22793: Slavin: Bloomberg Heads to PauP (Newsday) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JPS390@aol.com

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/nyc-hait0727,0,7564276.story?coll=ny-nynews-headlines

Mayor heading to Haiti

By Brian Boyd and Glenn Thrush
Staff Writers

July 26, 2004, 10:15 PM EDT

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who earlier this year canceled a goodwill trip to Haiti because of the violence there, plans fly to the troubled island nation Tuesday fomeetings with President Boniface Alexandre and disaster relief officials.

"Things have quieted down in Haiti now, and I think I'd like to be able to understand a little bit better where the Haitian community that's in this city ... comes from," the mayor said in announcing his trip.

After arriving today in Port-au-Prince in his private jet, Bloomberg, accompanied by a heavily-armed entourage, plans to visit an elementary school in Cite de Soleil. He will later lay a wreath at the statue of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who led the revolt against the French in 1804 that brought the republic's independence.

Bloomberg canceled a trip to Haiti to mark its 200th anniversary in January because of a civil war between rebels and supporters of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide went into exile in February. An interim government headed by Alexandre and Prime Minister Gerard Latortue was sworn in in March.

Bloomberg decided to reschedule the trip earlier this month as the country, which was devastated by torrential rainfall and flooding in May, began to see its security stabilize somewhat.

Bloomberg's seven-hour stopover is seen as a gesture to the more than 100,000 Haitians who live in the city, mostly in central Brooklyn.

The rains in May left more than 3,000 people dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Recently, parishioners of the 217 Catholic churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn contributed more than $144,000 to the victims through collections at Sunday Masses. The funds were sent to Catholic Relief Services, which has provided food, drinking water, medicines and other materials to flood survivors.

The city and other relief agencies also sent supplies.

Staff writer Merle English contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.


------------
J.P. Slavin
New York
------------