17th Jan 2010, IARU R-3 DCOM newsmail

Radio amateurs from the Dominican Republic have installed an amateur voice
repeater link between their country and earthquake hit Haiti, but their plan
to do much more in terms of emergency communications had to be cut short
due to civil unrest.

The repeater is providing the only communications for the Red Cross and Civil
Defence.

Ramon Santoyo XE1KK, Secretary IARU Region 2 advises that the HI8RCD (Radio
Club Dominicano) team of eight radio amateurs had to flee the area after
gunfire and were unable to stay and provide operators to activate a ham radio
station Haiti.

He said that this turn of events became known during a long telephone conservation
with Hugo Ram?n HI8VR, President of Radio Club Dominicano (RCD) described
the situation as extremely unsafe and scray.

The HI8RCD team was embedded in a convoy when shots rang out resulting in
several people being injured and one reported dead. The radio amateurs was
not injured but decided to leave unescorted to reach safety at Jimanji in
the Dominican Republic.

Media reports indicate that the situation four days after the massive earthquake
that has killed some 50,000 and caused widespread damage, is now chaotic
as desperate people seek to secure their own survival.

Earlier Reverend John Henault HH6JH was able to make a couple of phone-patch
calls on the 20m band Fred Moore W3ZU during which he described how there
had been 30 after-shocks following the earthquake.

John HH6JH in Port-au-Prince is doing missionary work with homeless children
said, "It's bad, it literally is bad. We don't know how many people are dead.
We do not know what to expect. It's chaos, I'm telling you, it's real chaos.??

Admitting he was concerned as after-shocks continues, he said "Many, many
buildings in the downtown area are stripped from the ground with many people
buried underneath them.

?I'm okay, my house is okay,? said John HH6JH, adding ?We have had 30 aftershocks.
We are expecting some more shocks, so I'm a bit nervous to be inside the
house."

He was using power from a neighbour?s generator and very pleased that amateur
radio enabled him to let his friends in the USA know he was alive.

Another radio amateur in the country, Pierre Petry HH2/HB9AMO who works for
the UN food program is also safe. However nothing is known at this stage
of about another ten hams in Haiti.

- IARU Region 3 Disaster Communications Chairman, Jim Linton VK3PC.

The state of Johore mourns for the next 7days starting from Saturday 23rd January 2010 following the demise of Johore's Sultan Almutawakkil Al-Allah Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail.

The Society of JASRA and the people of this State under his rulings sends our deep condolences to the Royal Family of Johor.

Following this the people of this state will be wearing a 3 inches black stripe of cloth in their left hand (for non muslim) or traditional malay cap "songkok" with 2inches white tripe (for muslim). The State flag of Johor will be raised half pole during the 7 days.