Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
A Survivor's Amazing Story; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on U.S. Aid in Haiti; Social Networking Sites Helping Earthquake Victims
Aired January 14, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on this Thursday, January 14th. We're following the breaking news in Haiti this morning. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. You see that concrete dust in the air speaks to the extended devastation as all those buildings came down and kicked up all the dust. You remember the picture that we saw yesterday taken from a higher vantage point where literally the entire flat plain there at Port-au-Prince was just a cloud of concrete dust. Amazing.
We're covering every angle of the rescue and relief efforts going on in Haiti. CNN correspondents on the ground there to bring you the breaking developments.
Help, by the way, finally on its way to Port-au-Prince. It can't come too soon. Cargo planes from around the world scrambling to bring food, water, medical supplies.
Bodies are stacked up on sidewalks everywhere. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta says he has never seen anything like it. Countless victims remain trapped in mountains of concrete.
CHETRY: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to be joining us live to talk more about the U.S. relief effort, this country doing everything it can to get help and help quickly to Haiti.
We're going to be talking about just how critical the next 24 hours are with the secretary of state. Hillary Clinton will be live from the State Department in just a few minutes.
ROBERTS: Plus a 13-year-old girl buried alive for 18 hours, she survives. Coming up, a group of men save the teenager using just one shovel and their bare hands. Our Anderson Cooper was there as the whole thing went down. It's an amazing story of survival that you'll see only on CNN.
CHETRY: And for people in Haiti right now, they're describing it as a living hell. Help though is on the way. It's a race against time, though. The number of people dead from Tuesday's earthquake according to officials in Haiti could top 100,000.
Meantime, countless survivors are still trapped in the chunks of concrete and twisted steel. Now all over the world nations are mobilizing rescue teams, many of them now on their way. Some of them have already arrived and they're about to witness one of the worst catastrophes in recent memory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: The rumor spread quickly -- clean drinking water had arrived. Within seconds, mobs were racing down the street. But there was no water. The rumor wasn't true.
For many who survived Tuesday's earthquake, this park is now home. It's a place to sleep. But when they awaken -- scenes like this are waiting for them. There's no shortage of misery in Port-au- Prince this morning.
People are still trapped everywhere, tangled in debris and desperate for help. For many, help did not and will not come soon enough. For others, this is the best medical care available for now.
The destruction, the anguish in Port-au-Prince is unimaginable. At least 16 United Nations peacekeepers died in the quake. More than 140 U.N. workers are missing. No one is optimistic they'll be found alive.
Cargo planes from the U.S. and around the world are headed to Haiti with food, water, medical supplies, and rescue equipment. The first plane carrying part of a U.S. military assessment team is already on the ground.
But former President Bill Clinton, the U.N.'s special envoy to Haiti, says getting help to so many victims will be a huge challenge.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We don't even have good cell phone coverage with everyone down there now. We're doing our best to get the communications and the logistics set up. But I think you will see an awful lot of progress in just a couple days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And as we said, it is critical to try to get the help to the people of Haiti quickly. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to be joining us in 15 minutes. She'll give us an update on the relief efforts from the State Department.
ROBERTS: Now to a CNN exclusive and video, heart stopping raw footage taken in the moments after the quake hit. Dust still hangs heavy yip in the air, dazed survivors wandering the streets.
An amateur photographer then comes across a concrete building full of people that has collapsed like an accordion, almost pancaked down on itself. There's a child dangling from the top, arms waving for help. We want to warn you some of these images may be disturbing, but it is footage we feel you really have to see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING) (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can imagine the fear and panic of being caught inside that pancaked building.
In Port-au-Prince this morning, the frantic search for survivors goes on as relief efforts ramp up. We are live on the ground at the Haitian capital with Susan Candiotti. She got in there yesterday.
Susan, we have heard so many words being used to describe the situation there, "catastrophic," "utter devastation," the worst that many people have ever seen. Tell us from your perspective what it's like there on the ground.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think there is, to a large degree, a sense of hopelessness among a lot of these people because they have no idea what lies ahead, and they're asking us in some cases. We don't know what's coming up next.
Right now, John, I'm across the street from the main square in the capital here in Port-au-Prince, and here there were hundreds, if not thousands of people camped out all night.
They were here for a number of reasons. First of all, they're scared. Secondly, they have nowhere else to go. Some people are homeless to begin with. Others homes have been destroyed, others heavily damaged.
But more or less I think that they have a sense of feeling better just being around other people, and it's not just at the square. As you drive around the streets, you see, along with what I like to call sort of makeshift sidewalk morgues where bodies are covered with sheets, sometimes one, sometimes multiple bodies at a time.
