Coca-cola Saved Haitian Life: Haiti Earthquake
Port-au-Prince: Rescuers pulled a man alive from the rubble on Saturday, 11 days after Haiti's devastating earthquake, raising hopes of finding more survivors even after the government called off search efforts.
Wismond Exantus, 25, said he survived his ordeal in the ruins of the grocer's shop where he worked by drinking Coca-Cola and eating snacks, a rare tale of hope from a disaster that has claimed more than 112,000 lives.
His rescue came as thousands of survivors wept outside the capital's shattered cathedral for the funeral of the archbishop of Port-au-Prince in a moving ceremony that symbolised the deep mourning of the Caribbean nation.
"I feel good," said 25-year-old Wismond Exantus, after he became the latest Haitian victim of last week's earthquake to be pulled from the rubble by international search and rescue teams.
"I survived by drinking Coca-Cola. I drank Coca-Cola every day, and I ate some little tiny things," he explained in Creole, after having spent a week and a half stuck in his place of work, the "Napolitain" grocery.
"I felt the tremor and then I lost consciousness, and when I woke up I called out 'Gerald! Gerald!'," he said, referring to a co-worker.
He found himself caught in a small pocket in the rubble, able to move slightly to the left and right -- and to bang on objects to try to attract the attention of passers-by -- but unable to free himself.
"I didn't shout, I just prayed," he said at a French field hospital in Port-au-Prince after French, American and Greek search and rescue teams removed him from the debris on a stretcher.
Tear gas, shots fired
UN troops fired warning shots and sprayed tear gas on Haitian quake survivors after a food delivery to hundreds of them spiralled out of control in the capital.
The distribution of food, soybean oil, water and radios at a former military airfield began calmly, with two long lines of people waiting patiently across the field, a report said.
Brazilian troops missed small early scuffles for aid by many who had seen no help since the massive January 12 earthquake reduced their homes to rubble, and were eventually forced to resort to tear gas and firing into the air.
Nevertheless, as order broke down and crowds poured out of the lines, the peacekeepers finally abandoned a pile of radios and other aid for people to fight over, as they stood by.
It was unclear if the delivery by the World Food Programme and the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was finally completed.
Montreal to host talks
Donor countries hold emergency talks in Montreal on Monday to map out plans to rebuild Haiti and sharpen aid efforts for millions of people in the quake-hit country.
The United States, Canada, France, Brazil and other donors with interests in Haiti will attempt to craft long-term strategies to lift the crippled Caribbean nation out of disaster and onto a path to recovery.
Haiti's Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive is also expected to attend the closed-door talks.
"We are not going to rebuild Haiti as it was," a French official said, referring to the country's chronic poverty, neglected agricultural base and history of political corruption and upheaval.
"We need to address structural problems, not just financial matters but those of governance and regional cooperation," the official said. "There is no use (at this point) in making five different assessments of the damage."
Haiti, UN to control post-quake adoption
Would-be adoptive parents should not take Haitian children out of the country unless their papers have been signed by both the Haitian Premier and the United Nations, UN officials said on Saturday.
Since last week's devastating earthquake, there has been mounting pressure from foreign couples seeking babies for adoption procedures to be fast-tracked to allow them to rescue orphans from Haiti's humanitarian disaster.
But child protection groups fear that the Haitian state's effective collapse could lead to an increase in human trafficking or in children suffering from losing all contact with Haitian culture and their surviving relatives.
"I can confirm that cases of trafficking and children disappearing are taking place," Jacques Boyer, deputy country director for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters at his headquarters in Port au Prince.
"I can't confirm any figures. There are cases of undocumented withdrawals of children being discharged from hospitals," he added.
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