U.N. Official Appeals for Aid to Haiti, Grenada
Haiti and Grenada need $59 million immediately to cope with the destruction wrought by hurricanes last month, the top U.N. relief official said Friday.
“This is immediate humanitarian lifesaving assistance,” Jan Egeland said during a news conference.
Hurricane Ivan rolled through Grenada in early September, killing 39 people and damaging or destroying 90% of the island’s homes. Tropical Storm Jeanne caused massive floods in Haiti that killed more than 1,550 people and left 900 missing, most presumed dead.
At a conference of donors Friday, the United States pledged $50 million in emergency and reconstruction aid for the Caribbean region, on top of previous commitments, Egeland said.
In a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, demonstrators fired guns into the air and smashed car windows, witnesses said.
At least seven people, including four police officers, have been killed in two days of demonstrations for the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The decapitated bodies of three of the officers were found Friday.
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