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CNN Sunday Morning
Haiti Earthquake
Aired January 17, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Sanjay.
And from the CNN Center here in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 17th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 8:00 in Atlanta, Georgia, where we sit; 7:00 a.m. in St. Louis; 5:00 a.m. out in San Diego. Wherever you may be this morning, we are glad you are right here with us.
NGUYEN: Well, the sun is starting to come up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It's been five days since the deadly earthquake. Food supplies, water supplies are finally starting trickle into larger parts of the city. We want to get right to all the developing news, though, for you.
HOLMES: Yes. So far, still, no official death count. But listen to this latest estimates that we are getting.
A U.N. official is saying the count ranges from somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000. Among the known dead right now, at least 15 Americans. More than 300 United Nations staffers are unaccounted for. Another 27 are confirmed dead.
Despite the best attempts by aid groups, there is a dire need for medical aid, for food and for water. A doctor at one makeshift hospital said 1/3 of the 300 patients there would die if they don't get immediate surgery. Despite deeming chances, search teams from nearly 30 nations continue to look for survivors.
NGUYEN: Well, CNN does have a wide range of resources and correspondents working on the search efforts and aid that is coming in to Haiti, as well as the recovery. Ten of our reporters and their crews are in Port-au-Prince to bring you the latest.
And we want to turn now to faith in Haiti on the first Sunday after one of the country's worse natural disasters. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is live in Port-au-Prince. He's been filing numerous reports.
But today, Chris, you're really following the faithful. And I want to know, especially after such a disaster, are you seeing them file into the churches on this first Sunday since the quake? CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I got a little bit of that about the churches after the quake. It's hard to hear you, it's pretty loud here, Betty. But I just want to show.
This is -- we are here at the Church of God, which is a Protestant church. I just want to back away and give you a little idea of what's going on.
We can kind of listen just a little bit as they can to start up -- they started a few minutes ago. And as we pan around, you get an idea that this is all very makeshift. They got a couple of porch together, bonded (ph) them together with a few pieces of wood, that was enough to make a stage. They brought over some folding chairs and brought some of the pews.
The actual church, the real church is across the street but it was damaged so badly in the earthquake, they can't hold service in there. So, what are they doing? They're making do.
We saw them earlier this morning just bringing everything over. One of the guys brought in a generator, so that they could have music at the service and have microphones. They brought over some of the musical instruments.
And so far from what we've heard through the translation, this is a Creole service. But what we're hearing is -- what I heard earlier was, if you are alive today, God has a plan for you. So, we expect at the sermon today, and a lot of what is said today will be very reflective of the earthquake, and what people hear of lost.
Some of the people here in this congregation did lose their homes in the earthquake. I was speaking with a doctor who is a member of the congregation who says he treated a lot of the victims, his own neighbors. And, again, this gives you an idea of the other side of Haiti. We've been reporting so much on all of the devastation, but this gives you an idea of some of the pride and some of the ingenuity and ability to overcome that a lot of Haitians have to set up this church service just in a dirt field right across the street from their normal church -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Their faith holds strong despite all the tragedy around them. I know it's very difficult for you to hear us. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning, though.
Chris Lawrence bringing us that report -- thank you, Chris.
HOLMES: And President Obama says the U.S. will provide $100 million in aid to Haiti. But he's also enlisted the assistance of former presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, to lead a public fundraising effort.
Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is joining us now from Washington.
Ed, good morning to you.
He got a couple big dogs out to try to help raises money. How much are they talking about trying to raise?
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., honestly, White House officials are saying that they don't know how much money they'll need, that $100 million that the president talked about in taxpayer funds is really just a downpayment, and what he's trying to do with these former presidents is reprise the role from what we saw from two previous presidents, both Bill Clinton and the first President Bush did this in 2004 and 2005 after the tsunami. Then-President George W. Bush enlisted his father and former President Clinton.
Now, we're seeing the most recent President Bush joining Bill Clinton to try to get the message out, as quickly as possible, that the sky is the limit in terms of what kinds of sources they need. Former President Bush, for example, talking about how well a lot of people may want to send blankets, may want to send water.
But what the aid workers really need right now is cash so they can figure out exactly what resources to deploy, and when you talk to the White House officials, they believe this is really a full-court press from the former presidents trying to enlist inside help and the president himself making sure the U.S. government is doing all it can to help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here at home, Presidents Bush and Clinton will help the American people to do their part, because responding to a disaster must be the work of all of us. Indeed, those wrenching scenes of devastation remind us not only of our common humanity but also of our common responsibilities. This time of suffering can and must be a time of compassion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: And when you talk to White House officials in private, they acknowledge that Hurricane Katrina, while a different scenario, obviously, on U.S. soil -- well, this is not on U.S. soil.
