Doctors Without Borders denied in Port Au Prince

Press Release from Doctors Without Borders

I posted this early A.M. I am re-posting as a thread because I could not get a response (as a donor) from Doctors Without Borders/MSF after repeated calls. Also few ATS members seemed to see this so far.

No one at Doctors Without Borders/MSF could answer whether the second plane (see article) was allowed to land at 10 AM local time. The Canada office was the only live voice, and he disconnected the call rather abruptly.

For those of us who have or might be inclined to donate to DWB/MSF, it would be nice to know why they were not allowed to land, and if they will be allowed to do so in the relevant future (since many are dying hourly).

AS of 5:07 CST no answer at MSF press phone.

I only write this so that donors might know that the immediate aid they send might be rejected, as I feel mine may have been. I hope that is not the case as I have respected Doctors Without Borders for some time.

Surely it's due to overcrowding at the single airport. I would be surprised if they were completely turned away.

Everyone needs those doctors present.

Just to give perspective on this.

Latest Updates on Rescue and Recovery in Haiti

Update | 4:12 p.m. Here is another perspective on the situation at the airport in Port-au-Prince from a reader of The Lede who writes that she is there at the moment:

I understand all the concern and outrage over the slowness of aid, and the difficulties at the airport. I work for a major organization here in Haiti, I am sleeping outside near the airport in Port-au-Prince. Thousands of people are working frantically to get the aid in, the airport is TINY — it has one runway — just ONE! [T]he (teeny) terminal was severely damaged. And there are at least 30 massive planes from every country on earth parked side by side.

A plane lands about every 10 minutes. There are only a certain number of plans that can land, taxi, and park safely — and it is at max capacity all the time. People being evacuated, many of whom are Haitian-Americans who came to visit their grandmothers over Christmas, are on long lines to leave, and they criss-cross the tarmac with the hundreds of international military and aid workers rushing to get their supplies in.

The U.S. military is doing a good job to control the very complicated air traffic control for an ungodly situation, with almost no equipment or resources (which were destroyed) — there is no tower btw. So please reserve your judgments, and cut all the people risking their welfare in this increasingly dangerous and urgently dire humanitarian situation some slack. And for people who are unhappy with the UN — please bear in mind that the entire UN staff living in Haiti and now working incredibly hard to organize perhaps the largest humanitarian response ever are also quake victims too.

And from same article, just in case you're thinking DWB/MSF has been refused entry into Haiti.

Update | 4:17 p.m. Here is an update on the work of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières released to reporters a few minutes ago:

On the fifth day of their response to the disaster in Haiti, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams on the ground remain focused on trying to cope with the huge demand for life-saving surgery for those who suffered terrible injuries in the January 12 earthquake. They are stretching their existing operating theatres to the limit by working around the clock, while at the same time trying to create more capacity by finding new facilities and transporting in mobile structures.

In the newly established hospital in the Carrefour district, an MSF surgical team carried out 90 operations within 24 hours of getting the theatre usable. The surgical team at Choscal hospital has completed around 90 operations since beginning work there. Another team carried out 20 in a converted shipping container. More capacity is on its way, but the arrival of a twin-theatre inflatable hospital has been delayed because one of the planes carrying it did not get permission to land at Port-au-Prince airport on Saturday and was re-routed to the Dominican Republic. That plane was unloaded earlier today and its cargo is being trucked into Haiti. A plane carrying the other half of the hospital did land this morning in Port-au-Prince, but MSF is still concerned that the delivery of vital supplies are still being delayed.

The conditions in towns outside of the capital, some of which were even closer to the epicenter of the earthquake, are becoming clearer. An MSF team plans to go today by helicopter to the town of Jacmel, on the southern coast of the island. Others have been to assess the needs in Léogâne, about an hour outside of Port-au-Prince. Thousands of people from the capital have fled to Saint ­Marc, an area less damaged by the quake; hundreds of injured people are in the hospital there.

Despite the transport problems, MSF has managed to get in more than 100 extra international staff to help the teams who were working in Haiti before the earthquake. The specialists include surgeons, anesthetists, nephrologists and psychologists. Many had to come by road from the Dominican Republic but MSF has managed to get four cargo planes carrying staff and supplies into Port-au-Prince since last Wednesday.

The teams on the ground say that conditions are certainly not improving yet and that the streets are full of desperate people. The lack of food and clean water is causing further stress.

MSF is still trying to get a full accounting of the whereabouts of its Haitian staff. We know that some have not survived the quake but communications remain difficult and we have not yet been able to trace all our colleagues.

Those "Doctors without borders" have brought tons of expired medicine to help Serbian children in Bosnia. Thus, they helped the pharmaceutical companies get rid of the toxic waste...tons of it was brought there, only to discover (after it has already been used) that it had all been just expired vaccines and other medicine.

If you ask me "Doctors without borders" is a satanic cult, not a humanitarian organization.







[edit on 17-1-2010 by herbivore]

reply to post by Ferris.Bueller.II


Thanks for the update. I still question the problem of cargo planes with hospitals, doctors and medicine not being given priority to land at Port-Au-Prince. They are forced to take land routes at 24 hrs. from Santo Domingo. Think of the injured dying during that time. To those who understand *TRIAGE* The only other priority besides medical help might be clean water, to save lives in immediate need.

