By coming together in this way, these leaders send an unmistakable message to the people of Haiti Yahoo News
President Barack Obama on Saturday brought together his White House predecessors, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton, for a joint appeal for victims of Haiti's devastating earthquake.
"By coming together in this way, these two leaders send an unmistakable message to the people of Haiti and to the people of the world," Obama said in the Rose Garden, flanked by the two former leaders.
"In these difficult hours, America stands united. We stand united with the people of Haiti who have shown such incredible resilience, and we will help them to recover and to rebuild."
The United States was launching "one of the largest relief efforts in our history" to bring aid to Haiti following Tuesday's devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the heart of the poorest nation in the Americas.
Bush, who congratulated Obama for his "swift and timely response to the disaster," said he was pleased to work with Clinton "to mobilize the compassion of the American people."
The challenges in Haiti "are immense, but there's a lot of devoted people leading the relief effort," he said.
"The most effective way for Americans to help the people of Haiti is to contribute money. That money will go to organizations on the ground who will be able to effectively spend it.
"I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water. Just send your cash," added Bush.
Clinton, the United Nations special envoy for Haiti, said the priority for now is to ship food, medicine and water to Haiti.
"But when we start the rebuilding effort... we want there to be a place where people can know their money will be well spent, where we will ensure the ongoing integrity of the process. And we want to stay with this over the long run," he said.
Obama and the ex-presidents directed people to the website www.clintonbushhaitifund.org to make donations.
2 comments:
Shalom in Peace...
I attended a Press Conference Shabbaht Afternoon called as an emergence response by the African Community groups led by UK Haitian Charity and facilitated by a Reparations for Haiti from the French and US Governments.
After the Press Conference with the BBC and other media networks present , a Community Meeting was held.
As KNN Blogers would imagine, it was an emotionally charged occassion. The Press Conference was to publicies the Charities response to the disaster and the Community Meeting was to organise how we could make an immediate response as well as field longer term startegies as a Community.
The dynamics around the meeting for me was fascinating as a Community Reporter.
The Professor heading the Reparations Now Movement spoke first to set the historical, geo-political and economic background to the disaster with respect to the repeated mainstream media commenting on Haiti being the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere.
As he made reference to Western gov'ts also being corrupt and made reference to the British MP'S expenses scandal, a White male and female couple walked out in disgisted offence; Immediately a Haitian brother who was a main representative of the organisation interjected to state that Haitains do not like being beggers and cannot afford to let the diaaster make them surrender their dignity; so the role of the French and US gov'ts must be profiled alongside the natural diasaster.
Immediately another brother, local radio presenter and poet made the mooted statement, ".... that was not a natural disaster..thats all I am saying and sat down.." The Haitian faultline is said to run counter to one from the US.
Finally after the after the more politically savvy audience members hummed "...uh huh!" A young Haitain son came forward forward and said that he did not come here to hear a history lesson about French and other imperial misdeeds but on only response to the disaster.
In the end we did organise a good community strategic and co-ordinated response and just as we were winding up the evening after the all external media reps left, a veteran Elder and Black Liberation Theologian and Community activist marched in to announce that Members of the Black Churches are saying that ' It was the 'Wrath of God' An emotionally incensed brother chairing the evening fired back, " I have a response to the Wrath of God people. " Where is the Wrath of God on America for decimation a whole indigenous civilization and imprisoning them on reservations? Where is the 'Wrath of God' on US Satan and the United Snakes of America for the Enslavement of African and refusing to pay Reparations ?'
Well, my pen was flying off my notepad. Conspiracy theories of sources of the quake, Historical accusations, political inteference, victim of nature and finally judgement of God all cut through the emotionally and politically charged Emergance Disaster Meeting.
With such complexity explaining the Haitian disaster and mainstream media writing about Biblical epic proportions and cataclysmic scale; perhaps the three presidents represent Father, Son and Holy Ghost of Western Liberal Democracy to the rescue. At least, this will be a humanitarian and 'spiritual' invasion and not like 1915 or more recently with Aristede......
It is a very sensitive time but history will always pop-up to edge the teeth and politics to further deceive. Selah
Rainforest Princess..Doh badder go look fi me inna de Amazon Me is inna de cosmos. Shalom.
Shalom,
As more and more sinister information is filtering about geological warfare engendered by scientific means of earthquake initiation; I am forced to revisit the father son and holy ghost of Western Liberal Democracy; as I have paralled with the other dieties.
If you ask me, I would choose the Holy Ghost to walk with me in the rainforest.......Obama to ask him some questions. If this is a glimpse of the Holy Ghost in my creative imagination, then let me have my Holy Ghost pentecost moment right here in cyberspace.
I am babblng.... but you but you understand. Evidence... Seriouisly, Father Clinton I would not trust to be alone with in the rainforest and son Bush the 11 would not be welcomed in the bush....by the flora and fauna my body -guards.
Haiti will expose much more about the new warfare methods by the evil systems of the world. However, why Haiti? remains the question..why is the spiritual antedote to her protection?
Spiritually.....where is the antedote...?????...in our ASCENDENCY as a civilization from the New Adamic paradigm..... Has to be..the on-line IRT will be instrumental.....Selah
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