Haiti is a neighbor. This president is making clear the U.S. will do all it can to help. And there's lots of similarities to Katrina, in terms of just the utter devastation, chaos, the need to move quickly and get in there to try to provide as much help as possible.
And, you know, a couple days ago, President Obama spoke to his Haitian counterpart, President Preval, who basically ended the call by just simply saying, "I have a message to the American people, thank you, thank you, thank you" -- T.J.
HOLMES: And, Ed, on the point you kind of made a second ago about this money and the immediate need. Why was it important to pull these two presidents together? Of course, there are so many other organizations out there raising money. You got the Red Cross, certainly. And certainly, some that people trust. But was it important as well to get these two guys and these two names out there so people can feel comfortable giving that money, and also, with an eye towards the future, not just the immediate need but also trying to rebuild Haiti to something it wasn't before this?
HENRY: I think you hit on the exact points. I mean, when you go on Twitter, you hear a lot of people, for example, saying, you know, who can I trust, where do I send the money. It's confusing because you hear a lot of different charities trying to help.
And what the White House tried was trying to do here is find two very high-profile people that tried to direct the people. They now have another Web site, which is ClintonBushHaitiFund.org. They're trying to make that the central clearinghouse from the U.S. government to then filter this aid out there.
And I think you're absolutely right as well that it's not just about these initial weeks, as important as that is, to try to save as many lives as possible. When you see our reporting on the ground, it's very clear this is going to -- not just take months, it's going to take years to rebuild Haiti. And so, this has to be a sustained fundraising campaign, not just one for the initial hours -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Ed Henry for us from Washington this morning -- we appreciate you, buddy. Thank you so much.
And if you'd like to contribute to the Haitian relief effort, you can go to our Web site at CNN.com/ImpactYourWorld for a list of agencies providing emergency relief.
There's also a "find your loved one" section with the State Department's toll free number and a link to the iReport, "looking for loved ones" photo gallery.
NGUYEN: Well, could the weather affect those rescue and recovery efforts. That's a big concern today.
HOLMES: And our Reynolds Wolf is keeping an eye on the forecast there. We've been talking about it being so hot, but it's not going to be hot, might have to be with a little more than that.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. But overall, this is what it looks for the time being, that finally there's going to be some kind of cooperation with Mother Nature in terms of this tragedy. We're going to have your complete forecast coming up for Haiti. Plus, we're going to give a little bit of a snippet of what's happening around the country.
Sit tight. You are watching CNN SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. You know, we've been talking a lot about the heat in Haiti, that's something that many people expect. But when you lost all your homes and your shelters and many of the buildings, you're just out in the open. And that's what a lot of people are doing. They're just enduring the conditions, and now, word of possible rain, Reynolds?
WOLF: Yes, a little bit rain of rain, but -- I mean, it's not going to cause any more problems than what they have. I mean, after they've you know, what they've been dealing with -- I mean, a little scattered showers here and there are going to cause many issues.
The biggest concern we have in terms of the weather are really your flight conditions, trying to get supplies in that area, trying to help evacuate others that desperately need to escape from that hellish existence that they have.
I mean a look at this CNN iReport site that we have and you're seeing some of the people that have been able to survive in the weather they've been experiencing for the last couple of days.
Again, to mention, it's just been pretty typical of what you have this time of the year. But when in terms -- you think about in terms of not just meteorology, but geology, it has really been active. Let's take a look at all these yellow dots popping up. These are advisories we've had, aftershocks, just over the last couple of hours, last couple of days.
Scott, our photojournalist, was asking that things have been kind of active. And, yes, very much so. Almost like a trampoline, in fact.
Now, these aftershocks have not been especially strong. But the things is, as we've been talking all morning long, when you have these buildings that are really just -- some of them just hanging -- just by a thread or two. In some places, some of that concrete, of course, the buildings themselves is very weak. All it takes is a little bit of jostle of the earth and some of those things can fall down. So, certainly, a rough time to say the very least.
Long term forecast of the next five days. Pretty typically, highs mainly into the 80s and 90s, partly cloudy skies, afternoon showers are going to be a possibility. The nighttime low is mainly into the 70s. But in terms of your sky conditions, all things are considered pretty good.
We do see some things in Flight Tracker, some planes actually leaving parts of the south Florida, headed towards parts of the island. Certainly, some great news there, and hopefully bringing some much need supplies. Any air drops that may stake place today.
I'll tell you, the conditions should be just fine today. A very gentle east-southeast breeze around 17 miles and hour along the coast. A bit more calm, though, in the interior.
So, that's a wrap on the forecast. Folks, we got so much to share with you about this unfolding tragedy in Haiti. We're going to have a lot more coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: You know, unfortunately, the hope of finding those still missing after the quake fades with every hour and every day. But we do have a positive update for you on a guest that he had on yesterday.
