When former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visit still-ravaged Port-Au-Prince today, they will be unable to avoid a close look at the squalid living conditions of many earthquake survivors.

It is the first joint visit to the impoverished Caribbean nation for the two former leaders, who were tasked by President Barack Obama with leading the U.S. fund-raising effort.

After meeting with President Rene Preval on the grounds of the collapsed national palace, they are expected to tour the tarps-and-tent city on the adjacent Champ de Mars, the national mall filled with 60,000 homeless quake survivors living in squalor. Source: Bush, Clinton to visit rubble-filled Haitian city, Associated Press

There are strong reactions coming from Haitians as Port-Au-Prince prepares for the visit of the two former presidents.
Haitian government and business leaders believe this visit by Clinton and Bush confirms America's continued support for Haiti's rebuilding efforts. Other Haitians see a "visit by two ex-presidents who have played major roles in Haiti's recent political trajectory also reminding the country of its tumultuous past."

Clinton presided over a refugee crisis born of the 1991 ouster of Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president. He returned Aristide to power in 1994 with a force of 20,000 U.S. troops.

Bush is remembered by many Haitians - especially the thousands in Port-au-Prince's teeming slums - as the U.S. leader whose administration chartered the plane that flew Aristide back in to exile during a 2004 rebellion.

Supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have scheduled protests for Monday - demanding the return of their exiled leader and pleading for more aid.

"We are going to bring our message to the presidents, that our situation here is no good. The way people are living in Haiti is no way for anyone to live," said Fanfan Fenelon, a 30-year-old resident of the Bel Air slum. Source: Bush, Clinton to visit rubble-filled Haitian city, Associated Press

Fenelon is not exaggerating.

Clinton and Bush will arrive in a country struggling to feed and shelter victims of the magnitude 7 quake, which killed an estimated 230,000 people. Another 1.3 million quake survivors are homeless, with many living in camps prone to dangerous flooding in the April rainy season.

The visit aims to spotlight the dramatic need ahead of a critical March 31 U.N. donors conference in New York, where Haitian officials will ask for $11.5 billion in reconstruction help.

Monday will be Bush's first trip to Haiti. Source: Associated Press

You don't see so much coverage of Haiti's continuing crisis in the mainstream media these days. At least the widely transmitted, high wattage photo ops with former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will capture images of the suffering Haitian people in the background.