You also see people sitting in small groups, oftentimes in plain view of the bodies that are nearby.
And people don't know where to go for food. There is no water. All the stores remain open. There is no electricity. And so they're wondering when this relief will get here. So that of course is one of the key stories of the day.
We notice cargo planes, some arriving, U.S. government planes coming in last night. But we did not see any emergency assistance, aid coming off those planes, at least not yet.
It may be we saw some staff onboard that are here to make assessments or at least are making sure that those planes can land, get in and out safely.
And among the homeless, by the way, John, is the president of Haiti, Rene Preval. He wound up spending the last two nights at the airport because the national palace is virtually destroyed. John?
ROBERTS: And we saw Sanjay Gupta's interview with him yesterday. We'll play that in just a moment or so. But let me ask you this question, just in terms of how the people are coping and sort of the atmosphere and the environment there, the first 24 hours after an event like this, people tend to be in shock. They're a little bit confused, they're not sure what to do. They more or less wander the streets in a daze.
Now they're beginning to realize that they need food, they need water. And as you said, there's no place to get it. Are you beginning to sense a growing desperation among the people there, one that could suddenly turn the mood from one we have seen as, in the last 24 hours to 36 hours, been somewhat calm into more of a mood of desperation?
CANDIOTTI: Certainly that's a possibility. But we'll have to see how this day plays out.
You're right. Yesterday and the last day and a half people have been more or less in a state of shock. You tend to walk around and see people with vacant stares.
And yet others are moving up and down the streets, these busy streets -- I know you've been here before -- always teeming with people. Others seem to be trying to get on. The question is, get on to what?
So this day will be interesting to see what happens as it plays out, to see whether people remain calm for the most part. We haven't seen many fights break out or anything like that. But we also haven't seen any signs of government assistance in any way -- no water, trucks, I haven't seen anyone distributing water.
There are private relief agencies trying to help as best they can. I know you heard about, for example, that makeshift hospital that has been set up and is underway, working at a local hotel.
So desperation, we might see signs of that today. But certainly if food doesn't get here soon, or water, there could be a lot of that. John?
ROBERTS: Susan Candiotti live on the ground for us firsthand in Port-au-Prince. Susan, thanks so much.
CHETRY: And the earthquake really spared no one, the poor and the powerful, all desperate for help. Haiti's president homeless this morning. And our Dr. Gupta is on the ground in Haiti. He spoke exclusively to the Haitian president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What are you doing here at the airport?
RENE PREVAL, HAITIAN PRESIDENT: My palace collapsed.
GUPTA: So you don't have a home?
PREVAL: I came here to work. But they told me that I cannot work here because it's not safe. So I'm going home.
GUPTA: You're going to go back to your home. Are you able to live in the palace or is it completely destroyed?
PREVAL: I cannot live in the palace. I cannot live in my own house because the two collapsed.
GUPTA: Where are you going to go tonight?
PREVAL: I don't know.
GUPTA: It's striking -- the president of this country doesn't know where he's going to sleep tonight.
PREVAL: No. I have plenty of time to look for a bed. But now I am working on how to rescue the people. But sleeping is not a problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: One of the big issues as well has to do with numbers. Really just trying to figure out how many people have been affected by this, how many have died.
I asked the president about that as well, and he really said he had no idea. I said, well what is your staff telling you, or what sort of intelligence are you gathering? They said we think it's around 100,000 people have died, a lot more affected.
What is very important right now is this idea of the people in the middle right now. They're terribly injured, but there are still patients that could get care if they could simply find a hospital, find supplies and health care professionals to treat them. That really seems to be the name of the game today, John and Kiran.
CHETRY: So, Sanjay, do you have any information or insight as to when we might see this shift, when that aid is going to arrive? Every time we have a live shot, all of our reporters and correspondents are saying we haven't seen it, we haven't seen food or drink being distributed to anybody, we haven't seen the medical care.
Do you know when that might change? We keep hearing these crews are coming from all over the world.
GUPTA: Well, you know, it was interesting, because I landed at the airport yesterday. And for a long time we weren't sure that the airport was even possible to land at. Our pilot was planning on sort of making a fly-by, checking out the runway, and then deciding.
We decided to land, and when we did land, we saw lots of relief planes on the tarmac. The real issue seems to be, more than anything else, is getting the supplies from the airport to the places that need it most.
As you might imagine, it's just hard going. The roads are tough, there's a lot of rubble in the roads, particularly in areas that -- where people need it the most.
