State helps Orphans, Doesn’t Expect Refugees
January 19th, 2010 by flanewsThe state is opening its ports to expatriates and orphans and is prepared to send refugees back to Haiti. More than 5-thousand US citizens caught in last Tuesday’s earthquake have returned to the states. As Whitney Ray tells us, dozens of orphans have also landed in Orlando and Miami.
The state is sending plane loads of food and supplies to Haiti. The planes are bring back people. More than 5-thousand US citizens have already returned. So have dozens of orphans. Social workers from the Department of Children and Families are greeting the displaced.
“They haven’t slept in days. They are hungry, so the food banks have stepped up. The Red Cross is offering meals as they arrive,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon.
The battered and bruised are also landing in Orlando and Miami. More than 100 people injured in the Haiti earthquake are being treated in Florida hospitals.
During a tour of the state’s emergency operations center Florida’s Surgeon General reached out to Haitians in their native tongue.
Governor Charlie Crist is offering up hurricanes supplies to assist in the relief effort.
“We have a lot of supplies and resources as a state because of our preparations for hurricanes. Those recourses are still available. Some of them have already been transferred over,” said Crist.
The private sector is also chipping in. JetBlue Airlines is offering free flights to qualified volunteers seeking to help the Haitians.
Posted in Charlie Crist, State News | No Comments »