HOLMES: Yes. This is exciting -- was exciting for us to get this morning. Jean Riccardo Rodney was looking for that little guy there. That's his 5-year-old brother.
Now, Rodney, or Jean Riccardo, who we had on us as guest yesterday was joining us from Phoenix. He was hoping for any news. He said his brother Rubens, may have been in a school when the quake hit. He heard rumors that possibly he was alive, but again, no one had actually seen him and never got official word.
Well, lo and behold, we got to work this morning, we got a tweet at 4:30. Tweet came to me from Jean Rodney and it said. I'm quoting it. We'll put it up for you.
"Thank you so much, T.J. Holmes, for your help. I did hear from my father and confirmed that Rubens was indeed alive and fine."
NGUYEN: So happy to hear these success stories that people have found their loved ones, because when he was on the air, he truly did not know , and there was some worry about him being at school, Rubens, his 5-year-old brother, because that school was not in good shape at all.
So, you know, the funny thing is, too, a lot of people are hearing word of mouth that so-and-so is OK, but no one has seen that person. So, therein lies the worry -- well, is it true? Is it not true?
But he finally got that official word.
HOLMES: Yes. Well, we've been hearing those stories a lot, that people -- it's weird to think, the rumors...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ... and second and third-hand information about possibly somebody is alive.
NGUYEN: You hold on to that hope when you do get it, you know? Hopefully, it's true, but until you hear his voice or know someone who's laid eyes on him, you can't -- you know, be absolutely certain.
HOLMES: But we appreciate the updates, Jean Riccardo. So glad it worked out for you and your family at least.
We'll continue to follow so many other families.
NGUYEN: And CNN is using the resources -- here to try to help people all over the world connect with their loved ones in Haiti.
HOLMES: And Josh Levs is here with a story of a woman who was told her cousin had died and then actually saw that cousin on CNN. Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, to you guys. Yes, this is really interesting.
As you know, we've been following kind of half the story -- because all over the world, you have so many people who are so scared for their loved ones. And we here at CNN have been hearing from people all over the world want to know how they can connect. So, they've been posting photos.
And we had a really interesting story that came out for you yesterday. Here's what you're going to hear now. You're going to hear my conversation with a woman who was told her cousin was dead, and then saw alive on TV. And while we play that for you, we're going to show you the clip from "LARRY KING LIVE" that she saw that her cousin's picture in it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S LARRY KING LIVE")
TALMA JOSEPH, SAW COUSIN ALIVE ON CNN (via telephone): A cousin went in to my room and told me, "Talma, Talma, I think I saw (INAUDIBLE)," which is my cousin, that's her nickname. I mean, what are you talking about? I'm watching it but I just wasn't paying attention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, let's go to that picture actually. This is the picture that your relatives were talking about. That's her, I believe with the pink on her head and she's being fed something.
JOSEPH: Yes, that's my cousin.
LEVS: And credit where it's true. That's a photo taken by the "Associated Press." So, tell me what it was like? You had heard she was dead and all of a sudden you see her alive on TV.
JOSEPH: Oh, my gosh, tears of joy and happiness. I could believe it because a couple hours before that we were told that she was buried underneath the debris. So, we thought there was no way she was going to make it. We did not have any hope and we thought she was gone until I saw the picture -- my mom saw the picture. And everybody just started crying tears of joy.
We don't know what to do, because we don't know where she is. We didn't have any family in Port-in-Prince. She was staying with a friend of her mom's.
LEVS: And, you know, this moment encapsulate so much about communication in Haiti right now. People cannot reach out by phone through traditional ways. And what you find is so many people are finding out these round-about-ways.
Now, I want to get your cousin's right? Martha Monegut (ph), right?
JOSEPH: Yes.
LEVS: And you have another picture of her that you sent her. Let's take a look at that, so people can see what she usually looks like and how that compares to the photo that you were seeing right there. That's your cousin, Martha, right?
JOSEPH: Yes. That's the picture posted on CNN iReport, Facebook, everywhere that I -- I could find her. But I did not receive any lead until this morning when you left me a message.
LEVS: Right. Now, Talma, talk to me. I understand that after this happened you found out she was alive and you got a call now about what she is struggling with physically. Talk to me about this.
JOSEPH: Yes, I received a call from my aunt. She told me that she talked to her friend that she was staying with them, that she was alive but in bad shape. We keep praying for her and she doesn't if she's going to make it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And that's what also so important about all of this. People get their relief finding that relatives are alive, but now, they have to worry about (INAUDIBLE) again, medical care, what does it made to when they recover from serious injuries. Will they get basics, they just need to get by even if the injuries would not be considered so severe in this country and what is ahead.
I want to tell you quickly, though. At iReport.com, we do have more and more stories for you about that, including a new section that just popped up today, "Found: Reconnected with Families," a special section packed with information.
