JAN 19: FORSAKEN AND FORGOTTEN?

A young boy in Port-Au-Prince on JAN 14th. Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik / Reportage for CNN, full gallery here.

Democracy Now reports the UN is not directing any aid outside of Port-Au-Prince to areas hardest hit by the quake due to security fears. Amy Goodman toured the areas and reports there are no such concerns while the people are left on their own.

Amy Goodman from this morning:
"And what we did yesterday is what few journalists have done: we left Port-au-Prince, and we went along the coast to Carrefour and to Léogâne. This is the epicenter. This is where the United Nations issued its statement, saying they acknowledge 90 percent of the buildings were down, that thousands of people were dead. But, they said, unless they could ensure security, they would not be providing aid there. Now, this is tremendously frightening."

JAN 19 Interview: Democracy Now interviews Dr Lyon from PIH regarding "security" concerns. "One thing that I think is really important for people to understand is that misinformation and rumors and, I think at the bottom of the issue, racism has slowed the recovery efforts of this hospital."

JAN 19 Press Release: More MSF/Doctors Without Borders planes turned away at Port-Au-Prince airport.

JAN 19 Op-Ed for Wall Street Journal: MSF "I see some people and can't believe they are alive."

News coverage continues with reporters and US politicians and relief personnel still blaming the "bottleneck" at the airport. This does not jive with the incredible air power and fast acting airborne response teams that the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard all have. We have rapid deployment teams that could be getting supplies to medics and setting up triage units while getting more search and rescue on the ground. The fact that we are massing troops for security and distribution purposes only and blaming a jam at the airport for lack of support does not make sense. Also, it is seven days in - could air strips and landing decks have been built by the 82nd Airborne, the Army Corp of Engineers and the Navy's Sea Bees? All extremely skilled at doing this kind of work - fast. I think most military vets would agree, that this was doable if ordered.

From CNN on JAN 14 (Day 2 of the disaster) , retired Lt General Honore addressing the same "bottleneck" at the airport that officials and news media are still discussing seven days later. Regarding the airport, he said, "You need to put the right commander there who's going to be a battle captain and keep those aircraft flowing. You come in, you drop off what you have, you put the sick and wounded on and then move out. No one is standing any time on the airfield. You can be in and out in a half hour." He seems to be the only one who is thinking on the same scale and scope as the disaster.

From the media coverage today, all medical personnel are talking about mass amputations. This is because infections have set into most wounds due to the lack of care provided to the injured in the last week. They are cutting off limbs - sometimes doing more than one amputation on people.
Huffington Post: Dr. Mark Hyman "Hacksaws and vodka."