2 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010

Around the Towns

LAUGHTER WORKSHOP IN CSL

A laughter workshop takes place Thursday, January 28 at 2 p.m. at the Eleanor London Library in Côte St. Luc. The workshop, according to a library announcement, will enable participants to ?enjoy the health benefits of a hearty laugh.? The workshop is led by Pam Wener. Tickets are $3. For more information, call 514-485-6900.

HAMPSTEAD WINTER PROGRAMS

The town?s winter programs for children and teens began this week at the Adessky Community Centre for up to 10 weeks, and includes programs as Music and Movement, Sing Me A Story, The Secrets of Magic, Cooking for Kids, Belly Dancing, Kyokushin Karate and others. For more information, call 514- 369-8260.

UPCOMING MOWEST EVENTS

The Town Of Montreal West announced three upcoming special events. The annual winter carnival takes place 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 at Davies Park and the town hall, 50 Westminster South. Admission is free. March Break Madness takes place March 1 - 5, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m at Montreal West?s community centre. The Cotton Tail party takes place Sunday, March 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. at town hall. Tickets are on sale in advance as of March 1 at the community centre. The cost is $5 in advance or $7 at the door. ? Joel Goldenberg

MONTREAL DOGS NEED YOUR HELP!

The Companion Animal Adoption Centres of Quebec (CAACQ) is struggling to send unwanted Montreal dogs to Ontario where they find loving homes. CAACQ founder Johanne Tassé is appealing to generous readers of The Suburban and members of the business community to help provide resources to save the dogs, many of whom had previously been put down by the Montreal SPCA?s previous administration. She is hoping to raise $15,000 this year to pay for the trips. Cash donations are encouraged to cover the gasoline and other expenses, but a real boost for the CAACQ would be the donation or lending of a cargo van in good condition to make the journey down the 401. From May 2008 to present, the group has sent 456 dogs to Ontario. The cost to transport one healthy dog to Ontario is roughly $47; the cost to euthanize that same animal is more than double. For more information, e-mail Tassé at info@caacq.ca. ? Dan Delmar Van transports from Montreal to Ontario are so jammed that a 100 lb Doberman has to sit in the front seat.

PAGE TWO

?It?s like a war zone!?

By P.A. Sévigny The Suburban During an exclusive telephone interview with The Suburban, Isabelle Depelteau said she had never seen anything quite like the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti?s Port au Prince. ?It?s like a war zone,? she said. ?It?s hard to believe the kind of things that are happening here.? As one of the directors of World Vision, an international NGO (Non Government Organization) with decades of experience in dealing with disasters and emergency relief all over the world, Depelteau took the first available plane down to Haiti to see what could be done to help the earthquake?s victims. ?It?s difficult to describe what we saw on the first day after the earthquake,? she said. ?Badly hurt and unable to walk, people were still dragging each other along the road as they were trying to make their way to the hospital. While thousands of people were using nothing but their bare hands to dig through tons of concrete, bodies were being dragged out onto the street.? She also said you couldn?t even begin to describe the kinds of injuries people get when they?re caught under tons of concrete. The local hospital was heavily damaged and she could find only one doctor and two nurses working among the crowds of badly injured people seeking help. Bodies were no longer being laid out as much as they were being thrown off trucks into the hospital?s backyard because there was no more place in the morgue. During the best of times, Depelteau said emergency relief efforts are always difficult. During the worst of

