"My
4-hr visit to Port-Au-Prince was a life-defining
experience. The smell of death permeates everything but
hope brightened the eyes of most Haitians, in the hope
that the world will respond.
I'm immensely proud of the immediate outpouring of
support of Puerto Ricans from all walks of life,
reflected in the huge 6,000-ton barge full of aid and
the $3.3 million we raised in a telethon on January 22."
"However, paraphrasing President Kennedy's inaugural
address, our work will not be done in a week, a month or
a year. Every citizen of the Americas must correct the
shameful reality that we've seen, and done so little to
correct, the abject poverty of our Haitian neighbors.
Our commitment to them must continue a long time after
Haiti disappears from our newscasts and our newspapers."
"Nevertheless, we finally got the (aid) barge in. Next
week we're sending a second one with more aid!"
