Plan To Bring Haitians To Central Fla. Not Set In Stone

[The Northerner]

Source: WFTV

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The American Red Cross says a plan to bring 45,000 evacuees from Haiti to Florida, and 4,000 of those to Orange County, is not set in stone. The Red Cross clarified Friday who could be involved in a plan to move people out of Haiti.

The Red Cross is preparing for two things: the repatriation of Americans living in Haiti and the possibility of a mass migration of Haitian nationals.

The American Red Cross has seen massive migration into the U.S. from areas like Kosovo and Bosnia in the past, but no determination has been made yet in the case of Haiti. But the repatriation of Americans has already begun. Eyewitness News was told that it includes people like missionaries who may have already been working in Haiti before the quake.

The U.S. citizens are being brought into South Florida through Miami and Homestead, where their identities can be verified. Thursday night, five flights arrived with 190 Americans on board.

Read more: http://www.wftv.com/news/22242754/detail.html

[timeforpeace]

1. "Mass migration of Haitian nationals" How does the Red Cross get the authority to order this done?

[BunkerHill24]

16. ...and whom you to oppose it?

[Cha]

2. I wish them all the best

in getting this massive challenge accomplished however they work it out.

[ORDagnabbit]

3. we cant even take care of our own citizens... how the hell are we gonna take care of another

countries?

[SeattleGirl]

4. So, we should just leave them there with no where to live but

the outdoors? We should just ignore them because we have problems here?

Guess I was raised differently. My parents taught me that regardless of how little I had, I was still responsible for reaching out to those who had even less.

I prefer living by that creed.

[ORDagnabbit]

6. yes... help them rebuild, help them get their economy, population and food production to be self

suffient.

you cant save everyone. simple hard reality fact.

help them to help themselves... or teach a man to fish type thinking.

[SeattleGirl]

9. I agree with that. And the reaching out that my parents taught

me included that very thing.

But in the immediate time, when things are still in chaos in Haiti, sometimes you have to get people out of there for awhile. It doesn't mean they would stay here forever; just that it's one way to help in the here and now. Helping them in the ways you are talking about is a necessary next step.

[Liberty Belle]

34. They will die there. There is no water. They can't land enough planes to bring in all that's needed

Just to keep people alive the next few days and weeks. I have sources on the ground in Haiti.

In every part of the world when a disaster strikes, people are allowed to go into refugee camps in places where there is relative safety on a temporary or sometimes longer term basis. Refugees flee to the closest countries, where international aid groups grant them official refugee status. It's a complicated process but what you propose is absolutely inhumane and tantamount to murder.

[ORDagnabbit]

36. the closest country is the one they share the island with.. the domnican republic

[unabelladonna]

11. terrible idea

bringing sick and injured foreigners whether they're from ireland or haiti into an already cash strapped state will not be very popular. the money, services and housing aren't there.

[SandWalker1984]

21. Fine, let's send 45,000 Haitians to Seattle...

....because Florida is already suffering an economic depression. Most counties have "official" unemployment rates of 12 to 15% but former Gov Mel Martinez was on tv today doing an interview and he said it realistically is 19-20%.

Our state is one of the top 4 in the nation for home foreclosures. My community in FL has over 8000 homes with Lis Pendens filed - that means the lender has started the foreclosure process on those homes.

Our "economy" is based mainly on tourism, which is down, and agriculture, which just took a huge hit from the record 12 days of cold weather.

Drive down any city in Florida and you will see that the commercial real estate market is also tanking. For lease and for rent signs are posted all over the place on empty commercial buildings.

We led the country in banks being shut down by the FDIC in 2009.

Local tax districts are facing budget deficits because property values are plummeting.

Food banks are begging for canned goods due to the record number of people showing up, asking for help. People that used to contribute to the food banks are now getting assistance from them.

My next door neighbor has been out of work for months and can't find a job. His SUV was repo'd recently. My neighbor across the street worked for GM for 35+ years and is afraid she is going to lose most of her pension and all of her health benefits due to the GM bankruptcy. Another neighbor is dealing with major medical bills from a surgery and lengthy recovery (and they HAVE insurance).


So if the people in Florida are saying ENOUGH, we feel sorry for the Haitians but we can't afford to take in, feed, house, provide health care for 45,000 or more refugees for an unknown period of time -- THEN GET OFF THEIR BACKS.

By all means, open up your homes, your home towns and offer them to the Red Cross as alternative locations.

The economically devastated Floridians will thank you.

[boppers]

26. Bring 'em to Portland.

We don't base our humanitarianism on local employment or foreclosures, and have several large spaces where we can set up temporary cities. We also have excellent food, beer, and a sense of embracing cultures to make 'em part of our melting pot. We can make it a huge, multi-month, party of sharing and restoration. Hopefully, a bunch of folks will want to stay.