And, of course, CNN is your online resource, as you know, for information about all of this, including relief efforts. Just log here anytime, CNN.com. Check out "Impact Your World" at CNN.com/Impact. You're going to find a whole list of agencies providing emergency relief and you will also see the link to what I was talking about right there, our iReport section, the photo gallery for people looking for loved ones.
So, Betty and T.J., again, a moment of hope, and now, the next set of worries. Let's hope that she can recover.
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. But, you know, the most important thing for a lot of families out there is just to know that their loved one is alive.
LEVS: That's right.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Josh.
HOLMES: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Here's an image that you don't often see. Three presidents tackling one huge, humanitarian crisis.
HOLMES: Yes, former Presidents Bush and Clinton tell John king how we can all make a difference in Haiti. He's coming right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: "STATE OF THE UNION" is coming up at the top of the hour with John King. A lot of the plate today.
HOLMES: Of course, what's happening in Haiti.
Say good morning to John. Hello to you, John. Good to see you, as always, buddy.
And it seems like -- I mean, how much can a first term president go through in that first year? He's had -- got so much on his plate. And even though, this is not a U.S., if you will, a U.S. catastrophe, he still has to -- has an opportunity here to show something, the humanitarian in chief, if you will.
JOHN KING, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: Without a doubt. Not only all eyes here in the United States, but all eyes around the world because of our proximity to Haiti and because the United States military isn't the first in. We're watching to see how this president handles a major humanitarian crisis.
You're right, Haiti, of course, is an independent nation. But this is President Obama's relief operation at the moment, to a large extent. There are remarkable contributions coming in from around the world. But as the U.S. is taking the lead right now, Secretary of State Clintons was there yesterday.
We're going to talk this morning to the USAID administrator, the agency for international development, Dr. Rajiv Shaw. He was with Secretary Clinton yesterday, got back to D.C. about 2:00 in the morning. He'll be here with us in studio to share up close his assessment of the threat, what they need, the most urgent needs on the ground.
We'll also talk to the U.S. military commander on the ground, General P.K. Keen as well.
So, we're going to try to get an up-to-date urgent assessment this morning of this are the logistics better, are the supplies getting in faster, are they getting more doctors, more food, more medical supplies and what is needed in the next few days. It's a huge challenge, as you guys know.
NGUYEN: Yes, no doubt. And, you know, John, a lot of people watching play it on television just feel so helpless. They want to do something. They just don't know how. Well, in fact, the president yesterday two former presidents to help him with fundraising.
How is that going to work?
KING: It's an interesting question. Sometimes we got so caught up in these breaking stories, you lost perspective sometimes.
And I covered the White House for a long time and I was over there yesterday. And when you see the current president of the United States step out of the Oval Office with two former presidents of the United States, it gives you -- it reminds you of the gravity of the moment, if you will.
And what President Clinton and former President Bush are doing is they are going to raise money like President Clinton did with the other former presidents. Bush after the tsunami.
They -- what they say is, look, some people aren't sure who to give to, they aren't sure whether they can trust their money, will actually get to provide reliefs. So, what they're going to try to do is raise millions of dollars now and in the months from now, and that's the most important part as they did after the tsunami. So, essentially, the first rescue relief recovery, but then rebuilding infrastructure, rebuilding the government, trying to rebuild schools, rebuild hospitals.
And they understand, this is not a challenge we're going to be dealing with for months, but, in fact, for years. And they hope, after the media pulls back a bit, after people around the world stop thinking about this every minute, that they can raise hundreds and millions of dollars, if not more, to help rebuild Haiti. That's a huge challenge and that both former presidents -- I spent a little time with them yesterday at the White House say they welcome the opportunity to try to serve.
HOLMES: And we know that it will be a heavy topic on your show today. But also, health care reform. Now, this is -- a lot of people who haven't been paying attention are amazed to hear this and this could throw a monkey wrench in this whole health care reform plan. A Senate races in Massachusetts, a Republican is in that race. And tell everybody again why one Republican are taking that seat could make all the difference.
KING: Democrats have 60 votes now in the Senate, 58 Democrats and two independents who work with them. If they lose this seat, and remember, this was the liberal icon Senator Ted Kennedy's seat when he passed away. There's a temporary replacement in there in now, if they lose that vote, they could lose their ability to pass sweeping health care reform.
I got a note overnight from a Massachusetts Democratic operative out there, somebody I've known for a very long time, and he said, quote, "We are cooked." Now, not all Democrats are that dire. But Republicans see a huge chance for an upset here.
President Obama will go up to Massachusetts this afternoon. Former President Clinton was up there just the other day, over the weekend. This is Massachusetts. One of the bluest states in the country -- that the Republicans are in play tells a lot about a very different political climate. Remember, one year ago, on the eve of the Obama inauguration, the Democrats could do no wrong -- but the Democrats are in a bit of a ditch at the moment. HOLMES: Cooked as a direct quote, huh?
