US prepares Gitmo for 1000s of Haitian migrants

[The Northerner]

Source: Associated Press

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – The U.S. has begun preparing tents at Guantanamo Bay for Haitians migrants in case of a mass migration spurred by the earthquake, a senior official at the base said on Wednesday.

About 100 tents, each capable of holding 10 people, have been erected and authorities have more than 1,000 more on hand in case waves of Haitians leave their homeland and are captured at sea, said Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Copeman.

Authorities have also has tested the latrine facilities and gathered cots and other supplies, said Copeman, the commander of the task force that runs the detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds nearly 200 men.

The Haitian migrants would be held on the opposite side of the base as the detention center, separated by some 2 1/2 miles of water across Guantanamo Bay, and would have no contact with the prisoners.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100121/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_guantanamo_haiti_migrants

[sabrina 1]

1. Anythingto keep Haitians out of the United States.

They should be given protected status as so many other countries are given.

This is the same old story regarding Haiti. Deja Vu all over again, back to the years of Ronald Reagan when Haitians fleeing political persecution were detained like criminals and then, some sent back to their deaths.

Today I see, UN troops, rather than take care of the injured were busy getting money the money out of banks. Money before lives.

And now the U.S. military is holding desperately needed medical supplies at the airport claiming they 'don't have enough security'!!! Enter Blackwater!

Even Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta say they believe this 'security' excuse is way overblown (see Turborama's video) and that the people are glad to see anyone who is there to help. Neither have had any problems with security, nor have the doctors and other rescue workers.

Thousands are dying who do not need to die because of these excuses.

I hope Haitians are smart enough to refuse to go to Gitmo ~ let them go to Cuba where they would be treated like human beings as they have been in the past.

This whole thing is developing as I hoped it would not. I hoped this time that the tragedy was so enormous it would prevent the vultures, like Blackwater et al, from getting in there and that the U.S. would start changing its policies towards Haiti.

[OnyxCollie]

2. Club Gitmo offers lemon baked chicken and contact sports.

It's a fucking paradise. :eyes:

[Mind_your_head]

3. Uh, WHY would the Haitians run to Gitmo?

That would be utterly STUPID.

Going to Cuba, mebbe.

Gitmo? :rofl:

[struggle4progress]

8. They would be caught by the US Coast Guard when trying to leave Haiti in boats; they'd be

deposited at Gitmo; and eventually they'd be sent back to Haiti. That's how Gitmo originally became a prison

[EFerrari]

9. Are you serious? I didn't know that. n/t

[struggle4progress]

10. I gave a link last week in GD:

... Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=7467515

[EFerrari]

11. Thanks so much. Now I remember seeing shots of some camp

at the time but I didn't realize it was Gitmo. Holy mother of god.

[peacetalksforall]

4. They used to hold the Haitians in the wire chicken cages, but they put Moslems

in those, so the Haitians get tents - 10 to a tent. Which is better?

Do you detect anger in my question?

Does the U.S. anticipate that the US and the IMF/World Bank will make them even more desparate than before?

If I were a Haitian, I would stay in Haiti and not set sail - because if I were them, I would think that I would be able to find some work in the reconstruction - even if it means cooking meals for construction workers.

But no, it appears the US expects conditions to be dire. And they/we are always masters of contingency plans as well as normal plans? Right.

I don't know who I am angry with? The Obama administration, including Sec Clinton - or the Pentagon? Marines? Blackwater? Xe? WorldBank?

Notice how all the news carried by the MSM is all about the military? And impending violence or last night's violence, but non-MSM people don't see the violence. A doctor on Democracy Now said you could hear a pin drop last night. But it sure seems like the US wants the violence - is it because they can move in for even more control than they had before?

Why am I writing with anger as if Cheney was still in charge?

Why does it seem like it's all the same adminstrations to me?

When are things going to get better? More benevolence for rights. Less coups. More opportunity for the Haitians? When do we show what we used to be made of? Now it is all about control - absolute control and making as much money as possible off the usury and contracts.

I resent our policies.

The people have simple shirts pants skirts and Americans soldiers don't show more than 2% OF skin and are weighted down with about 200 lbs of gear. The enemy is right around the corner. Wait until April. Or are the uniforms air-conditioned and the guns kept in a freezer?

Maybe the US knows that the food is going to stop and the action is going to start.

I am bitter. This is not my country.

Has Blackwater killed anyone yet? Yes, bitter.

[EFerrari]

5. The Marines finally showed up at the General Hospital in the capitol today.

And they brought -- guns. GUNS. The hospital has zero security issues but they need GAUZE, and PAIN MEDICATION and FOOD.

The Marines tried to keep Amy Goodman out but she talked her way in and did a long interview with the director there.

I share your bitterness.

[midnight]

13. What a shame. They need gauze, but they get guns. We need jobs, but we

get wars..

[Mind_your_head]

6. Sadly, +1

That's probably how it will all play out.....

America is no longer what it once was/what it was meant to be.

:cry:

[Downwinder]

7. One-way tickets, like NO. Why not give them tents in Haiti?

Or, aren't there still trailers in Arkansas?

[Waiting For Everyman]

12. I read that 2 million are dependent on relief for food

and it'll take a month to get up to feeding that many. I don't think that math is going to work out very well.

I have a bad feeling that the authorities have already admitted that (to themselves), and don't even expect to meet the level of need that exists. Instead, they seem to be preparing for what will happen when the needs of 2 million aren't met.

In a month... a lot will starve and a lot will die of injuries. Some say, as many as died in the earthquake.