Where Few 'Blan' Have Passed

Traversing the mountaintops

I could hear their voices in front of me before I could see their faces, as I marched down the small hilltop path:

'Bonswa!'
'Bonswa!'
'Kouman ou ye?'
'Pa pi mal!'

Greeting each other in the common way. My Haitian team continued walking, and the group returned to their normal chit-chat. 

I emerged from the tall grass alongside their front garden, only to be greeted with a large hoot and holler and laughter from the family members. 

Apparently, blans (white people) don't pass here often. 

I greeted them, as one should to be polite in Haiti, smiling to myself, while they joked down the path to my colleagues about the blan traipsing down the mountain. 

***

Yesterday, I went back out to the mountains to conduct another assessment on the situation left by TS Isaac, this time on the damage sustained to houses in the rural, mountainous villages my organisation works in. 

I ended up going on a 5-6 hour hike down the mountain. 

We were headed to that little peak on the left side of the photo.
and then just continued.
Sometimes its easier to just keep going forward.

***

We were dropped off at the top of the mountain, just where it crests and begins its descent down to the south coast of Haiti. We had every intention to take the car as far as it could go, which as it turned out, was maybe 2 minutes down the road leading to our targeted community. 

In previous days, we had been hearing lots of information from our governmental partners, from various team members, from key community partners about the amount of damage in the rural mountains and hillsides. We had heard of houses destroyed, crops damaged beyond repair, loss of livelihoods, animals killed, rivers flooded. The damage sounded massive and like it needed a dramatic, quick response. 

But, for a multitude of reasons, we didn't trust it - not that we don't trust our staff, but that we don't trust that we share the same definitions of what a word means. And in order to plan and implement a response, we first need to know exactly what the needs are. 

Assessment team - in action.

And, to be honest, part of that involves an unbiased, undramatic point-of-view, supplied by myself, and 2 other colleagues.  

Ok. We also wanted to just get out of the office and see for ourselves - our adventuresome streaks were kicking in. 

But really, it was just to make sure we understood what the situation was. 

So, when I found myself dragging along behind my team, huffing and puffing, stopping every few yards to observe (aka, catch my breath), as my self-assigned job was (non-Creole speaker here...), I did actually take the time to take in the full situation. 

We had heard that many homes were destroyed, many families were now homeless, some again. 

But I found this was not so. I had set the mandate that we were only to conduct our assessment at houses that were completely destroyed (to perchance end up targeting the person for emergency shelter), but after 5 hours of walking, we ended up with 3 questionnaires filled out. Only one was completely destroyed, in the terms of having to tear down the house and rebuild. The rest were missing roofing sheets, or their tin roofs had bent back. Terrible & damaged, yes. Destroyed, no. 

That is a pleasant thing to find, actually - that the storm was not too bad. 

We also found that people were living their lives as best they could to recover. To the man whose house was completely destroyed, I asked, what will he do to repair the house. He responded that he will just buy wood somewhere and rebuild. Matter-of-fact. That's just what you do. 

Back to work on the fields

Another family were so thankful to have a white person stop by their house, that one of the women kept hitting me and saying thank you for coming, and that they are so blessed by it, and that of course I will do something for them (non-Creole speaker, yes. Creole-understander, yes). 

We are so thankful that the damage to houses was not as bad as expected. The damage to crops, however, was. 

Damage to banana plantations, squash and bean plants

In the free moments I have, when not hiking over the mountains and fording through rivers, I am now sending our staff out to get their cars stuck in rivers, walking for hours upon end to conduct another more detailed assessment to look at what types of livelihoods were affected and the potential increase in food insecurity. 

Aren't I nice?

But based on this, we will now know what the true damage was, and how we can best respond. 

And that is just the beginning ...

Sur la Terrain

Harvest in the Lowlands

To have a day like today, this is why I do the work I do. Adventure, experience, getting to see local culture, and gaining a better understanding of the needs of the communities we work in - this...this is what keeps me coming back. 