The two pieces of good news I think are that the supplies do seem to be at least in the city, at least some supplies do, and that the relative area that is affected the most appears to be fairly localized. I wasn't sure what to expect, but there's a lot of destruction, but it's in a somewhat defined area.
CHETRY: And the other bit of good news also that we talked about is a big contingent is set to arrive from the Carl Vinson, the USS Carl Vinson. They have a lot of helicopters and planes. And as you said, navigating the roads will be tough. Hopefully the choppers can get in there with some relief supplies as well.
Sanjay Gupta for us in Haiti this morning. Thank you. John?
ROBERTS: Our Anderson Cooper was one of the first journalists on the ground in Port-au-Prince after the quake hit. He and his crew found people digging for survivors and collapsed buildings, sometimes with shovels and axes, but in many cases using their bare hands. Here now is one teenage girl's amazing story of survival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: For many trapped in the rubble of downtown Port-au-Prince, the struggle to live continues.
We've heard there may be somebody alive buried in there. People say there's a 15-year-old buried alive and that they're talking. But we're going to go and try and see if that's the case and if there's anything we can do.
But the street -- I've never seen anything like this. It is just complete devastation. This is downtown Port-au-Prince, just a few blocks from the presidential palace, just about a block from the national cathedral, which itself is pretty much destroyed.
Atop a pile of rubble that used to be a building we find a small group of men who have been digging here more than five hours to rescue a teenage girl. Her feet are the only part of her still visible.
It turns out it's a 13-year-old girl trapped here. Her name is Bea. She's clearly alive. You can hear her crying out. You can see two of her feet at this point.
(SCREAMING)
She's clearly in pain. They discovered her early this morning, it's now past 12:00, and they're still digging. They're not clear how they're going to get her out. They only have this one shovel. They don't have any heavy earth moving equipment.
They're being very careful about what they're moving. They're afraid if they move this big slab on top of her, that other pieces of cement could fall on her and crush her, so they're actually arguing over what to do next. Bea's brother can do nothing. He just stands by listening to his sister's cries. This man says his fact ser also trapped in the building but is already dead.
"I don't have a father anymore," he cries. "Gone. Had I been in the house, I wouldn't be here anymore either."
Worried more aftershocks may come and destroy the building even more, these family and friends work frantically. Finally, after being trapped for more than 18 hours, the men make a small hole and pull Bea (ph) out. She is alive. She is finally free.
Did you think you would come out alive?
"I felt that I would live, she says. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared of anything. People were dying below me. I could hear them, but I wasn't scared. My heart didn't skip a beat."
"I heard them crying, she says. I heard an old lady crying, God, I'm dying last night. I heard my aunt running and a big block fell on her."
(on camera): This man has lost four family members. He just showed me his wife's body which is under a shroud, and he's now worried about another family member who's an American and he believes she is trapped inside that building as well and he's pretty sure she's dead.
(voice-over): There's no telling how long it will be before he knows for sure just how many people he has lost.
This is just one building. This is just one block. The suffering here has just begun.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, Port-au-Prince.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: So just in that one building, as Anderson said, I mean, one amazing survival story. You saw the girl pulled out and she's fine, and then other people who lost all their family members.
ROBERTS: Yes. You can imagine too that that story, both of those stories being repeated dozens of times across the devastation in Port-au-Prince today.
CHETRY: There's going to be amazing survival stories. Hopefully we'll see things turn around as more heavy equipment can get in there. As you said and as Anderson said, they're digging.
ROBERTS: And as those professional search and rescue teams with dogs get in as well, that will really be helpful.
CHETRY: Right.
Well, Americans are really stepping up to help earthquake victims in Haiti. In addition to all of the help that's going over there, the government help, the State Department says that more than $800,000 has been raised just by people texting in the last 24 hours "Haiti" to 90999. When you do that, $10 is charged to your cell phone bill and it goes directly to those relief efforts.
And there is more about how you can help on our "Impact Your World" web page, and it links to more than two dozen groups involved in relief efforts. You can go to CNN.com/impact.
ROBERTS: Well, the world is responding to the quake this morning, including in the twitter verse. Our Christine Romans brings us that side of the story coming right after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, breaking news.
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. And our continuing coverage of the rescue and relief mission going on right now in Haiti.
As the death toll rises, the true extent of the damage is difficult, if not impossible to assess. The next 24 hours will be critical for survivors. What is America doing to help?
Joining us with an update on the U.S. relief efforts, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She's live at the State Department this morning.
Madam Secretary, thanks for being with us. I know that you're familiar with Haiti. You were there last April. Your husband is the U.N. envoy to Haiti.
You know, we're seeing obviously a lot of pictures around the ground talking to some people, but overall, the big picture, what's the situation down there, and how capable is the Haitian government of responding to this?
