Thu, Mar 11, 2004
Hundreds Scramble To Air Canada Jet
Hundreds of people
tried desperately to leave Haiti on Tuesday aboard an Air Canada
jet and other international flights as blood was shed for a second
consecutive day near the Port-au-Prince airport. More Canadian
military personnel flew into the violence-riddled country. A crush
of people swarmed the metal barricades outside the departure area
of the Mais Gates International Airport, held back by heavily armed
U.S. marines inside as the major foreign carriers flew into the
Haitian capital for the first time since they had halted flights
Feb. 29.
"It's nonsense," said one local man who watched as throngs of
people grew angry over their denied entry to the airport. (The
American) carriers should know better than to send (just) three
flights." He was more complimentary toward Air Canada. "Air Canada
even before they left (Feb. 29), they put some additional flights.
When they resumed their flights, they put additional flights
again."
Just feet from the airport grounds, a man's body lay face down
in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in the middle of a roundabout,
apparently shot as U.S. marines stood guard around an industrial
park. U.S. military officials could not confirm whether their
soldiers were involved in the shooting. The body remained in place
for hours, seemingly unnoticed by those walking within inches of it
- with the exception of one person who stooped quickly to steal the
deceased man's shoes. Another man had been shot dead by U.S.
marines in the same area on Monday as hundreds of people tried to
loot buildings inside the business park's walled compound. Back at
the airport, screams could be heard as the crowd pushed in on
itself. Many would-be travellers clutched airline tickets while
others held high Canadian and American passports, to no avail.
Earlier Tuesday, the United Nations launched an urgent appeal
for international assistance for Haiti, asking for $35 million to
buy food aid and other supplies, as well as help in rebuilding many
of the social services that were destroyed or halted during nearly
two months of turmoil.
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