Ready for her close-up... Sarah Palin lands in Haiti (well, she wants to look just right for those poor cholera-stricken residents)


Last updated at 9:00 AM on 12th December 2010

Clad in a simple grey T-shirt and cargo pants - but with her trademark hairstyle firmly in place - this is Sarah Palin touring a Haitian refugee camp.

The Tea Party darling's trip to the impoverished country, still reeling from a devastating earthquake in January and now facing a brutal cholera epidemic, is being tightly stage-managed.

Mrs Palin has provided access on her tour solely to Fox News and the religious organisation she is travelling with has asked all other Haitian and American journalists to leave the area because of a 'security lockdown'.

So long as she brings the cameras: Sarah Palin has her hair fixed during a visit to a cholera treatment center set up by the NGO Samaritan's Purse in Cabaret, Haiti, on Saturday

So long as she brings the cameras: Sarah Palin has her hair fixed during a visit to a cholera treatment center set up by the NGO Samaritan's Purse in Cabaret, Haiti, on Saturday

Another day in paradise: Haitians go about their business in the camp as Mrs Palin takes it in

Another day in paradise: Haitians go about their business in the camp as Mrs Palin takes it in

Piece to camera: Mrs Palin is interviewed by Fox News Channel journalist Greta Van Susteren during her visit to the treatment centre. Only Fox News has been given access to Mrs Palin for her trip

Piece to camera: Mrs Palin is interviewed by Fox News Channel journalist Greta Van Susteren during her visit to the treatment centre. Only Fox News has been given access to Mrs Palin for her trip

But Haitians don't care, so long as she brings help.

No Haitians interviewed by foreign news organisations had ever heard of Mrs Palin. But when told she was an American politician, they welcome her with open arms.

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'It would be good if she came, because we could tell her that we need medicine and jobs,' said Roseline Frederique, a 21-year-old resident of the capital's Cite Soleil slum who is being treated for cholera symptoms.

Mrs Palin was a guest in Port-au-Prince of Reverend Franklin Graham, whose aid group works in the impoverished country.

Speaking of the hopey, changey stuff... Mrs Palin peers into a tent in which cholera patients are fighting for their health

Speaking of that hopey, changey stuff... Mrs Palin peers into a tent in which cholera patients are fighting for their health

Clean-up time: The former Alaskan governor washes her hands on her visit to the treatment centre. Other American and Haitian journalists were ordering to leave the compound as part of a 'security lockdown'

Clean-up time: The former Alaskan governor washes her hands on her visit to the treatment centre. Other American and Haitian journalists were ordering to leave the compound as part of a 'security lockdown'

Reverend Graham's organisation, Samaritan's Purse, refused to discuss Mrs Palin's itinerary with other media and asked Haitian and American reporters to leave its compounds, citing a 'security lockdown'.

'I've really enjoyed meeting this community. They are so full of joy,' Mrs Palin was quoted as saying on the organisation's website.

'We are so fortunate in America, and we are responsible for helping those less fortunate.'

Associated Press television journalists saw Mrs Palin talking with foreign aid workers.

It was her first trip outside the United States since speaking to investors in Hong Kong last year. That speech was also closed to the media.Clash: A protester raises his hands as U.N. peacekeepers try to control the chaos and violence as Martelly supporters take to the streets in Haiti's capital Clash: A protester raises his hands as U.N. peacekeepers try to control the chaos and violence as political protesters take to the streets in Haiti's capital last week

Anger: A protester is captured and behind him a fire erupts after a road blockage was set on fire

Anger: A protester is captured and behind him a fire erupts after a road blockage was set on fire during the violent political protests last week

Samaritan's Purse posted pictures online of Mrs Palin touring a post-quake shelter, touching the hand of a Haitian child and laughing with Reverend Graham and Fox News host Greta van Susteren.

Mrs Palin's visit comes amid a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people and sickened more than 96,000 others.

This week the country was rocked by riots following the announcement of preliminary results from the November 28 presidential election, which eliminated a popular carnival singer from a run-off in favor of the government-backed candidate.

On Saturday, two of the three leading candidates rejected an offer to participate in a re-count. Protests began again in parts of the capital in the evening.

Though Port-au-Prince was calm for most of the day, Mrs Palin avoided the capital, heading north to visit a Samaritan's Purse project in the small town of Bercy.