Sean Penn to help Haiti victims

London, (ANI): Milk star Sean Penn has revealed he is heading back to earthquake-hit Haiti to help in the relief efforts of a country he says is facing "the Apocalypse". Penn, 49, had visited the Caribbean nation last month with U.S. politician John Edwards to hand out food and supplies to the survivors of the January 12 disaster. He was so upset by the scenes of devastation, he set up the Jenkins-Penn Haitian Relief Organisation (JPHRO) in a bid to gather further aid and raise funds.

And Penn has warned the devastation in Haiti will worsen when the rainy season hits the country - in just two weeks time. "This is the Apocalypse," the Daily Express quoted him as saying during an appearance on U.S. talk show Larry King on February 15. "This is like (the effects of nuclear disaster) Hiroshima. The devastation there is on a level like nothing anyone that I've spoken to has ever seen.

"We''re within two weeks from the rainy season. People have in essence no cover. There are tent cities that are made from rugged tarps on top and sheets on the side. "It's an incredible fire hazard. The camps are wildly overcrowded, a breeding ground for infectious diseases. "So what has to happen in the next two weeks... is to try to relocate as many as possible. People are going to die in mass if we don''t get those camps closed," he stated.

Penn is also full of praise for the strong spirit of the Haitians in the aftermath of the disaster - and is planning to fly out to the country again later this week. "The people are probably the most resilient - certainly the most I've ever experienced. We saw amputations without flinching, without anaesthesia," he said.

"These are our neighbours, and this is a country that needs us and ultimately we need them because the character of the Haitian people is seeded in a disconnect from the comfort addiction that so many of us in the country have - that''s a powerful force of character and that we need to share. "I'm going back. I''ll be back in Haiti on Friday," he added.