22353: (Craig) UN Wire: Agencies Struggle To Reach Haitian Victims In Remote Villages (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Dan Craig <hoosier@att.net>


Agencies Struggle To Reach Haitian Victims In Remote Villages
Friday, June 11, 2004

More than a week after U.S.-led airlifts to deliver relief materials to
flood victims in Haiti ended, aid agencies say they are struggling to
provide food and drinking water to thousands of victims in isolated
villages without the help of helicopters.

Yesterday the Multinational Interim Force in Haiti made an exception and
dispatched a U.S. Army Chinook on three trips to the hard-hit southern
town of Mapou with more than 16 tons of food and water from the World
Food Program to sustain more than 740 families for one week, WFP
spokeswoman Anne Poulsen said.

Areas like Mapou that have been cut off by landslides can only receive
aid through airlifts by helicopters.

"The decision of the multinational forces to suspend flights to Mapou
posed a big problem to relief agencies, especially the World Food
Program," said Max Bonnel of a U.N. disaster assessment team (Amy
Bracken, Associated Press, June 11).

"WFP is already providing food to hundreds of thousands of Haitians
through different programs.  We need to make every possible effort to
provide assistance to the most vulnerable in the most remote areas,"
said Omar Bula-Escobar, WFP regional coordinator for Latin America (WFP
release, June 11).

After the devastating floods that hit Haiti on May 23 and killed more
than 3,300, U.S. and Canadian troops made regular humanitarian
helicopter trips, but last week declared the emergency period over and
said they needed to conserve helicopter hours to use for patrols and
transporting troops.  The forces believed that aid agencies had other
means of transport, said U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel David Lapan.

WFP has rented one light helicopter, which is used to assess damaged
areas because it is not capable of carrying heavy loads.  Without
helicopters, aid agencies are reaching remote areas by boat, horse, foot
and occasionally trucks, said Fernanda Castejon of the London-based
charity Oxfam (Bracken, AP).

http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20040611/449_24822.asp