I just came across this blog, GalliaWatch, that says the following about its mission:
To help you stay au courant of what French patriots are doing and saying in this time of turmoil and loss of nationhood. This website is for those with a limited knowledge of French and a boundless interest in saving European cultures from extinction.
Yesterday the blog posted this story (apparently the original is in French), this is how it begins:
Eric Besson, Minister of Immigration, Integration and National Identity has decided to implement an exceptional set of temporary measures to bring victims of the earthquake into France. The article from François Desouche uses information from OFII (Bureau of Immigration and Integration) as the source:
These measures include:
– An easing of the terms for family reunification. Nearly 80,000 Haitian nationals reside in France and have family members affected by the catastrophe in Haiti.
– Facilities coordinated for the issuing of visas for visits to the families.
– Visas and residence authorizations issued on humanitarian grounds to victims whose health requires specialized treatment in France.
“France’s response must rise to the level of her republican traditions of welcome, solidarity and humanity, and to the profound historic and cultural ties she maintains with the Haitian people. In such terrifying and painful circumstances, all of our efforts must be focused on helping the Haitians,” Eric Besson concluded.
Read on.
Meanwhile, according to the UK Telegraph a diplomatic row has developed with the French accusing the US military of occupying Haiti!
So, in light of all this information, and although the good folks at GalliaWatch wouldn’t be happy, how about if the US just backs off and lets France take care of the Haiti problem!
See our new category on Haiti, here. This is our third post this morning on the sure to be hot topic for weeks and months to come.