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, John, you know, it's a devastating situation. There's no doubt as you look at the pictures that are coming back that give you a snapshot, you multiply that over an area that affects about three million people and the collapse of tens of thousands of buildings. But we've got a very coordinated, aggressive response going on.
We have sent some of our crack (ph) search and rescue teams into Port-au-Prince. They're beginning their work. We're coordinating with the Haitian president, President Preval. Unfortunately, as you know, the government buildings were terribly damaged by the earthquake. A lot of government members unaccounted for. No communications system. We're supplying a communication system, so they can begin to get up and running.
We're working with the United Nations which was equally devastated by the collapse of their headquarters. So the authorities that existed before the earthquake are not able to fully function. We're going to try to support them as they re-establish authority.
The peacekeepers, the U.N. peacekeepers, about 7,000 of them commanded by a Brazilian general are beginning to clear the roads. Our Coast Guard has been unbelievable. They got there first, as you might guess, being in the area. We've got the 82nd Airborne and other military assets coming in. We had a military team reopen the airport so we can start to handle the big heavy planes.
There's an enormous amount of work going on. I'm very proud of our response. We're grateful for the international response, but I think we have a long way ahead of us. The next 24 hours is critical to save those lives that can be saved. We know that from other earthquake and other disasters. But then we have a long way back to try to deal with the devastation of the loss of, you know, life and infrastructure.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, sure. I can imagine that that's a process that's going to take years, if not decades to fully recover when you look at the extent of the devastation and Haiti's ability to recover from it.
You know, you talk about search and rescue, clearing roads, that sort of thing. There's also an enormous medical need there. What hospitals remain standing are jammed with people. Doctors without borders has got a field hospital set up. But what is the United States doing in terms of bringing down medical teams to help care for the many, many people that we see that are so desperately in need?
Our Ivan Watson yesterday had a story of a woman whose foot had been amputated in a collapse and she'd been sitting outside the hospital with a tourniquet around her leg for more than 24 hours.
CLINTON: Well, you're right, the hospitals in Port-au-Prince have collapsed. There's a few facilities still opening, but not really capable of handling the surge of need. The other groups are there.
The United States is bringing down medical personnel. We have some on the ground right now. I know that there are trauma teams that have been dispatched. We have the "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier on the way which will be able to provide some medical assistance. We've got the "USS Comfort" getting ready to leave, to get down there.
But the immediate trauma crisis, we're trying to meet with volunteer doctors, with medical -- with military doctors and others, because the -- as you're right. This is a large area involving many, many, many millions of people who have been cut off from access. Just getting to people to provide the medical assistance they need is proving to be very difficult.
ROBERTS: And what about the security situation there, Madam Secretary? People have been pretty orderly up until this point. But we're starting to get now into, you know, the end of day two, beginning of day three. People will begin to get desperate as they realize that they don't have the food, medical, water supplies that they need. It's a place where security has been shaky anyways. What can the U.S. do to help provide security? Is that why the 82nd Airborne is going down?
CLINTON: Well, we also have a contingent of about 2,000 Marines going down. We're going to work with the international peacekeepers under the U.N. to supplement them in providing security.
You're right, that they've been basically the police force. Haiti doesn't have an army. They didn't have much of a police force. It's being rebuilt by the United Nations with our assistance.
This is a country that has suffered, you know, so many blows. Last year, it was four hurricanes. This year it's an earthquake. It is hard almost to imagine.
But the people of Haiti are resilient. They are a hopeful people. We are going to do everything we can to maintain order. As you say, so far it has been orderly. But in the wake of disasters like this, people do get desperate.
If you have a starving, you know, baby in your arms, you are going to try to find food wherever you can. So we're moving as quickly as possible. Once we can get communications up so we can tell people where to go, what kind of help they can expect, we'll be able to better manage the crisis.
ROBERTS: And there's also that issue of the prison that partially collapsed and a lot of criminals roaming free now.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, thanks so much for spending the time this morning. We'll keep a close eye on what the U.S. is doing in relief efforts.
CLINTON: Good. John, one quick thing.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CLINTON: For people who are worried about missing friends, family, loved ones, please call 1-888-407-4747. And if you wish to donate, you can text the word "Haiti" H-A-I-T-I to 90999. We've raised $3 million. It goes to the Red Cross which is in desperate need of resources to buy the supplies that the people of Haiti require.
ROBERTS: OK. And we'll keep reminding people of that all morning.
CLINTON: Good.
ROBERTS: Madam Secretary, great to spend some time with you. Thanks so much.
