to bring commerce to the country. This video looked at an UNDP
effort to "turn trash into cash".
Haiti's Trash To Cash (Video)
Thanks largely to the efforts of UN peacekeepers, the security situation has gotten far better. This is from a little over a year ago, when a Collective Journalism contributor spent some time with Brazilian UN forces.
A Blue Helmet in Haiti (Video)
Now the mission of those forces has drastically changed. Though at least 14 of the Brazilian soldiers serving with the UN died as a result of the earthquake, the surviving force will be taking the lead on security in the country. And that's just the first step in a long and daunting effort to come. The seemingly insurmountable task of getting aid to the island and taking care of the survivors is only the beginning. As is apparent in these videos - Haiti was already place in need of a lot of help. The next steps, once we get through this critical period of providing relief aid, are going to be very difficult and very critical.
Speaking of this critical period, we at Current encourage you to give what you can to the relief effort. Anything you can spare helps.
Recently on the Current News Blog:
- Haiti: Following along in the news
- The United Nations mission in Haiti
- Haiti reeling from 7.0 earthquake - Updates, Video, How to help
- Education shmeducation? - A California graduate's perspective - guest post by: Dan Ucko
- Will a US court overturn Prop 8?
We've been covering the situation Haiti for years - it was one of the first places Vanguard deployed to after Current launched. Laura Ling embedded with the UN peacekeeping mission in Port-au-Prince, distributing food and visiting the dangerous Cite de Soleil neighborhood of the capital.
Haiti's Hotzone (Video)
Things were steadily improving in Haiti since then. It had been slow, surely, but many programs found innovative ways to bring commerce to the country. This video looked at an UNDP
effort to "turn trash into cash".
Haiti's Trash To Cash (Video)
Thanks largely to the efforts of UN peacekeepers, the security situation has gotten far better. This is from a little over a year ago, when a Collective Journalism contributor spent some time with Brazilian UN forces.
A Blue Helmet in Haiti (Video)
Now the mission of those forces has drastically changed. Though at least 14 of the Brazilian soldiers serving with the UN died as a result of the earthquake, the surviving force will be taking the lead on security in the country. And that's just the first step in a long and daunting effort to come. The seemingly insurmountable task of getting aid to the island and taking care of the survivors is only the beginning. As is apparent in these videos - Haiti was already place in need of a lot of help. The next steps, once we get through this critical period of providing relief aid, are going to be very difficult and very critical.
Speaking of this critical period, we at Current encourage you to give what you can to the relief effort. Anything you can spare helps.
Recently on the Current News Blog:
- Haiti: Following along in the news
- The United Nations mission in Haiti
- Haiti reeling from 7.0 earthquake - Updates, Video, How to help
- Education shmeducation? - A California graduate's perspective - guest post by: Dan Ucko
- Will a US court overturn Prop 8?
