60 Minutes: The Lost Children of Haiti

This story is both horrifying and inspiring. It makes you wonder how we could ignore the enslaving of children in our own backyard. How could any humanitarian read this story (or watch the 60 Minutes segment today) and still believe the excuses of the politicians, especially Democrats. Read the complete transcript/report(video below):

Almost half the victims of the earthquake in Haiti are under the age of 18, which means about half a million children are still living on the streets, in crowded orphanages or in makeshift camps. Untold thousands of kids are separated from their families, threatened by hunger, disease, sexual assault and even a modern day slave trade.

We've just come back from six weeks around Port-au-Prince with an American charity called the Global Orphan Project. The catastrophe may have largely dropped from the news but we found that the emergency is still unfolding as rescue workers race the clock to save the lost children of Haiti.

Ten weeks after, Haitians walk an apocalyptic landscape. Many can't be certain of food or shelter. And for families with missing loved ones it is impossible to know who is living and who is dead. Survivors have raised urban campsites of sticks and cloth and plastic. It's crowded; water and sanitation are poor.

When "60 Minutes" arrived in January, the Good Samaritan Orphanage outside Port-au-Prince was overwhelmed. Even before the earthquake, orphanages like this were common because desperate families often feel forced to abandon their children to the care of others. But, now, new arrivals were pouring in.

Update: Video added:

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