Although my evenings in Haiti were few, there was enough time to hear stories from some very willing story tellers about the days in the aftermath of the earthquake.
As an example of the ridiculous reach of litigious American society, in the days immediately after the earthquake, when relief workers, doctors, EMTs and others were pouring into Haiti willing to do anything, at least one USAID employee was tasked with running around the tarmac, trying to identify surgeons and get them to the Embassy. The plan was to identify them, make them into teams, and deploy them to the various sites where they were needed. Seeing as how they were arriving from the US, it made sense for the US embassy to want to coordinate their deployment. Alas, the US military was also arriving. And they did not feel that they could ensure the security of the medical teams. So, surgeons, who had come for the express purpose of saving lives, were napping in the embassy compound while USAID and the military argued over the security assessments. In the meantime, relief teams from other countries were arriving, and getting right to work. The airport runner ( a really nice man with a much more important job normally) told me:
“The doctors were lying on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Just waiting. They had everything with them for a mobile hospital. But they couldn’t go, in case something happened to them and the government got sued. Finally, 3 days later, the military said that they could provide security. We went at 2am to set up the tents. By 6am, they were operating. But you know who got there before the Americans? The Russians. The Israelis. The Turkish. The RUSSIANS!”
This was the same man who has no love lost for Dr. Sanjay Gupta, because he maintains that our favorite Indian reporter was purposefully seeking out the bad stories, and not telling any of the good ones. Currently, if CNN reports something, it comes to the attention of President Obama. Who calls Hillary. Who calls Rajiv. Who calls the USAID mission director in Haiti. Therefore - CNN=Bad.
All of the help which poured in from around the world came in many different forms. Much of it came in random donations. Including some company which sent 3 shipping containers full of hemorrhoid cream. Given that many of the medical storage facilities were also affected by the earthquake, there is neither any place to put all of these supplies, nor the need in Haiti for so much salve. Some of the donations now have to be destroyed, because they cannot be used or stored properly-a real shame.
A well-meaning American came to Haiti saying that he had a machine which could make water out of air. Given the shortage of potable water, this could be a useful machine. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti’s main tertiary care hospital did not have potable water on its premises. He requested (read demanded) that the USAID mission assist him in getting his machine from the port to the hospital. Given poor road conditions, this was a tricky affair to organize, and not a priority as locals figured - the hospital didn’t have water before...surely it isn’t an emergency now. But Mr. Well-meaning is also well-connected, and had the ear of some senator. CNN came to do a story. The machine found its way to the hospital. 6 months later, the hospital administrator wants the machine off of his property. He didn’t ask for it. He doesn’t use it. It consumes too much fuel to operate.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Stories and observations in Haiti
It does not take a lot of knowledge to stand on a soapbox. With a little bit of balance, and an ability to know when someone might push you off, one could stand and expound to their heart’s content on a wide variety of subjects. Given the little skill required, I am taking my turn. With about 5 minutes of in person knowledge of Haiti, and perhaps 10 minutes on the world of “development”, as well as no requirement to cite my sources, this is my time to shine.
Haiti. The only Caribbean island where malaria is still prevalent. One of only a handful to speak french. And the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with a UN security force which has been present for over a decade. This is a country which has required, and received, international assistance for a number of years, but with dictators, deposed presidents, political unrest and natural disasters, even before January 12, 2010, progress would have been hard to notice.
My visit here came at short notice, and has totaled just 3.5 days. Nevertheless, I was apprehensive about what I would see, how I would react, and what it means to have 200,000 dead, 300,000 injured and 1.5 million people in tents. The destruction is not what I had feared. While there are many many destroyed buildings, and piles of rubble everywhere, there are just as many intact buildings, and these are seemingly randomly dispersed among those that did not make it. The narrow winding streets are jammed with vehicles, the Caribbean air, sea, and sun will put a smile on anyone’s face, and business, in everything from bread and batteries to tires and generators is brisk. The first hotel we stayed at was about 60 miles away from Port-au-Prince, to the north, along the coast. That distance from the city, there was no destruction, and perhaps little evidence that such a grand tragedy occurred in this country. Of course, the reason we had to stay so far is that the major hotels in town collapsed, and there are not enough rooms for all of the international agency representatives.
The US embassy has come up with a novel solution for the hundreds of temporary workers (TDYers in their lingo). Build a tent city within the secure gates and walls of the embassy compound. So, upon entry into the embassy, where there was perhaps once a wide lawn, there are now 50 or so high end tents, with electricity, fans, and doors with locks. And a 24 hour marine guard. Still, it is a tent at the office, which means that while colleagues are arriving in their 4x4s, the tent dwelling consultant is scurrying from the locker rooms near the pool back to the shared tent to get spiffy.
