Haiti Relief: 6 Months Later
West London is gearing up for the Notting Hill Carnival, 2 days of the largest street festival in Europe, where Caribbean music, food and culture are celebrated by all. But one country in the Caribbean has regrettably fallen off the social-conscious radar.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is no stranger to hardship. But when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti on 12 January 2010, no-one could have predicted the unprecedented death toll and injuries inflicted upon the people. The capital, Port-au –Prince, was reduced to rubble, and a staggering estimated 250,000 people have lost their lives. Six months later, Catch a Vibe revisits the tragedy to ask “what has happened since?”.
Almost all of the 13,000 US troops who were deployed in Haiti immediately after the quake had struck, have now left (their mission officially ended on 1 June). The reconstruction efforts have been badly stalled; the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (set up by former US President Bill Clinton) just officially met for the first time on 2 June in Haiti’s neighbouring country, the Dominican Republic. Of the $5bn in aid that was pledged by the US government, the World Bank and the European Union among others, only a fraction has been received so far.
Haiti had suffered from chronic unemployment, high illiteracy and poor healthcare for many years. Most of its 9.8 million population had been living on less than $2 a day. But to look at Haiti in a snapshot in time is to do it a disservice; Haiti’s flattened, inactive economy was not the result of poor leadership or corruption. Haiti was the long-suffering victim of a groundless, excessive debt order as punishment for the 12 year long slave uprising, led by Toussaint L’Ouverture that defeated Napoleon’s forces in 1804 and declared Haiti independent. France demanded 150m Francs (in gold) plus interest. Even after it was reduced to 60m francs in the 1830’s, the debt was still crippling Haiti’s economy. In 1900, when the rest of the Western Hemisphere were discovering the joys of motorcars and the telephone, the country was spending 80% of its national budget on repayments. The debt to France was finally paid off in 1947.
After this Haiti began to grow its agricultural base, and up to about 30 years ago, it was self-sufficient in the production of rice. The domestic production of this staple food of the Haitians started to decline in the mid-1980s mainly as a result of the adoption of trade liberalization policies imposed upon the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country was flooded with US rice (subsidized to the tune of $1bn), and as such the unsubsidized farmers in Haiti could no longer produce profitable rice. Haiti is now, reportedly, the third largest buyer of US rice (known locally as “Miami Rice”), importing almost 300,000 metric tons per year. As a result, thousands of agricultural workers left the rice fields and flocked to the capital to eke out a living. Port-au-Prince reportedly had an infrastructure which could support a maximum of only 400,000 people. When the earthquake struck, the actual population was close to three million.
The earthquake may have been a natural disaster, but there was nothing natural about Haiti’s state of affairs at the time. This country had been taken economic hostage by France, ravaged by US-centric trade policies and played host to a series of US-backed coups which caused further destabilization. It was a sink of misery and despair.
The earthquake, if nothing else, has put Haiti under the spotlight. The world’s initial reaction was something to behold; double the requested aid was pledged. International debts were wiped. Grassroots movements everywhere raised money for the relief effort. There was hope.
United Haitians in the UK (UHUK) differ from many of the charities active in Haiti today; their pre-existing goal was to help the children of Haiti in education and they had being doing so before the earthquake struck. One school in particular that they had supported had been destroyed in the earthquake, and only a third of the students have been able to attend the makeshift replacement school.
After 12 Jan, UHUK (made up predominantly of Haitians, Haitian descendants and friends of Haiti) stepped up their efforts, holding successful fundraisers and sending out aid packages to Haiti directly. After the final shipment is sent out in August, UHUK are returning to their original aim of education for children; “We are now re-focusing on our original goal to educate Haiti’s children. We are in talks with an architectural firm who are looking to re-build the school on our behalf” says Myriam Breton Jones (UHUK). And is the money raised making a difference in Haiti yet? “The country’s “pledge” has yet to reach the Haitian people. More can be done.”
Unfortunately UHUK were not able to piggyback onto other charities to send their goods to Haiti; “It would have been far easier if the larger charities could have assisted us in getting these donations to Haiti as they already have the resources. Thanks to t he kindness of Big Yellow Storage company, they have granted us their facilities to store goods whilst we sort out the logistics. We persevered and were able to get the goods abroad.”
So what does the future look like for Haiti? “It will be decades before Haiti is back on its feet. We continue to need all the help we can get. Our message to corporate England in particular, is to donate to us on a regular basis to help us get our work done.”
So whilst images of a devasted Haiti are no longer splashed across the papers and news reports, assistance is still very much needed. As UHUK demonstrates, the solution does not come from the powers that be; it comes from we.
All pictures (c) Brian Ollivierre. See more of his work in Haiti
Useful Links
UHUK
Haiti: 6 Months On – DEC Youtube Channel
Excellent article. I’m glad to see that organisations like catchavibe.co.uk are keeping Haiti in the popular consciousness, or “social-conscious radar” as Gabrielle Tierney so aptly put it, especially as mainstream media organisations only included one guilt-easing piece each which was placed low down on their news agenda.
I support Mr Jasper’s call for a Haiti-themed Carnival and permission for UHUK to fundraise on-site. It would be a pity to squander such an untapped pool of good will and show a bit of solidarity for those who are still struggling to exist in Haiti.
Great article an the organisation UHUK is a credit to all involved. I think that if Carnival means anything in the UK it should adopt Hait as this years theme and allow UHUK to fundraise in the Carnival area. Just a thought – I would support such a call. Keep up the great work.