Survivors Speak Out
Survivors of the 2021 earthquake in the south are saying the same things as the victims of the 2010 earthquake. Meanwhile, the government and NGO’s tout progress.
Conditions for victims of the August 14 earthquake resemble conditions for victims of the January 12 earthquake
Emergencies break like waves over a population reeling from a set of disasters: the 2010 earthquake, the cholera epidemic, hurricane Matthew, COVID and the 2021 earthquake. The political crisis, inflation, institutional weakness, bad governance, and poverty are all elements that characterize the reality of the past 12 years of Haiti's life. Faced with this situation, society struggles to tackle one problem before another comes along. Most notably, the State leaders have squandered opportunities to respond effectively to each challenge. Instead they fight for power without any progress that transforms their constituents’ lives.
Thus, we are faced with the saying: Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
The management of January 12 by the leaders of the State is a vivid example of the State’s inability to act.
The January 12, 2010 earthquake killed 250,000 people, injured 300,000, and left 1,500,000 homeless. Victims had to sleep on the streets and in public places. In addition, this event created many shelter camps including Kanaran, Kanary, Karade and Koral. The earthquake of January 12 offered a chance that the State should have seized. A chance to rebuild the country on a new solid foundation.
Immediately after the event, the population took the multi-billion-dollar pledges seriously. They believed their living conditions would change, especially those living in the camps. Indeed if managed correctly, the country could have had a new beginning. Actions could have been taken to prevent the same damage from happening again. The State's catastrophic management of the January 12, 2010 earthquake left a bitter taste in the mouth of the population in general and the direct victims in particular.
Marie Guilande is a 24-year-old woman who has lived in the Koral camp since June 2010. She and her family were relocated there from the golf course located at Delmas 48. She was 12 years old in 2010 and lost her grandmother and uncle to the earthquake. She still lives in the same temporary shelter meant to last only three years.
Marie Guillande currently has a seven-month-old baby. When asked about the support she received from the State, the young mother exclaimed, "Wow! What state are you talking about, sir?! Soon I will be living in Koral for 12 years and things are getting worse every day. We have no water, no electricity, no work and no health center."
Clorene Vericken is a 34-year-old mother of three children. She has been living at the top of Mount Canaan on a tiny plot just twelve meters squared. "I have yet to see one representative of the government since I’ve been living at Kanaran. A bucket of water costs 25 gourdes (25 cents). A motorcycle ride from the bottom to here costs 200 gourdes ($1.90). If one of my children gets sick, I have to climb down the side of this mountain before I can find transportation. This is no way to live.”
Like Marie Guillande and Clorene, the testimonies of other victims who have so far lived in the Karade camp and Jerusalem are similar. Kervens Joël Mésidor, 21, lives in the village of Karade with a prosthesis because he lost a leg. He shares, "When the earthquake hit, I was nine years old and lived in Delmas 34. Today I live here with one foot. That’s what January 12 gave to me."
Twelve years later, what lessons have we learned? The way that the State manages disasters shows no imporvement. The population is no more ready to deal with earthquakes than before January 12. No suitable provision has been made for the thousands displaced. No new permanent antiseismic constructions to house the thousands and thousands of displaced people.
These circumstances are evidence that we have not learned from past experiences. The fact is that our leaders have still done nothing for victims of the August 14, 2021 earthquake five months later. The same issues in 2010 regarding the construction of shelters and essential services to victims are still present in the Grand Sud.
Lovelie Alcimé is a victim of the August 14 earthquake. Her house and everything she owned was demolished that day. She has yet to receive any assistance from the State or NGO’s. A mother of an eight month old baby, she describes her situation as follows, “Our situation is very complicated in Gabon. We don't get any help, and we are asking the authorities concerned to think of us.”
These cries echo the cries of January 12, 2010 earthquake victims.
Twelve years later, the country still does not have a proper civil protection system that covers the entire territory.
Moreover, Haiti's ongoing crisis prevents society from marking the date in proportion to what it symbolizes for the population. If, in 2022, the victims of the Grand Sud are experiencing the same problems under the helpless eyes of the State, it is proof that we have not learned any lessons.
Coordination and aid management have not evolved enough. The international solidarity that manifested itself immediately after the earthquake was a strong gesture. Unfortunately, it was wasted. The Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti, chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerives, disbursed several billion dollars from the United Nations on behalf of Haiti to help victims. According to former Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerives, only 4% of the funds raised by the Haitian State were administered.
Meanwhile, the donor countries simply hired their own contractors to conduct expensive projects fixing nearly all of the resources pledged right back where they came from.
Is it not a wonder that no solid pilot neighborhood construction projects have been completed? Not one. Many NGOs that have benefited from building housing for the victims spent money on temporary shelters that do not adhere to international standards.
According to Senator Raoul Peck, donors ignored the Haitian State in the planning and executing of projects. It was easier for donors to fund NGOs working in the health sector than support hospital and health center construction projects. According to Suze Percy Filippini, the representative of the Haitian executive branch at the IHRC, the donor representatives within the commission did not consult with local representatives. None of the contracts signed with foreign or local companies took into account the views of Haitian representatives.
Opaque and discriminatory management has plagued disaster response in Haiti. International lobby groups have benefited from what earthquake victims lost. The failure is made possible by the Haitian State's weakness. This weakness is a chronic sickness that cripples the population far beyond the scope of any single disaster.
Written by Jacques Hebreux JOSEPH
KJL
Translated by Liz'Angela Tillias