Given the many questions that I had both prior to arriving and once I laid eyes on this city, I’ve been lucky to be able to have a few chats with my new Haitian colleagues, as well as with our driver, whose french/creole mix I can mostly understand. Through their stories about the day of and just after the earthquake, I have learned many things, including why 1 colleague professed his extreme distaste for CNN and Sanjay Gupta.
For starters, my colleague and I both agree that there is no way that there are 1.5 million people in tents in Port-au-Prince. Unless camps with tens of thousands of occupants are miraculously hidden, this figure, used by the UN and other agencies, must be grossly overstated. The camps developed informal management committees, and when they are asked how many live in “their” camp, overstating of figures, sometimes 10 times or more, is not uncommon. By overstating their occupancy, they feel, even now 6 months after the earthquake, that they will receive more food and commodities, which they can sell to others. There are political reasons too for overstating the IDP situation. Until they can be better enumerated, the Haitian elections cannot be easily accomplished. Confusion during elections often have a beneficiary.
There is no government coordination of the clean-up. As a result, rubble abounds. For an average person, there is no way to finance the clean-up of their own home and property. It requires people, construction equipment, and trucks to cart away the detritus. Coordination of this effort is not evident, and when I asked if there are radio or other messages indicating what is going on, it did not seem as though there were. I also have not seen a single newspaper in 3 days. No people selling newspapers. No people reading newspapers. No billboards advertising newspapers. Curious.
This is now. But what about then?
Haiti. The only Caribbean island where malaria is still prevalent. One of only a handful to speak french. And the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with a UN security force which has been present for over a decade. This is a country which has required, and received, international assistance for a number of years, but with dictators, deposed presidents, political unrest and natural disasters, even before January 12, 2010, progress would have been hard to notice.
My visit here came at short notice, and has totaled just 3.5 days. Nevertheless, I was apprehensive about what I would see, how I would react, and what it means to have 200,000 dead, 300,000 injured and 1.5 million people in tents. The destruction is not what I had feared. While there are many many destroyed buildings, and piles of rubble everywhere, there are just as many intact buildings, and these are seemingly randomly dispersed among those that did not make it. The narrow winding streets are jammed with vehicles, the Caribbean air, sea, and sun will put a smile on anyone’s face, and business, in everything from bread and batteries to tires and generators is brisk. The first hotel we stayed at was about 60 miles away from Port-au-Prince, to the north, along the coast. That distance from the city, there was no destruction, and perhaps little evidence that such a grand tragedy occurred in this country. Of course, the reason we had to stay so far is that the major hotels in town collapsed, and there are not enough rooms for all of the international agency representatives.
The US embassy has come up with a novel solution for the hundreds of temporary workers (TDYers in their lingo). Build a tent city within the secure gates and walls of the embassy compound. So, upon entry into the embassy, where there was perhaps once a wide lawn, there are now 50 or so high end tents, with electricity, fans, and doors with locks. And a 24 hour marine guard. Still, it is a tent at the office, which means that while colleagues are arriving in their 4x4s, the tent dwelling consultant is scurrying from the locker rooms near the pool back to the shared tent to get spiffy.
Given the many questions that I had both prior to arriving and once I laid eyes on this city, I’ve been lucky to be able to have a few chats with my new Haitian colleagues, as well as with our driver, whose french/creole mix I can mostly understand. Through their stories about the day of and just after the earthquake, I have learned many things, including why 1 colleague professed his extreme distaste for CNN and Sanjay Gupta.
For starters, my colleague and I both agree that there is no way that there are 1.5 million people in tents in Port-au-Prince. Unless camps with tens of thousands of occupants are miraculously hidden, this figure, used by the UN and other agencies, must be grossly overstated. The camps developed informal management committees, and when they are asked how many live in “their” camp, overstating of figures, sometimes 10 times or more, is not uncommon. By overstating their occupancy, they feel, even now 6 months after the earthquake, that they will receive more food and commodities, which they can sell to others. There are political reasons too for overstating the IDP situation. Until they can be better enumerated, the Haitian elections cannot be easily accomplished. Confusion during elections often have a beneficiary.
There is no government coordination of the clean-up. As a result, rubble abounds. For an average person, there is no way to finance the clean-up of their own home and property. It requires people, construction equipment, and trucks to cart away the detritus. Coordination of this effort is not evident, and when I asked if there are radio or other messages indicating what is going on, it did not seem as though there were. I also have not seen a single newspaper in 3 days. No people selling newspapers. No people reading newspapers. No billboards advertising newspapers. Curious.
This is now. But what about then?
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