CLINTON: Thanks, John.
CHETRY: And that's an amazing update because we were reporting $800,000. ROBERTS: $800,000 and not $3 million.
CHETRY: $3 million. One other quick note. The World Food Programme, you're talking about the situation there with the supplies. They're set to fly in 86 tons of the high-energy biscuits that can just be eaten, enough to feed I guess 30,000 people for about a week.
Obviously, they're going to need much more than that, but they can't really provide some of the other things they used to provide like rice, oil for cooking because people don't have kitchens.
ROBERTS: Right. Exactly.
CHETRY: It's going to be MREs (ph), the meals ready to eat.
ROBERTS: You know, Bettina Luescher, who actually used to work for CNN is now involved with the U.N. World Food Programme and she's always promoting these high-energy biscuits and they are a fabulous way of getting an amazing energy boost that with just a very small package as well.
CHETRY: She was actually holding them up yesterday when she was here preparing for an interview saying we've got to get these in there.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: So they're trying. Logistically it's very hard.
But meantime, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning and she's joining us now with more on the situation as well.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The social media really helping out here. For the first time we have a natural disaster where you have social media actually having a profound effect on the rescue and the disaster relief efforts here.
You've been talking about the Red Cross and how much money they raised. Last night, they had some $200,000. Now, they're topping $800,000. You can text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to disaster relief.
You know, Twitter is having these hashmark Haiti. You can look right there and see what's happening. Also Wyclef Jean, who is from Haiti. He's -- he's a rapper, a musician who has an amazing program as well that's getting a lot of money here.
But the Better Business Bureau is warning, look, after the tsunami in 2004, after Katrina, we saw huge scams. Be careful where you're giving your money. Social media helping a lot for the reliable people, but there are a lot of unreliable people out there. Make sure you have an expert opinion. Be cautious when giving money online.
Consider the charities on the ground present. You want people who are there working that can get your resources there very quickly. Is this person giving or this group giving direct aid or fundraising for other groups. Sometimes you want to put the middleman and go straight to the other groups there on the ground working.
Gifts of clothing, food, other in-kind donations usually not a good idea. They need your money.
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMANS: They need your money. They don't need sweatshirts. They need your money.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we're going to speak to a Miami radio talk show host. There's an area known as "little Haiti" that has about 250,000 Haitians living there, former Haitians who moved to the United States. And there's, of course, a lot of concern in the community and people are speaking out on the radio. We're going to be checking in with him in just a moment.
Twenty-eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Crossing the half hour and we're following breaking news out of the disaster zone in Haiti.
In just a matter of hours an American aircraft carrier is expected to reach Haiti's coast. It will provide much needed helicopters to get aid from the ship to people suffering on the streets as well as move construction equipment to places where the machines are needled to clear rubble. Other American ships and the 2,000-member marine unit has also been deployed as the secretary of state told us just a couple of moments ago, the 82nd Airborne will be on its way as well.
CHETRY: Well, the State Department is struggling to account for the estimated 45,000 U.S. citizens currently in Haiti, at least 66 Americans have turned up at the U.S. embassy there for help. Another 160 are at the airport waiting to leave the island. Washington hoping to begin evacuation as early as today.
ROBERTS: And millions of dollars in aid are already on their way to Haiti. According to the "Associated Press," countries in Europe and Asia have so far pledged more than $30 million. That is in addition to cargo planes from around the world sending teams of doctors and equipment.
CHETRY: Well, in Miami's little Haiti community, there is a different kind of struggle this morning. Hundreds of thousands of people waiting for word about friends, loved ones, relatives, coming together in homes and churches seeking comfort and also information. Much of it coming from the radio.
And people like Piment Bouk, he is a radio host at WLQY in Miami. And he's taking some time out from his show this morning to be with us. Piment, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for being here.
PIMENT BOUK, RADIO HOST, WLQY, MIAMI: Thank you. Good morning to all of you. Thank you to the United States for so many aid to Haiti, to help this country.
CHETRY: Absolutely. I know that, you know, looking at these pictures, there's no doubt how great a need there is right now. I mean, even in your own personal story, you have loved ones there. Your father, your sister. Have you been able to contact any of your relatives?
BOUK: No. Not yet. I've tried to contact Haiti to reach my family. It's not easy to find, and also from my radio show, I have almost 14 newsmen in Haiti. 14 yesterday, days before yesterday, (INAUDIBLE) contact with them. So this morning I've already called, I can't reach them. And also yesterday, the same thing. I can't reach anybody or any news media, any family also.