NGUYEN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: OK. We'll see how that one plays out. John King, we are...
KING: Fascinating race.
NGUYEN: Yes, no doubt. Looking forward to your show, though, at the top of the hour, John King and "STATE OF THE UNION." Don't want to miss it.
And we want to jut give you a little programming note. Two former presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, they will be on the show discussing their Haiti relief efforts. Again, that's 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
HOLMES: Well, some of those earthquake recovery efforts are still in the early stages. A lot of people are complaining now about just chaos there.
NGUYEN: Yes. And one man knows exactly what it's like after a disaster and will tell us the lessons that he's learned from Hurricane Katrina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello again, everybody and welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I am T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Ok, quickly now, a look at the situation in Haiti. There is no official death count from Tuesday's earthquake but estimates are just stunning. A U.N. official says the quake killed 100,000 to 150,000 people; among the known dead at least 15 Americans. More than 300 U.N. staffers are unaccounted for, 37 are confirmed dead and despite the best attempts by aid groups there is dire need for medical aid, food and water. A doctor at one makeshift hospital says a third of the 300 patients there will die if they do not get immediate surgery.
And across Port-au-Prince search teams from nearly 30 nations continue to look for survivors.
And we just got this word that Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. Secretary General is getting on a plane and heading to Haiti at this hour.
HOLMES: And one of the biggest challenges he's going to find there with the relief workers is that they are getting aid to the people who need it most is just entirely too tricky. There are a lot of stuff sitting right now at the airport in Port-au-Prince...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ... but you don't have the infrastructure set up, the roads are damaged, and you can't get it out.
We want to turn now to Retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore, who of course many people will know the "John Wayne" dude from...
NGUYEN: Katrina...
HOLMES: ... Katrina. You know first thing, do they need that right now in Port-au-Prince, in Haiti? Do they need a "John Wayne" dude on the ground to coordinate all of this and to tell people do this and do that and just to get things done?
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, RETIRED FROM U.S ARMY: Well, I think, we've got the right man there, General Keen.
HOLMES: Yes.
HONORE: He knows the area. He was only around the day the disaster happened, he was actually in Port-au-Prince for a visit. So we've got the right man, we just got to empower him to be in charge of the distribution and setting up the pods.
HOLMES: Who is going to give him that power?
HONORE: Well, they -- I'll think they'll sort that out overtime. Normally, if they don't give it to him, he'll have to assert himself to do that.
NGUYEN: Well, who has the power now?
HONORE: The power now is with U.S. CID as the lead agency working in collaboration with General Keen and the U.N. -- the U.N. and the absolute powers of the President obviously of Haiti. But then this collaborative security force under the U.N., which the leadership has been hardly hurt by losing the commander.
HOLMES: And General, forgive us if we are wrong here, because you'd think as both kind of harping on this point, because it sounds like this is the same bureaucratic mess that seems to happened sometimes that slows things down when a crisis happens.
HONORE: Yes, but they have (INAUDIBLE) disaster...
HOLMES: There is that...
HONORE: You know, the harder the disaster, the harder it is to sort it out. But a couple of points that's a big priority working.
NGUYEN: Ok.
HONORE: Get the communication system and so people can talk at the various headquarters. Set up the distribution centers so that it can be run by the Haitians. NGUYEN: Got you because...
HONORE: So the Haitians can stand up...
NGUYEN: ... because the aid is there.
HONORE: ... to put their face on distributing food to their own people. You don't need to send people from United States to hand out water and to hand out food. Get the Haitians to work and pay them. We should get the economy going by paying them.
And number three, logistics. Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics. Who is the logistics faced is what I'm trying to find out now, who is in charge of logistics? Is it USAID? Is it to be run by the Joint Staff? Or are they going to bring something in like -- inside of a core we have something called a CostCom.
That is what ran the logistics for Katrina. And they were able - it was ran by General Officer, it's about the 400 or 500 people in the headquarters, but they bring a lot of capacity with them to arrange logistics. Who is going to run that?
General Keen can't do that himself. And you need a CostCom type of organization or if the Navy is going to run it, they have the capacity to do it.
NGUYEN: General, an important question because as I've been saying and Chris Lawrence has been reporting, the palettes of aid, water and food and what not, sitting there at the airport; it's just a matter of getting it out to the people.
So let me ask you this, let's move from the relief effort...
HONORE: Right.
NGUYEN: ... for just a second and get to that rescue effort because that is still under way.
HONORE: Right.
NGUYEN: How much more time do they have?
HONORE: I would say this thing will get worse before it gets better, because people have been exposed, they are ill, and you think about the elderly and the people that need medication. I think the solution there is going to be a mass evacuation of the elderly, the ill and the injured.