Resources for Haitian relief and donations

Consulate General of Haiti . . . . . . . . . . .514-499-1919 Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs1-800-387-3124 The Humanitarian Coalition, including CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children Canada . . . . . .1-800-464-9154 CPAM 1610 Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .514-790-2726 Publisher: Michael Sochaczevski Associate Publisher: Sari Medicoff VP Business Development & Marketing: David Solomon Sales Manager: David Broadman Production Manager: Karen L. Cross Classified Manager: Charmaine Worrell Credit Manager: Carol Balinsky 7575 Trans-Canada Highway, Suite 105, St. Laurent, QC H4T 1V6 (514) 484-1107 (Fax) 484-9616 suburban@thesuburban.com www.thesuburban.com Some images and graphics Copyright 2009 Michael Publishing and its licensors. All rights reserved. times, they quickly turn into a nightmare. From what she has already seen in Port au Prince, it?s already a nightmare and the worst is yet to come. ?The city?s logistics no longer exist,? she said. ?There are no communications, no electricity, no water and no sewage. Even the local NGOs were affected as their own facilities were damaged or destroyed along with everything else.? As one of the island?s major charities with its organization already in place, World Vision facilities were overwhelmed in a matter of hours. Within a single day, all of its warehouses were emptied and there was nothing to be done except to help other organizations until more help and supplies could be shipped in. As of last Friday, three days after the earthquake, Depelteau said the situation was still critical but she knew relief was on its way. ?Once the Americans took over the airport?s operations,? she said,?the situation quickly began to resolve itself.? While planes are parked wingtip-towingtip, others are getting through and being off-loaded as fast as possible which is why some emergency supplies of food, water and medicine were getting through to the people. She confirmed reports about sporadic looting incidents but she believes they were mainly due to the fact thousands of Haiti?s convicts got a ?get out of jail free? card when the earthquake destroyed their prison. ?As far as I?m concerned, the good news is we have over 360 emergency rescue teams coming into the city from all over the world.? said an audibly relieved Depelteau. Like any good leader, she concentrates on the positive while trying to ignore the grim realities of what?s happening to Canadian Red Cross . . . . . . .toll free 1-800-418-1111 Salvation Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-800-725-2769 B?nai Brith Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-800-274-2310 Federation CJA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .514-345-2600 CECI (Centre d?etude et de cooperation internationale) . . . . . . . . . .514-875-9911 Editor-in-chief: Beryl Wajsman (editor@thesuburban.com) Associate Editor: Anthony Bonaparte (anthony@thesuburban.com) Sports Editor: Mark Lidbetter (sports@thesuburban.com) Editorial Staff: Joel Ceausu, Dan Delmar, Julia Gerke, Joel Goldenberg, Walter J. Lyng, P.A. Sévigny, Samantha St. Jules, Kevin Woodhouse those who are still caught under the rubble. ?It?s almost impossible to do anything about all this concrete,? she said. ?It?s just a question of time before they move in with heavy machinery.? Three days after the disaster, Depelteau knew time was becoming a big factor because much of it was running out for those caught under the rubble. Within the few days, the presence of heavy machinery in the ruins won?t mean much, if anything, because most, if not all, will no longer be alive. As of last Friday, Depelteau and the World Vision organization have been given the mandate to build a refugee camp in Pétionville, one of the city?s poorest districts. ?It?s a long slow process, ?she said. ?Shelters are being built and we?re setting up food and water distribution points in the camp. At this point, we?re concerned about working latrines. Once that?s taken care of, we can move onto other priorities.? Apart from that, Depelteau said leadership, as ever, was the key to successful emergency relief operations. ?Once people see immediate action and a bit of organization, social discipline falls into place because people know they need each other to survive.? As of last weekend, only days after the Haitian disaster, World Vision has already raised four of the five million it needs to finance its Haitian operation. Two Hercules transport planes full of food, medicine and shelters have already arrived at the Port au Prince airport while over 800 employees and volunteers are already on the ground. ?The response has been amazing,? said Depelteau. ?truly amazing.? n Editorial Contributors: Maria I. Anelli, Akil Alleyne, Sam Bick, Mike Cohen, Alex Di Pietro, Mitch Gallo, Ian Howarth, David Lisbona, Bernard Mendelman, Daniel W.K. Rafuse, Lisa K. Savage, Linda Zlatkin Photographers: Andrew Soong, Rob Taussig, Mico Smiljanic CONTACT US via email: Letters: editor@thesuburban.com | Entertainment: entertainment@thesuburban.com | Features: anthony@thesuburban.com | Sports: sports@thesuburban.com | Community Events: calendar@thesuburban.com | Advertising material: production@thesuburban.com Publisher?s liability for error: The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher?s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. Entire Contents Copyright Michael Publishing Co. Inc., Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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