anthony20031
01-15-2010, 04:34 PM
Just saw this along with a bunch of other articles:
ORLANDO, Fla. Thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors could soon be calling Central Florida home. The American Red Crosssays there is a plan to bring as many as 45,000 evacuees from Haiti to Florida, and 4,000 of those refugees could be placed in Orange County.
However, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty says he has some concerns with the plan. When the Haitians arrive, the county, the city and possibly other area communities will have to scramble to figure out where to put the earthquake victims and it will be a tough challenge.
VIDEO REPORT: Haitian Refugees Could Come To Orlando
LOCAL HELP: Central Fla. Organizations Join In
SPECIAL SECTION: Quake Recovery Updates, Donation Info
As the United States plans its strategy to help Haiti, the state closest to the island nation is taking center stage with a plan to bring tens of thousands of refugees to Florida and approximately 4,000 to Orlando. What that influx of people brings with it is a very large service demand, particularly in the area of social services in what is already a tough economy.
"We're very stressed financially right now, and this is going to add to that stress," Mayor Crotty said. "So this is a balance we're going to have to work on strengthening."
Mayor Crotty says the plan is vague at this point, but citizens should get used to the idea of helping by opening our arms to both U.S. citizens who had been living in Haiti, as well as non-U.S. citizens.
"It would occur to me that there is a legal process associated with that and it would probably have to come through the State Department in terms of citizenship and visas, work visas [and] that sort of thing," said Mayor Crotty.
The plan would bring around 45,000 refugees through Jacksonville to be divided and distributed to Florida urban areas, including Tampa, Miami and Orlando. At this point, it is not clear yet what other Central Florida cities might host earthquake victims. The only certainty is that it will likely happen quickly and require a team effort.
"So if we would get an influx, now that will be all dependent on the federal government, but that's going to require our agencies all to work together to meet their needs," said Joel Hass, American Red Cross.
With the level of destruction in their home country, Floridians should be prepared for many Haitians to remain in the state.
It would follow logic that with the crisis that exists in Haiti, many of those will want to leave the country and find another place to live and the U.S would be a logical choice and within the U.S., Florida would be a logical choice, said Crotty.
As of now, there is no firm time-line for bringing the Haitian earthquake victims to Florida, but when it happens it should demonstrate what Florida is willing and capable of doing to help our struggling neighboring nation.
They are also aspecting a large inflow of illegals trying to get out of Haiti.
ORLANDO, Fla. Thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors could soon be calling Central Florida home. The American Red Crosssays there is a plan to bring as many as 45,000 evacuees from Haiti to Florida, and 4,000 of those refugees could be placed in Orange County.
However, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty says he has some concerns with the plan. When the Haitians arrive, the county, the city and possibly other area communities will have to scramble to figure out where to put the earthquake victims and it will be a tough challenge.
VIDEO REPORT: Haitian Refugees Could Come To Orlando
LOCAL HELP: Central Fla. Organizations Join In
SPECIAL SECTION: Quake Recovery Updates, Donation Info
As the United States plans its strategy to help Haiti, the state closest to the island nation is taking center stage with a plan to bring tens of thousands of refugees to Florida and approximately 4,000 to Orlando. What that influx of people brings with it is a very large service demand, particularly in the area of social services in what is already a tough economy.
"We're very stressed financially right now, and this is going to add to that stress," Mayor Crotty said. "So this is a balance we're going to have to work on strengthening."
Mayor Crotty says the plan is vague at this point, but citizens should get used to the idea of helping by opening our arms to both U.S. citizens who had been living in Haiti, as well as non-U.S. citizens.
"It would occur to me that there is a legal process associated with that and it would probably have to come through the State Department in terms of citizenship and visas, work visas [and] that sort of thing," said Mayor Crotty.
The plan would bring around 45,000 refugees through Jacksonville to be divided and distributed to Florida urban areas, including Tampa, Miami and Orlando. At this point, it is not clear yet what other Central Florida cities might host earthquake victims. The only certainty is that it will likely happen quickly and require a team effort.
"So if we would get an influx, now that will be all dependent on the federal government, but that's going to require our agencies all to work together to meet their needs," said Joel Hass, American Red Cross.
With the level of destruction in their home country, Floridians should be prepared for many Haitians to remain in the state.
It would follow logic that with the crisis that exists in Haiti, many of those will want to leave the country and find another place to live and the U.S would be a logical choice and within the U.S., Florida would be a logical choice, said Crotty.
As of now, there is no firm time-line for bringing the Haitian earthquake victims to Florida, but when it happens it should demonstrate what Florida is willing and capable of doing to help our struggling neighboring nation.
They are also aspecting a large inflow of illegals trying to get out of Haiti.