CHETRY: So you're still waiting for contact. A little bit of good news, you say your father, sister, your cousins, your aunts and nieces lived a little bit north of Port-au-Prince, they were not actually in the city?
BOUK: My father lived in Cap-Haitien, north of Haiti. But my cousin and also I have one of my sister, days before the catastrophe in Haiti, she went to Port-au-Prince. I tried to reach her on the cellar phone and it's not easy because no contact.
CHETRY: Yes, it's hard to imagine how helpless so many must feel. You and the hundreds of thousands here in the states that want to know what's happened to their loved ones and relatives. What are your callers saying as they're calling in your show about Haiti? What do they want to know in the wake of this earthquake?
BOUK: Everybody calling me on my radio show because I'm only the one, when I operate my radio show, everybody listen to me. I give the news, all over the country, all different city of Haiti. That's why everybody keep calling me, hey, can you please tell me what is going on? I can't reach my family. Can I please send a message, or let me talk on the radio to see if someone listen to you on the internet from Haiti. They can let me know if my father or my mom, my dad can be there or my sister, and family.
I say, hey, it's not easy to reach anybody in Haiti. Also my newsmen, I can't reach them to give you have the news to tell you exactly what is going on, if your family is here or not. It's very difficult.
CHETRY: Absolutely. There's an op-ed piece today in the "New York Times" by Puja Bati (ph) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, saying that what they're witnessing on the streets is that there's no help. That the government is unable to help, that people are dying in the streets, literally, and all they're waiting for and praying for is outside relief aid to get in there.
How is this situation unfolding? And how are people that are listening to you responding to what they're hearing right now, that is just desperation from their loved ones and friends in Haiti?
BOUK: One thing, we thank god. Everybody they went to United States, government can give you aid in Haiti. Therefore I can say all Haitian people are very appreciative of the president of the United States, President Obama, also Secretary Mrs. Hillary Clinton, all over the world the countries that can help Haiti, we are very appreciative, especially to Miami, the city of Miami, the Haitian mayor, (INAUDIBLE) the city, the council, and also Charlie Crist, the governor. You know, all of you, all of the American people, we are very appreciative.
Also CNN is the media I can say, hey, this is the number one, give you all the pictures, show you everything, minute by minute, stop all advertising to help the country, to help Haitian people. We are very appreciative of you. The American dream you say in god we trust, today is the proof of United States to Haiti to give you help like that. We are very appreciative of the United States for everything they do for us in Haiti.
CHETRY: Well, if any place needed the help right now, it's certainly is your home country. We wish you the best. WE hope you get in touch with your relatives as well. And we are glad that you are able to at least provide some information for the hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in Little Haiti in Miami.
Piment Bouk, thanks for being with us this morning.
BOUK: Thank you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: 37 minutes now after the hour. Other stories new this morning, a House committee wants to know what Tim Geithner was thinking when he bailed out insurance giant, AIG. They are now ordering the New York Fed to turn over its former president's e-mails, phone logs and notes tied to the bailout. At issue? Why billions of AIG bailout dollars were diverted to other banks, possibly costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
CHETRY: Also, President Obama and top Democrats saying they are making progress trying to shape a final health care overhaul bill. There's a lot of meetings yesterday, trying to hammer out a final compromise between the House and Senate plans. Big difference but still needs to be resolved is how to pay for the reform.
ROBERTS: And new concerns on the Homeland Security front, American officials say there is credible intelligence suggesting Al Qaeda in Yemen is planning another attack on the United States on the heels of a plot to blow up an airliner on Christmas day. Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has been working her sources. She's live in Washington now with the very latest. Jeanne, what do you know?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John, two senior officials are calling it a credible threat from Al Qaeda in Yemen against the U.S. homeland. Although one official called the threat fairly general in nature, two sources said it related to aviation. Since the Christmas day attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the U.S. has been scouring intelligence looking for additional information.
One source says the new intelligence was developed during that process. One officials said that the U.S. had gleaned that Al Qaeda is already adapting to new U.S. security measures and that has raised concerns. But at this point according to one source, no additional protective measures have been taken. They already are of course very robust. Although one official said this is not a case where the U.S. has connected the dots to something imminent, another source described the level of concern as measurable, adding there is more prickling of the neck hair. John.
ROBERTS: So when this prickling of the neck hair, how specific is the information on this threat?
MESERVE: According to one source, when it comes to time frame, it is more definitive than these things usually are but another official called the threat fairly general in nature without too much specificity. No one I might add is too surprised about it, as one U.S. counter terrorism put it, no one thought the threat from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ended on December 25th, the group continues to plot and to plan. John.
ROBERTS: Maybe just the beginning of other big plans ahead. Jeanne Meserve for us in Washington this morning.
