Many still displaced 1 year after Haiti quake

  

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (KABC) -- It was one year ago on Wednesday that a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, killing almost a quarter of a million people.

An open-air Catholic mass was held near the ruins of the Port-Au-Prince cathedral, which collapsed in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

Half a million people displaced by the quake, including 380,000 children, are still living in tents.

"Many people suffer. We are waiting, waiting. Nothing, nothing, nothing," said one man.

Former President Bill Clinton was in Haiti on Wednesday to visit clean-up sites and urge other countries to follow through with the humanitarian aid that was promised.

Haitian-American leaders and others are using the anniversary to implore the Obama administration to welcome tens of thousands of Haitians who were promised visas but remain in the stricken country on waiting lists.

Immigration authorities had approved requests from 55,000 Haitians to join relatives in the United States before the earthquake. But because the U.S. caps the number of visas it grants per country annually, it can take a decade for an approved request to produce a visa.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Get more World News »

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•