Haiti

WHEREAS on January 14 Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake that caused the loss of thousands of human lives and massive destruction of its main cities, including the capital, Port-au-Prince WHEREAS this catastrophe, one of the most serious and painful in the history of the Americas, immediately committed the countries and people of all the Americas to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Haiti WHEREAS numerous political, economic and social institutions throughout the continent are intent on contributing, through humanitarian aid, to the reconstruction that is now under way WHEREAS the drama has equally affected the entire the population of Haiti and its institutions, naturally including the news media, which despite the tragedy have worked unceasingly and under extremely difficult conditions to attempt to continue providing information to their country and the world WHEREAS the two leading newspapers, Le Nouvelliste and Le Matin, are out of circulation, as are numerous radio stations, this country’s principal form of communication WHEREAS thirty-one news media workers lost their lives in the earthquake and many others were seriously injured THE IAPA MIDYEAR MEETING RESOLVES to express its firm solidarity with the people of Haiti who have suffered one of the worst natural disasters and humanitarian dramas in memory in the Americas to carry out, together with other international press organizations, a campaign of support for the Haitian news media and journalists who were hit and silenced by the January 14 earthquake to invite the Inter American Press Association members to actively join in this campaign of support for rebuilding Haiti’s press.