Jeanne, thanks so much.
Coming up next on the most news in the morning as we continue our coverage of the crisis in Haiti, we're going to speak with the director of Save the Children in Haiti about the great need there for young people and it is huge. Stay with us. 20 minutes to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share. With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and long history that binds us together, Haitians are our neighbors in the Americas and here at home. So we have to be there for them in their hour of need.
Despite the fact that we are experiencing tough times here at home, I would encourage those Americans who want to support the urgent humanitarian efforts to go to whitehouse.gov where you can learn how to contribute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. In Haiti, aid agencies are on the ground doing all they can to help this morning, but relief workers and doctors are overwhelmed by the enormous scale of the disaster.
Ian Rodgers is the senior emergency adviser for the non-profit group Save the Children. His group has worked in Haiti since 1985 providing health, education and food programs to children. Ian joins us on the telephone now from Port-au-Prince.
Ian, thanks so much for being with us.
You know, we see these pictures of children sleeping in the streets. We had that 13-year-old pulled from the rubble as our Anderson Cooper watched. What's the scope of the need there among children in Haiti? It's got to be overwhelming.
IAN RODGERS, SENIOR EMERGENCY ADVISER, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Very (INAUDIBLE) critical need (INAUDIBLE) access to health care and health facilities that are presently are not fully operational, but also looking (INAUDIBLE) the population again have been on the street and in makeshift displaced camps to - in order to - to stay safe from - from falling debris. And then, of course, there is - is the fact that children of course are probably separated from the parents, if their parents have been injured or - or killed. There's a lot of need in trying to be able to link up and reunite families (ph).
ROBERTS: Yes. Ian, I should tell you we're just having a little bit of a -a problem hearing you. Your - your sat phone is cutting in and out. I don't know if it's able to - you're able to get a little clearer. Perhaps you're next to a building or something.
Situations like this, right - right now, I mean, obviously the situation is - is dire, particularly with children, but unless aid gets there swiftly, and - and there hasn't been a lot that's been, distributed it can go from dire to critical very quickly. How close are you to that point?
RODGERS: Well, as you say, that - that's a very good point. We - we need a significant amount of resources, a significant amount of - of people on the ground and funds to be able to turn around and respond.
It is very possible that the situation can go from dire to - to absolutely catastrophic if we don't get enough food, medicines, and - and work with - with children and their families to - to help them help themselves.
ROBERTS: Right. So - so how long do you have until you cross that tipping point, and - and what is your ability to respond to the current crisis? And what about the Haitian government? It seems to - to not even be functioning at this point.
RODGERS: Oh, the tipping point, I mean, we are right on the cusp right now, that that - that situation is going to occur. It's now been 48 hours. People are without water. Children are without food and without shelter.
What we will see with the lack of water is the possibility of diarrheal diseases, and - and of course, that can kill children in a matter of hours, if - if not tended to appropriately. Getting resources in is - at the moment we have some supplies in stock, food and some kinds of response relief items, but we've got today coming across from the - from the Dominican Republic. But it - it's still not enough. The needs are overwhelming at this point in time and we're going to be doing our best to respond to that. But obviously that's a big task at hand.
The Haitian government, as you say, has been affected. This is probably the - the major difference between this earthquake and other earthquakes I've worked in before, for example, in - in China or in Szechuan (ph) or in Jakarta or Indonesia. This is the nation's capital that has been affected, so all of the infrastructure, the government personnel that - that would normally lead these types of responses, they themselves have been affected at the national capital level.
ROBERTS: And as have relief agencies like your own, Ian. You - you've got 54 staff members there. You were hit hard by the earthquake. Some of your staff members are missing. How - how many, and - and do you have any idea of how many you - you actually might have lost or how many are just missing at this point?
RODGERS: Yes. We were hit - we were hit hard. We were lucky that the building that we use is - is still standing. However, we have power issues, we have water issues, and we - we have had to set up an outside command post because of the aftershocks.
We do have staff still that we haven't been able to contact. We are obviously - we have our fingers crossed and our hearts go out to their families, that they are OK, bearing in mind that the time that the earthquake hit was late in the afternoon. We suspect that staff were traveling home at that time. But of course their families, particularly wives and children and grandparents, were probably in the houses at that time.
So we are - we are hoping that the staff that we haven't been able to contact so far are actually spending their time looking after their family.
ROBERTS: All right. Ian Rodgers - Ian Rodgers from Save the Children for us this morning. We - we wish you Godspeed, Ian. A huge task ahead of you. You can use all the help you can get.
Thanks for being with us. Good luck to you.
