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| Pulitzer Photos Show Haiti's Desperate Need | April 21, 2009 |
| Susana Barciela | |
| (Miami, April 21) – Patrick Farrell’s heartrending photographs and richly deserved Pulitzer Prize should put to rest any doubts that Haiti deserves help from the United States. Mr. Farrell, a photographer for The Miami Herald, poignantly documented the destruction wreaked in Haiti by four killer storms last year. Those storms left 800 dead and more than a million people homeless in the aftermath. The resulting 15 percent loss of Haiti’s Gross Domestic Product was the equivalent of up to 15 Hurricane Katrinas hitting Haiti in one month. Mr. Farrell’s photos, indeed, are more powerful than words. They show children killed by flood waters, others wasting away due to malnutrition. They show the destroyed roads and crops, the battered buildings and families. Lamentably, the threat of famine remains real, and conditions have little improved in the areas most affected by the storms. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered encouraging U.S. aid and words at a Haiti donor’s conference and during her visit with Haitian President Rene Preval last week. Granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians in the United States would further improve Haiti’s prospects. TPS would allow some 30,000 Haitians already here to work and continue sending remittances to Haiti. These remittances are a vital lifeline. The money goes directly to Haitians on the island, encouraging Haitians to stay and rebuild their country. “TPS for Haitians will benefit the United States and as much as it will help Haiti,” said FIAC Executive Director Cheryl Little. “It is in the United States’ interest for Haiti to rebuild and stabilize over the long run.” FIAC urges the administration to grant TPS to Haitians and applauds the many Congress members and editorial boards nationwide who support such a grant. | |