PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin began a tightly stage-managed visit to Haiti on Saturday in which she visited cholera clinics while avoiding crowds and the media.
The 2008 vice presidential candidate was a guest of the Rev. Franklin Graham, whose aid group works in the impoverished country. Haiti is facing a brutal cholera epidemic while struggling with an electoral crisis and reconstruction from the January earthquake.
Palin, who traveled in part by helicopter, provided access on her tour solely to the U.S. cable network Fox News.
Graham’s organization, Samaritan’s Purse, refused to discuss Palin’s itinerary with other media and asked Haitian and American reporters to leave its compounds.
“I’ve really enjoyed meeting this community. They are so full of joy,” Palin was quoted as saying on the organization’s website. “We are so fortunate in America, and we are responsible for helping those less fortunate.”
