Haiti
Haiti: Destruction, Rubble Still Dominate Scene
I arrived at Port -au-Prince’s Toussaint airport today. The name Toussaint reminded me of Haiti’s history as the only nation to gain independence through a slave revolt. It seems so cruel that the people who triumphed over slavery more than 200 years ago are now struggling to rebuild their country after the earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010.
Six months after the temblor, the devastation depicted in newspapers and magazines is far worse than images could portray. The Presidential palace is in ruins, beautiful parks where kids used to play and have carnival are now tent cities where thousands live. The tarps that are being used for shelter are tied to trees for support yet even this cannot prevent them from eventually tearing as they have begun to do. Children walk over mounds of rubble in their worn shoes because there are no sidewalks and streets are impassable. The rubble has precluded schools from opening, hindered reconstruction efforts and prevented a return to normal life. Haitians are still in an emergency phase.
I visited many places, each one looking worse than the last. I saw only one building that had been rebuilt. Mostly, I saw rubble – tons of it. A pile of rubble that could fill a stadium was being removed, not by backhoes but by two men with shovels that were held together with twine. There was so much rubble that it seemed to have been gathered and fashioned into some sort of building or house – the new landmark. I also visited the once white and sterile St. Frances de Sales hospital where the most vulnerable are being cared for. Their beds are open to the elements with only mosquito nets to protect them from the outside world. The hospital is now more like a makeshift war camp for the wounded than a hospital.
Later, I spoke with a Haitian who lives in Pétionville with his wife who was pregnant during the earthquake. He said he was scared for her life and not for his. His son is now 2 months old. I congratulated him and said it was time to have another child. Amidst the devastation we had a hardy laugh as he told me absolutely not. He did not know how they were going to make it themselves. I then asked him to translate a sign on a billboard which read, “ansnm nap rire pi lwen” (together we arrive). That is exactly what CRS aims to do. I hope the partnership that we have fostered will help the Haitian people to indeed ‘arrive’ at a rebuilt country. At the end of the day I saw a church in ruins but a crucifix remained. These are only small glimmers of hope but they are glimmers none-the-less.
Many officials in Washington have put the amount to rebuild Haiti at approximately $10 billion. Recently Senator Kerry introduced a $2 billion reauthorization bill for Haiti. Congressman Berman says he will introduce companion legislation in the House soon. If Americans could see the destruction they would triple the amount. We are still waiting for Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill that would provide funds to Haiti for roads, sanitation, water, food assistance and security. As the people I met today will tell you, this help can’t come fast enough and it will go a long way towards rebuilding their hope.
Charisse Espy-Glassman is a CRS legislative assistant reporting from Haiti
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