HOLMES: To where?
HONORE: That is the question, and we can bring them to the United States, of course. We have committed to this thing.
NGUYEN: And set up refugee camps? HONORE: Right, well or put them in places that we can take care of them. I wouldn't necessarily put them in a refugee camps. But there are places that we can bring them and set them up.
NGUYEN: But where?
HONORE: Well, for me to lead, like we did in Katrina, put them in shelters until we can distribute them to places. These people are going to need help and maintaining the elderly, the sick and the injured in Port-au-Prince ore where we can be distributed them to other places in Haiti by setting up tent cities.
But this is going to be hard living in the coming months, so the evacuation of the most vulnerable need to happen now and with the neighboring countries that will take some of the victims in because building the infrastructure back and putting hospitals in.
And we're not talking about ala Katrina, 70,000 people that we evacuated. We are talking about two million people trying to live and rebuild and put shelters up with no sanitation.
So the most vulnerable population needs to be moved. And that is the policy that needs to be talked about in Washington now.
The things on the ground this morning will be solved. But what are we going to do about the most vulnerable of the population? It will be hard to put tent cities up for every family, particularly with -- people that are ill and injured and the babies and like the ones that we saw with the orphanages. It will be almost impossible to maintain them because the death rate will continue.
The way to cut the death rate now is to try and get as many people out as you can, to neighboring countries and in here in the United States. And we need to treat them like victims and not like...
NGUYEN: Survivors...
HONORE: ... survivors, and not like criminals.
HOLMES: General Honore, as always and several more good points and we -- you have been right on point so many days with these things, so I would be surprised that a couple of days if we start seeing evacuations like you are just talking about.
General, we appreciate you and we'll be hearing more from the general throughout the day.
HONORE: And donate money.
HOLMES: Donate money, all right.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thanks sir.
NGUYEN: You know days after the disaster more planes and ships carrying relief supplies. They are arriving while the Haitian people are keeping their faith. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(HAITIANS SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, in tragic times, people tend to question their beliefs; their reasons behind each road are deeply personal. And our topic this morning for our "Faces of Faith" is just that.
Father Eric Hill, the Chaplain for the Haitian Catholic community in Atlanta. Father Hill, we appreciate you being here. I guess, in your experience and also with your, I mean, your colleagues, when something like this happens, what is the one question people often turn to guys like you, to their church leaders, and ask, is it why would God let this happen? What would you say is the question you get most?
FATHER ERIC HILL, CHAPLAIN, HAITIAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ATLANTA: Why?
HOLMES: Why?
HILL: Why did this have to happen?
HOLMES: And how do you answer that question?
HILL: And there is no answer. That what's beautiful, that God intervenes in these situations, and he's doing so right now which is evident across the world as people reach out to the Haitian community and to the Haitians in both here and in Haiti.
HOLMES: Yes, on that point there, we saw our Jonathan Mann, reporting from Port-au-Prince this morning, at a church, he's at a particular church service this morning. We're going to roll; he said something that really jumped out at a lot of us as we were listening today. Let's take a listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyone we've spoken to, they are not questioning God; they're thanking God. We see spontaneous processions through the streets of Port-au-Prince, of people joyously praising God and thanking him. It's an extraordinary thing; at a time like this so many people's faith has defied the odds and as I said at the very outset, it seems to be what's pulling them through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We heard him say that people there are not questioning God, they are praising God. I guess, how difficult is that for people to try to do? Like you said, you get that question of why, but at the same time we just see a case here where people are turning to God and just being thankful.
HILL: In my experience with the Haitian community, their faith are so deeply-rooted that on Thursday night when we had mass at the parish, there was praising, there was also tears obviously for the loss of family but they really trusted in God.
And the scripture we used was God taking the boat and calming the seas when he was called upon and God will always calm those seas and that deep faith the Haitian community continues to be expressed until these times.
HOLMES: You're talking about the faith there at the Haitian community, but the Haitian community and other people even around the world, Americans, do you find that people, this is a time they often times do question their beliefs?
HILL: Yes, definitely I think the devil is at work in these situations...
HOLMES: Yes.
HILL: ... where he can go after the weak situations when we are questioning or we're wondering where God is. And yet God is evidence through the outreach and the huge response that has come in the last few days.
HOLMES: You talked about that, about -- well, I guess, the before situation, people wonder how -- how could the people of Haiti even be allowed to suffer the way they were suffering before this tragedy. Yes, we are more focused on it now but beforehand, I mean, there was a lot of help that was needed there.
And I know, it's a tough question I ask you because I know you probably get it, but where was God then? Where is God in some of these situations where people are just living in such dire consequences?
I mean, how do you really say, "Keep the faith," when you look all around you and you see nothing but devastation?
