MAX FOSTER, HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Thanks, Hala. We will be keeping you up to date throughout this hour with the latest from Haiti and hearing from CNN correspondents in the country.
This hour on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, a fragile economy now lies in pieces. Why Haiti needs aid more than ever before. We'll hear from the vice president of the World Bank in Latin America, and a filmmaker who has just returned from the island.
And searching for freedom, Google waits to hear it if still has a business in China.
And -
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want our money back, and we're going to get it.
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FOSTER: President Obama calls in the debt he says banks owe to the people.
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FOSTER: Well, the earthquake in Haiti deals a devastating blow to an economy which was already in tatters, and decades of political instability and the succession of hurricanes have left Haiti with the unenviable title of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Take a look at this: 80 percent of Haiti's 9 million population lives below the poverty line, more than half of the population live on less than $1 a day, and two-thirds of all Haitians depend on farming for their livelihoods. Unemployment is widespread. We do not have exact figures. And many people simply don't have formal jobs.
Now, GDP was just $7 billion for the whole of 2008. To put that into context for you, that is the equivalent to what Wal-Mart makes in less than a week. 2008 storms killed 800 people, left 1 million of the 9 million population homeless. And it wiped out 15 percent of the economy. Imagine what is going to happen this time around. Now, Haiti is extremely dependent on foreign aid. The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donator since 1973. It provides $302 million to country and that was for fiscal 2009.
Haiti also received more than $1 billion in debt relief from the World Bank in July. And the World Bank is now pledging $100 million in extra aid. It is going to need all of it.
Now, the first rescue team to reach Haiti, wasn't from the United States, or any other nearby country. But it was from a tiny, distant, and economically crippled nation. And that nation was Iceland. Iceland's foreign minister explained to me exactly what happened paper bag printing there.
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OSSUR SKARPHEDINSSON, FOREIGN MINISTER, ICELAND: We have a very experienced team and we are prepared. We have been in these circumstances before. We were in Turkey some years ago. And these are very well-trained people and we were sort of all -we are sort of always on an alert.
They had the initiative. They contacted me as soon as the news was coming through. And I gave my permission, provided the money. And we also had the airline cooperating with us. So, it was a joint effort. And I think it was very good for Iceland to be able to show the world that even a little nation can contribute. This was the right thing to do. And all credit to my very able team.
FOSTER: What is incredible about this, is there has been some criticism that the Americans, who aren't far away, haven't got there quickly enough. And yet, you half a world away got there. You were the first team there, weren't you?
SKARPHEDINSSON:
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