Post by homeylu on Apr 3, 2010 10:53:28 GMT -5
Aid Truck Held Up by Red Tape
"After six days of waiting at Haiti's border, Mario Polanco was losing patience with the red tape holding up his truck full of earthquake relief supplies.
Polanco drove the equipment for the International Committee of the Red Cross 11 hours from a port in the Dominican Republic, only to have the Haitian customs agent find one problem after another with his paperwork. As he waited in the shade of his truck's cab in this dusty border town, dozens of others were lined up behind him.
"I don't know why they are making it so difficult on people," Polanco said.
For more than six weeks following the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti left its border with the Dominican Republic open to speed the delivery of aid. As the government now reasserts control, the return of bureaucracy is leading to delays as trucks idle for days.
......
ustoms agents have been arbitrarily charging trucks $40 for entry, Reyes said. He said agents threaten to demand passports or visas that many drivers do not have.
One driver, Jose Lorenzo, was held up for four days before he was allowed to cross the border with a load of canned tuna for the SOS Children's Villages organization.
When the Haitian agent demanded that he present a passport, Lorenzo said: "Here is my visa," and handed over 150 Dominican pesos - about $5. He said the agent let him pass without further hassle."
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/03/world/main6359188.shtml
"After six days of waiting at Haiti's border, Mario Polanco was losing patience with the red tape holding up his truck full of earthquake relief supplies.
Polanco drove the equipment for the International Committee of the Red Cross 11 hours from a port in the Dominican Republic, only to have the Haitian customs agent find one problem after another with his paperwork. As he waited in the shade of his truck's cab in this dusty border town, dozens of others were lined up behind him.
"I don't know why they are making it so difficult on people," Polanco said.
For more than six weeks following the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti left its border with the Dominican Republic open to speed the delivery of aid. As the government now reasserts control, the return of bureaucracy is leading to delays as trucks idle for days.
......
ustoms agents have been arbitrarily charging trucks $40 for entry, Reyes said. He said agents threaten to demand passports or visas that many drivers do not have.
One driver, Jose Lorenzo, was held up for four days before he was allowed to cross the border with a load of canned tuna for the SOS Children's Villages organization.
When the Haitian agent demanded that he present a passport, Lorenzo said: "Here is my visa," and handed over 150 Dominican pesos - about $5. He said the agent let him pass without further hassle."
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/03/world/main6359188.shtml