HILL: And that's where God works in us. To say, hey, poor is, he said the poor will always with be with us. And there's always been poor since the time began...
HOLMES: Yes.
HILL: And so, he challenges us to bring us to the point of reaching out and doing what we can for the poor. And I think from this devastation can come amazing -- rebuilding and new opportunities for the Haitian people and also a worldwide awareness of the tremendous needs of Haiti.
HOLMES: And you certainly find more so than people questioning their beliefs is a time where they reinforce their faith.
HILL: I think, if they turn to the right places, yes. I think if you don't -- just like in class, if you don't question, you don't learn. And you have to question those, you have to question yourself and say, how is God working in my life? And what can I do in response to this tragedy?
HOLMES: That is a good note to end on there. And hopefully that's something else that people will stay with them today. If you don't question, you don't learn.
Father Hill, we absolutely appreciate you stopping by and please give our best to -- we know a lot of people are turning to you right now.
HILL: And thanks for your first.
HOLMES: Thank you so much. All right, Betty.
NGUEYN: The crisis in Haiti does hit home for teens in this country. They've been tweeting, they've been blogging, sharing their thoughts and prayers. And we have some of their emotional comments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right.
Well, you know, we are not the only ones talking about the situation in Haiti. Across schools in America, they are speaking of it as well.
We have Carl here with CNN Student News. And I know you've been talking to students; many of them personally affected by this as well.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: They have been. One thing we have to do first and foremost is to get them engaged. They've studied about where Haiti is in geography. They know it's the western part of Hispaniola.
But we want to do on CNN Student News is to give them some additional facts to put all of this in perspective. We start out by saying that this is a place that's a little smaller than the state of Maryland. You're looking at country of about 9 million people.
They know it's the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. What that means is that 80 percent of Haitians live below the poverty line on less than $2 a day. And another fact we bring in is that it's a young country. You're looking at 60 percent of the population under 25 years. These things kind of hit home for an audience that you're looking at ages between around 11 and 18.
They can relate a little bit better with facts like that.
NGUYEN: So when they watch this, they hear the stories, they see the need, what are they saying?
AZUZ: Got some comments for you today. They are talking to us both through Facebook at our Facebook site and at cnnstudentnews.com on our blog. Some comments I have for you today. One came from Facebook from Emma. She says, "After I saw the devastating affects of the earthquake, I thought how fortunate I am to have food, a loving family and a place to sleep at night.
Kali wrote in, "The earthquake in Haiti is a reminder that even though the world today is going through tough times, we can come together to help one another in a time of need."
And we had a comment from Hailey. She said, "I wish that I was older because I've always wanted to be a missionary. And if I were older enough, I would absolutely go and help out."
This is something that we hear to you have an audience that's so young, many of them don't know what to do. They feel kind of powerless to address this situation, and that's where CNN student news will push them to CNN's Impact Your World initiative.
You heard Josh Levs talk about it earlier. And we try to give students a sense of what they can do, how they can contribute. You have heard so many calls for money; send money to Haiti. Impact Your World gives them links.
And we've had teachers write in and saying, "We held a fund raiser. We sold donuts so that they could get the money to send to the victims."
And we've had students also tell us, "Hey, you know I've contributed $10. I've contributed $20; ways that they can feel that they can directly impact their world.
NGUYEN: And it's so important to them, yes.
HOLMES: And even if they cannot go, it's good to hear that some of the kids, their heart is in the right place.
NGUYEN: Yes, banding together to do something about it.
AZUZ: It is.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Carl.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
AZUZ: Thank you all very much.
HOLMES: We'll see you.
NGUYEN: You know, it took seconds for Port-au-Prince to collapse, but it is taking days for relief supplies to pour in.
HOLMES: So A lot of people are asking, "Why so long?" Some answers, when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: More help is on the way to Haiti from the U.S. The "USNS Comfort" left yesterday; it's a hospital boat, if you will, a hospital ship and is now sailing as we speak.
HOLMES: Certainly it was a welcome sight to a lot of people to see this thing take off. The aircraft carrier "USS Carl Vinson" however, is already there. It has 19 heavy-lift helicopters, 51 hospital beds and 3 operating rooms.
But our Brian Todd tells us now, the crew needs every bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here aboard the "USS Vinson," about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Haiti, a very, very busy operation here for the carrier strike group. Behind me, you have an MH53 helicopter. Those are the heavy lifters ferrying supplies to and from Port-au-Prince. Mostly to Port-au-Prince when they get them here from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
This vessel already has depleted its share of supplies that it brought with it, and taking it over there to Port-au-Prince, they've had to get additional supplies from Guantanamo and use these heavy lifters to bring them over to Port-au-Prince.
