HAITI - It's been nearly 3 weeks since an earthquake destroyed the already-impoverished country of Haiti.
We're continuing to see small towns overrun with people as more and more continue to flee Port-Au-Prince. Some of those towns are getting help, while some worry that others are being left behind.
Sunday morning, the local baptist church in Les Cayes is packed, and so are all the hospitals. Everywhere, there seems to be a sign of the exploding population.
Last week, Pensacola pilot Gene Schmidt was met at the airport with children begging for food, but he only had medical supplies. This time around, he came prepared, or so he thought.
The amount of kids begging on this trip has easily tripled. There weren't enough candy bars to go around.
Bengamin Altama/Haitian Resident: "We have a lot of people right now coming in from Port-Au-Prince."
Bengamin Altama has lived his entire life in Les Cayes. He's never seen anything like this.
Altama: "I say I'm sorry, this town cannot handle this many people because now we are overloaded. So all the people from Port and from other places, they're still now in Les Cayes, it will be hard for us for the future. We cannot handle all those people around here."
And Les Cayes is one of the lucky ones: other towns are also growing, but without as much help.
This airstrip in Port-Au-Piax is developing a reputation as one of the world's most dangerous airports. It's short, the terrain is rough, and it sits in middle of a neighborhood. Those dots you see on the runway are people, just hanging out.
They haven't gotten much in the way of supplies, and that's what worries Bahamas Habitat director Abe McIntyre.
Abraham McIntyre/BahamasHabitat.org: "The hunger creates the animosity, the hunger creates the pain, and the hunger creates the violence, because if people can't eat, they're not rational."
He's organizing general aviation pilots with planes small enough to get into these places, and hopefully help avoid the further unraveling of a country.
McIntyre: "Long term, it's not practical. But it is right now, because there's a need, and we can meet that need."
So far, 70 pilots from all over the U.S. have been a part of the BahamasHabitat.org airlift.Needs Are Changing In Haiti
Posted: Wednesday, February 3 2010, 07:42:34 PM
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