[ORDagnabbit]

35. um...yeah right..I live in portland and we cant take care of our homeless and destitute now. how

are we going to take care of them?

Our economy is in the tank, were bleeding jobs and our tax revenues are down and not deficits are going through the roof.

[boppers]

37. The homeless in PDX have it 100 times better than folks in Haiti.

We also (as a state) have a massive food program for our destitute, Oregon Trail...

I'm thinking tent cities at McCall, MtTabor, etc.. we can actually get food and water and medicine to them there, rather than dying in the dust.

[ORDagnabbit]

38. I think you might want to do some reading on the city we share.

As cold weather blows in, the trend looks dismal for homelessness in Portland. Jobs are scarce. Foreclosures are accelerating. And social service agencies report that more and more families – as opposed to single individuals – are being forced out of apartments and houses.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=125858286151196500

and

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=126039556027127000


and...


The growth in homelessness fuels the debate. In Multnomah County, a count in January found 1,591 people sleeping outside, 820 in emergency shelters and 27 staying in motels with vouchers. That was 13 percent higher than in 2007. The deterioration in the economy since January means there are probably more homeless on Portland streets now, officials said.

A recent study by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development found that Oregon has the highest concentration of homeless people of any state in the nation, .54 percent of the population.

[boppers]

39. I retract my statement.

I guess some of us do base our sense of humanitarianism on local economic indicators.

[ORDagnabbit]

40. no just reality. if we cant take care of the people in need in our city right now how can we help

more?

[boppers]

43. Our homeless have better care than the "rich" in Haiti.

That's how.

[Hannah Bell]

44. hardly. the rich in haiti live very much like the rich in the us.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tRBsSeGRUnw/SGsHygZ_49I/AAAAAAAAAVE/7XQDqrJZUq0/Haiti%2B(boutilier%2Bhouse).jpg&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZAP_b3PMqZaumH_FoviSUQ&usg=__CMln9g5kz9a8wz9nVg3rDkZMUfs=&h=425&w=600&sz=17&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=7XzTglQJpKjPTM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhaiti%2Bmansion%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

cite soleil isn't the only place in haiti.

[boppers]

45. earthquakes change things eom

[Hannah Bell]

46. um, the earthquake is 4 days old and not everyone lives in port au prince.

[treestar]

53. the federal government will

geez, everything is not a zero sum game. these people just lived through an earthquake that destroyed their city. That can't be compared to Americans in a recession.

[BunkerHill24]

17. Tell that to those that give preferential treatment to immigration.

few Haitians refugees will not hinder your resume looked at!

[jasi2006]

50. Just call them Cubans and folks here will shut up! nt

[treestar]

51. Oh we can too

It's not that black and white.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. How about bringing them to Kennebunkport?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


I am sure they will be better off there...

[SeattleGirl]

7. Heavens no! They're already suffering enough!

Momma Bush would probably have them working as slaves for her.

[alsame]

12. Hey, isn't the Crawford ranch empty now? Maybe Jr will donate it. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

13. Wow! What a great idea!!!

[Divine Discontent]

8. oh boy... that'll get arguments going.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

10. This will never happen.

The Red Cross has no authority to make that decision. Besides, it would be political suicide, just read the comments below the article.

[Blandocyte]

14. But is it on paper? n/t

[defendandprotect]

15. Let's recall welcome of Cubans... who are less right wing these days/?????

The elite, of course, are still ultra right wing if not fascist and

a few have made it to Congress and sound like Nazis!

Haitians in Florida might make a nice contrast with the elite Cubans . . . and

a nice complement to the more liberal Cubans!

[lib2DaBone]

18. There are no jobs in Florida.. not even minimum wage....

..How are they going to support 45,000 people?

[Lorien]

29. Especially here in Orlando, which once had an abundance of minimum wage jobs

but now tourism is way, way down and unemployment is sky high.

[Haole Girl]

19. Hmm.... really?

:shrug:

[sammyday]

20. Seriously?

Could they seriously even consider this?
Why florida? Why not Pat Robertson 700 club home town?
Then he could show his greatness by saving all these damned people right?

[Haole Girl]

22. I guess I'm just shocked

Relocating people, immediately following a natural disaster, rarely ends well.

[Violet_Crumble]

25. Not true at all...

The entire population of Darwin was evacuated in the days following Cyclone Tracey and there was no bad ending there. I kind of suspect that the survivors in Haiti would prefer to stay where they are and have the help come to them, but after reading some of the self-centred and ignorant comments in this thread, out of sheer desire to see more ignorant whining, I'd like to see every survivor evacuated to Florida :)

[Haole Girl]

27. I never knew that about Darwin

It will be interesting to see how/if the state of Florida handles it.