These vessels -- these helicopters however, had a problem according to the commander of the strike group. When these helicopters deploy out into the other areas of the country aside from Port-au-Prince, sometimes they don't find any drop zones, any land zones where they can drop supplies off because of lush vegetation and hilly terrain. Also when it's not that kind of terrain, it's covered with debris and rubble and these choppers kick up a lot of that. It can get into the rotors; it's very dangerous.
They may have to switch to their smaller search and rescue choppers to bring the supplies in. They kick up a lot less debris and it's a little bit safer for them, but they cannot carry as much supplies. That's one logistical issue.
Another one is coordination on the ground. The admiral here admitted to us that the coordination there isn't what it needs to be at this point but it is getting better every day.
Also security, when they make their drops, the 82nd Airborne Division is there to provide security and basically keep the perimeter. They've got to coordinate that. It involves a lot of logistical planning on the fly.
So that's just what some of this carrier group is up against as they try to just frantically ferry supplies into Haiti from about 10 miles out.
I am Brian Todd, CNN, aboard the "USS Vinson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, returned from Haiti overnight after getting an overview of Tuesday's earthquake damage. NGUYEN: She was there to check on aid going into the country. But before heading home though, she spoke at length with CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What were your first thoughts as you flew over today and then seeing what you've seen?
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: So many things went through my mind. Obviously, I have a lot of memories going back many years. And for the last year as secretary of state, we have been working so closely with the Haitian government, and had a positive agenda for the changes that we were going to help them make.
It's just tragic. I mean, the fact that the Haitians can't seem to get a break. Last year hurricanes, this year earthquake. It is something that you find hard to fathom. But at the same time these are resilient, strong people, and they deserve our help.
GUPTA: You and former President Clinton actually honeymooned down here?
CLINTON: We did.
GUPTA: Obviously you have a great affinity for this place, but obviously a lot of discussion about this being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Why is Haiti so poor?
CLINTON: It's been a series of reasons, Sanjay. I mean, it was a colony. It was largely populated by slaves. It was never recognized -- the United States did not recognize it when it won its independence. Other countries did not help it. We even occupied it for a period of time in the 20th century.
They had a series of bad leaders who did not really help the people. It's just an unfortunate confluence of events and yet we know that Haitian-Americans are some of the most successful people we have in many of our communities from Florida to New York.
So the ingredients are all there. And what I want to see is a good partnership with the Haitian government and the international community to help the people of Haiti now build bigger and better into the future.
GUPTA: You're talking a lot about the humanitarian mission. Is a natural disaster in Haiti the same as a natural disaster in any other country in terms of the U.S. response?
CLINTON: Well, I think because it's a neighbor, we feel a real need. We respond -- we've responded in the past in our hemisphere and obviously around the world. The tsunami in 2004 is the last great disaster that we had.
But I think, too, that there's a special connection. There are family connections and personal experiences. I cannot tell you how many Haitian-Americans have called and e-mailed, doctors and nurses and teachers and business leaders who have family here, who come back here all the time.
The Catholic Church is very important here. Many other faith organizations do mission work here. So it's really remarkable how many people feel a personal connection to Haiti in our country.
GUPTA: How long do you think this is going to take? How do you measure success?
CLINTON: Today we measure it day by day. How many pallets of food, how many bottles of water, how many people rescued. We're measuring it in that kind of very personal terms. But we're going to start looking at are we getting the electricity up and going? Are we getting the roads unclogged? Are we getting some shelter for people? And then what are we doing to help Haiti reconstruct? And how can we reconstruct it so that it's stronger and more functional going forward.
GUPTA: Is that the goal? Make it even better than before the earthquake?
CLINTON: Well, you know, in talking with President Preval, we do have an opportunity now with the unfortunate destruction that existed to take the lead of the Haitian government, to try to bring in the international community so that we are not just taking a building that is half demolished and trying to patch it together, but thinking about what should this whole street look like? What should this neighborhood look like? And that of course is what the Haitians are asking the international community to help them do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING" coming up at the top of the hour. But first we do have a quick check of the morning's headlines.
NGUYEN: To get right to it, a city of tents for a nation in mourning. Many Haitians spent another night outside. The massive search and rescue operation from Tuesday's quake continues though today. Hope still dims for those missing. But rescue crews reported they have been getting text messages from people buried beneath the rubble.
President Obama heads to Boston today for campaigning for Martha Coakley. He's hoping to give her the edge over Republican Scott Brown in Tuesday's very tight senate race. It's especially important because it will decide whether Democrats keep their 60-vote majority. Who wins will fill the seat of the late Ted Kennedy's.
Saddam Hussein's cousin, "Chemical Ali" was sentenced to death today for a poison gas attack in 1988. They killed thousands of Kurds. He is facing previous death sentences for other crimes of brutality. His execution in those cases has been delayed for political reasons. "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING" starts at the top of the hour. Thanks for watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