[edit on 17-1-2010 by 1SawSomeThings]

reply to post by 1SawSomeThings


You're welcome. I hold in high regard all members of Doctors Without Borders. I'm sure they weren't turned away because of who they are. I'm thinking priority now is probably to care for the living in total with food and water. And the single airport with it's single runway doesn't sound like it has a lot of capacity to begin with.

Many can live without food for a week. Most can live without water for a few days, depending. But these people have been crushed, literally. They cannot live without medical attention for very long. Many are children, and adults who cannot care for them because they can't get out of the rubble or walk.
If y'all have the stones look at this:
Dead in Haiti

We have fault lines all over the US too.

I noticed that news organizations were able to somehow get there very quickly to report live from the scene. If any of them have helicopters for news reporting, I hope they were commandeered to help with the aid effort.

Whilst the airport may be in ruins, the ATC that will have been set up by the military would quite possibly be more functional than what was already there.

I think they really are doing the best they can with what is available. Apparently a US aircraft carrier is now on the scene with helicopters to move people, etc.. around Haiti.

reply to post by 1SawSomeThings


Everybody has their own priority system. Do we care for the living with food and water, or the injured and dying first? There are about 3 million people affected by this event, and we are on day 5 of the aftermath. There are doctors in country already, as stated in my first post, operating round the clock to save the injured and dying. I think a good majority of us already know of the destruction in Haiti due to the earthquake, so challenging people with "stones" to look at pictures doesn't really do much. And there are fault lines all over the Earth, too. The Earth is not a static model, like a lot of people prefer to think it is, then get shocked when an earthquake occurs. Then they think they can "armchair quarterback" from their living room a disaster response better than people who are doing it in real life on the ground.

OK. That's all I have to say. Have fun. Just remember all the people giving their all for this relief effort while you sit back and criticize.

i find it highly interesting that they are being turned away

i understand what some people are saying in that now attention has turned to getting supplies in to help those in immediate need but theres something we need to realize


this was a very poor country historically


people have been sick in good times for a very long time now, sick and malnourished

yes water is needed food is needed, but that has always been needed


now we still need to prevent "stupid" deaths as they call it in the media now


there was a significant amount of injuries, just because the people under the rubble are now dead, doesnt mean the living is out of the clear and only need food and water


these people still seriously need drs, there are still many broken bones, crush injuries, cuts, etc that still need to be attended to, antibiotics still need to be administered, surgeries still need to be performed


i find it highly awkward that we havent gotten that airport cleared yet, or at least a temporary harbor set up, or even using large helicopters to help offset the runway and harbor problems


theres still a lot of work to be done there

Haiti: "Patients who were not critical three days ago are now in critical phases"

Status report from Haiti

Report from Leogane, Haiti late yesterday.

www.cnn.com.../video/world/2010/01/17/lok.penhaul.leogane.cnn

[edit on 1/18/10 by Ferris.Bueller.II]

OK, I am not with Doctors without Borders though I have recommended them on this web site.

Here is a news release from them about the diversion.

News Release

Port-au-Prince/Paris /New York, 17 January 2009—Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges that its cargo planes carrying essential medical and surgical material be allowed to land in Port-au-Prince in order to treat thousands of wounded waiting for vital surgical operations. Priority must be given immediately to planes carrying lifesaving equipment and medical personnel. Despite guarantees, given by the United Nations and the US Defense Department, an MSF cargo plane carrying an inflatable surgical hospital was blocked from landing in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, and was re-routed to Samana, in Dominican Republic. All material from the cargo is now being sent by truck from Samana, but this has added a 24-hour delay for the arrival of the hospital. A second MSF plane is currently on its way and scheduled to land today in Port- au-Prince at around 10 am local time with additional lifesaving medical material and the rest of the equipment for the hospital. If this plane is also rerouted then the installation of the hospital will be further delayed, in a situation where thousands of wounded are still in need of life saving treatment. The inflatable hospital includes 2 operating theaters, an intensive care unit, 100-bed hospitalization capacity, an emergency room and all the necessary equipment needed for sterilizing material.

herbivore

Can you give a link to the Serbia old medicine story related to MSF?

Thanks

Flights seeking permission to land continuously circle the airport, which is damaged and has only a single runway, rankling several governments and aid agencies. "There are 200 flights going in and out every day, which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti," Jarry Emmanuel, air logistics officer for the UN's World Food Programme, told the New York Times. "But most flights are for the US military. Their priorities are to secure the country. Ours are to feed. We have got to get those priorities in sync."

The Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières complained about flights with medical staff and equipment which were redirected to the Dominican Republic. "We are all going crazy," said Nan Buzard, of the American Red Cross.

US accused of annexing airport as squabbling hinders aid effort in Haiti

[edit on 18-1-2010 by 1SawSomeThings]

"At the moment our contacts in Haiti, both Haitian and American, are telling us NOT to bring teams as there is a lack of food, water, and security. We are planning on taking our first team for clearing rubble and building shelters in late February, probably the 20th-27th. If you are interested in being a part of this team, contact us today."

www.islego.com... (click on haiti to see the above quote)