[Violet_Crumble]

28. I kind of suspect survivors wouldn't be moved to the US en-masse...

The evacuation of Darwin workede because the number of survivors was much smaller than now (the population of the entire city back when it happened was under 200,000, and also they were being evacuated to other parts of Australia, not to another country altogether. I'm figuring the evacuation didn't do survivors too much harm as one of my old friends was evacuated from Darwin to Canberra and never returned.

But when it comes to devastation, the scale of destruction is very similar, and I think we should all hope that what's rebuilt is much better than what was there before (Bandah Aceh was totally rebuilt after the tsunami and it's a massive improvement on what was previously a war-torn and poverty stricken regional capital city)...

[SandWalker1984]

24. Yes, really, Florida is already suffering an economic meltdown...

...and unemployment rates are running 12% or more "officially" and 19-20% in reality. The state's 3 main industries are tourism (way down), construction (almost non-existent) and agriculture (that just suffered massive crop losses due to the 12 days of record cold temps).

Our state is one of the top four for foreclosures in 2009 and 2010 is supposed to be another record year for foreclosures again due to ARMS resetting.

State and local budgets are dealing with major deficits, and property values (and therefore taxes collected) are way down. Resources are already being stretched to the limit for many communities.

If you live in a mansion in an ocean front community, things are just fine. For the rest of us - not.

But hey, what's another 45,000 mouths to feed, cloth, house, school and provide medical care for?

I have a better idea -- why not have members of Congress "adopt" Haitian refugees? What about Goldman Sachs employees getting million in bonuses? How about Georgie Bush? Hillary and Bill? They could all easily take in 20 or more refugees and not make a dent in their finances.


Look, I too have seen all the film of the destruction and chaos in Haiti, and we all want to do something to help the survivors. But dumping the financial burden on Florida is NOT the answer.

[FreeJG]

23. There is a FEMA Camp in Avon Park, FLA

(Update 2)FEMA Camp Footage (Concentrations Camps in USA ... Oct 24, 2007 ... FLORIDA Avon Park – Air Force gunnery range, Avon Park has an .... Ft. Drum – two compounds: Rex 84 detention camp and FEMA detention ...
eldib.wordpress.com/.../fema-camp-footage-concentrations-camps-in-usa-locations-and-executive-orders/ - Cached - Similar -
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1W1ADSA_en&q=fema+camp+avon+park+florida&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. Sounds good to me. Let's bring the Haitians here.

And ship the xenophobes to Haiti.

[SandWalker1984]

31. It's not because they are foreign, it's because FL is in the midst of a DEPRESSION

Anyone that has lived in Florida knows most of it is multi-cultural and very diverse.

Don't stick your labels where they don't belong.

[avaistheone1]

41. I read some areas of Florida have stopped treated Medicaid patients on dialysis because they have

run out of funds. Let's face it many of our own communities and states are is desperate shape.
They are not in a position take on 45,000 more people.

[treestar]

52. There will be provisions made

Just like with the rest of the country.

Depression is an exaggeration.

[Liberty Belle]

32. That's one way to turn some red districts blue over time....

[timo]

33. defies logic

Why not the dominican republic??? no need for fling them anywhere, right there on the same island.

[Autonomy]

42. For better or worse, these people will need to be held

in a refugee camp, and not let out until it's time for them to be shipped back to Haiti. First, private charities and the federal government will have to be responsible for them, and not the state. Also, there are the serious visa/immigration problems. Tracking 45,000 homeless people who cannot legally work and have no other legal status in this country will be a mess. Then, there is the sad reality of communicable disease. Health care in Haiti is even worse than Florida, and serious diseases could be spread by allowing so many people to mix freely.

Last, there is the culture shock, as well as the economic shock, of suddenly absorbing 45,000 homeless foreign nationals who do not speak English, and whose culture is vastly different to our own.

Given all that, it seems easier to set up camps in Haiti and shipping in goods and aid workers.

[yellowwood]

47. Why Do People Think They'd Be Better Off Here?

We have the capability of taking care of people in their own country where they are comfortable in their own culture, with families within reach. Displaced people have all sorts of challenges to confront.

[fishnfla]

48. I work with medically needy indigent people in FL

people of all nationalities, BTW , before I get accussed of xenophobia. Trust me our system is over strained in evry dept. I also work with the VA and that system is overstrained as well. Last I heard there is a waiting list in Orlando of over 500 vets for the services we provide.
I/We are sorry for the people of Haiti and have donated as much as we can at this point. If they relocate refugees to Orlando, do their medical needs take priority over our own citizens? How do we explain that to our clients?

[Haole Girl]

49. That is a good question. nt