CHETRY: Well, one of the - the big things is the social networking, the ability to use iReports, Facebook, Twitter to communicate messages, and there have been thousands coming in right now. People looking for their loved ones, showing their photos and wanting to let others know that they need help, and we're going to show you a few of them after the break.
It's 49 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifty-two minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to our special coverage of the rescue and relief efforts in Haiti this morning.
We're looking at some of the iReports that have been pouring in to CNN since the earthquake hit, and this reminds me a lot of - in the days after 9/11, when families were literally taking posters, sticking them on buildings down at the Family Center on Lexington Avenue, doing anything to try to let people know, this is my loved one. They're missing in the rubble of the World Trade Center. Have you seen them? This is similar only they're using the internet to do the same thing.
The first one is coming from the mother of Bianca Viza. She says that her daughter went to go visit, that she left a voicemail in Haiti that she was in Port-au-Prince, visiting her boyfriend, and she has not heard from her since. So this is her picture, and she's asking if anybody has any information to - to please give it to her. So, again, this is picture of Bianca and her boyfriend.
Now, let's show you the next iReport that came on. This is from a man by the name of Emmanuel Rejouis. He survived the earthquake at the UN building, made it back to the hotel, but right now he is looking for his brother-in-law's wife and her children. This is a picture of the children right now. He's asking that if anyone has family there to please try to help them.
It's heartbreaking. She (ph) says that they were buried in the rubble, that she can hear the voices, especially of her youngest daughter, two-year-old Alyahana. She can hear them and she says they must - there must be an air pocket there. But it's chaos on the ground and there's no machinery, so she's asking for help, if anyone's there, leaves the address of the Karibe Hotel as well. This is in Petionville, Haiti.
So, again, hopefully help will be on the way soon in these situations because we've been talking about all of the global, world resources that are pouring in from countries all across the globe.
The third one is Kellee Metty. This is sent in about her mother. She says that she was visiting an orphanage with three other American women, and we're learning, though, that has since been found, so a bit of good news here.
But, again, John, this just shows you, ireport.com is where people are going. They're posting photos of their loved ones, people that are missing and also sharing their experience of the earthquake. So, fingers crossed that all of these stories end as well as it did for Kellee.
ROBERTS: Yes. And missing among the rubble also, this American boy on vacation in Haiti. We'll show you his picture here. His father desperately hopes that the young teen's red hair will help him stand out in a crowd.
Ava Hurdle from our own CNN affiliate, WAVY TV 10 in Virginia reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AVA HURDLE, WAVY TV 10 CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirteen year old Andrew Foster is an eight grader at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in Virginia Beach. He flew to Port-au-Prince Tuesday afternoon with his uncle on real estate business. Both share a scuba diving hobby and plan to take some time to do just that.
But Robert Foster got a phone call from his son right after he landed in Haiti as the earthquake hit the area and hasn't heard from him since.
ROBERT FOSTER, FATHER OF MISSING BOY: Well, obviously, we're concerned for Andrew. His first time away from his mother and I traveling abroad, you know, trip of a lifetime. You know, 20 minutes of business to take care of while he's down there and a week of sun and then (INAUDIBLE) and scuba diving. And obviously this is not the life experience we had in mind for him.
HURDLE: He wanted (INAUDIBLE) to put out the information for one reason.
FOSTER: If there were any relief workers or any people traveling from this area, which I know in the next couple of days there will be a lot of people transiting down there. I mean, he's a skinny, redheaded kid in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, you know? If someone saw this picture once, I'm sure that they would - they would - they would pick him out in a crowd.
HURDLE: He just wants to know his son is OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And if you have any information, potentially, about Andrew Foster, you're asked to contact the US Embassy in Haiti. It's haiti.usembassy.gov. Haiti.usembassy.gov. Haiti.usembassy.gov.
They're forwarding missing persons calls to the State Department. That number is 888-407-4747. And we'll continue to tell you about that number this morning, as well as ways that you can also donate money to the relief effort.
CHETRY: And we're going to continue to follow all the breaking developments as well, including, coming up the next hour, we're going to check in with our own Anderson Cooper. He was one of the first on the ground in Port-au-Prince. He witnessed a stunning rescue effort, a teenage girl saved by men who moved the rubble with their bare hands.
ROBERTS: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the medical aftershocks there, why no war zone or disaster has prepared him for this.
CHETRY: And the youngest victims of disaster, nonprofits here at home worried about the children in their care in Haiti. What happens when the people that are there to send relief also are in need? We're going to speak to one woman who's dedicated her life to the kids there.
Those stories and much more coming your way at the top of the hour in just three minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