We went out today to do a rapid needs assessment in the communities we work in, looking at what happened during Tropical Storm Isaac. We had been receiving lots of information by phone yesterday, from our 'operations base,' also known as our kitchen table. And the information we were getting was showing that there was a great impact. But we wouldn't know for sure until we went out and verified it. 

We knew that need to verify would come soon, and come quickly, so I was prepped and ready to go with all the tools, the processes, the people we would use. All were aware it could happen at a moment's notice - the green light to go. So this morning when I was just chatting to friends on Skype, taking my time to get the day started, and I got the green light - well...we sprung into action. Our area coordinator had been at a meeting with other NGOs and the local governmental response body (the DPC) to see what needed to happen in our commune. So, when they said we need more information, we said, let's go. 

Within 45 minutes, we had the teams here, drivers here, vehicles waiting, questionnaires printed, areas assigned, and process to use communicated. I led a team going to the lowlands area of the Leogane commune, that which was accessible. 

Many of the communities we work in are only able to be accessed by driving (or walking) up the river, and with the amount of water that dumped on Haiti this weekend, some rivers are still impassable. The route taken by our driver today required the use of our sturdy Land Cruiser to manage the mud, crevices, rocks, and river traversing that was necessary to reach the two communities. 

Since I don't speak Creole, I was in charge of photographing (woo!), taking GPS coordinates and making observations in the area. The other 2 on my team went to houses to ask questions about what happened during the storm and what the need was. 

***

On a side note, I had free reign to walk around the communities, chatting with people, traipsing through mud, wandering through fields, petting goats, waving 'Bonswa' to children. Oh my. Just, maybe the best. I loved my job today.

***

At the first community we went to, I wandered, and we talked to 4 households and the local government representative. We found that overall, the damage had not been too bad in the community. There were trees felled, houses that were slightly damaged, and quite a few goats that got stressed and died (ok, there is a small part of me that finds that hilarious, but goats are a huge source of income in these communities, so the humour I find is just really really inappropriate. Bad thoughts, Ang), and there was a lot of mud. Local gardens were affected, but not many, and there were not really any that were completely destroyed. 

A good find. A relatively good outcome for the community. There will be affects, but walking around showed that the community was living life as normal - sitting on porches, braiding hair, gardening, taking care of animals, managing shops, and chatting with each other. 

We continued up the river to the next community. However, to get there, we had to drive up the river as far as the car would go safely, and then we continued the rest on foot. We removed our shoes, my team rolled up their jeans (damn skinny jeans and not being roll-up-able!), and we traversed the muddy, rocky water, joking about what a nice beach we were visiting! 

While this community was not devastated either, it still spoke the remnants of a massive storm. With all the rain, the river had swollen, taking down plantations and gardens, ruining harvests, and creating new cavernous water-ways on paths. Mud was present; more animals had died; and we heard of 5 houses that had been demolished by the wind. 

While my team questioned houses, I was shown around by various members of the community, all pointing out where the damage was. It was evident that this community would bear the brunt of the storm for much longer than the first. 

But still, the communities continued life as normal. Haitians are notoriously resilient, letting things like this storm come and go and just accepting that it is a part of life. Whether this is a good or bad thing, I cannot say, and that is another topic for another day. 

Life continues as normal - including Football!!!

The walk back up the river caused lots of laughter in the communities I think. It's definitely not every day that they see a 'blan' walking up a river in wet jeans and bare feet. I earned the term 'ou capable' (expressing shock at my ability to hike through mosquito-infested jungles, and traipse up a river in bare feet) by my team. 

The meeting upon my return to the office found that many of the other communities visited experienced the same sort of issues. We are so thankful that it is not worse than this. No deaths were reported; most houses survived. 

I woke up this morning bored at the thought of being stuck in the house another day. Instead, I am heading to bed with more mosquito bites than when the day started, dirty feet, sweaty skin, and a smile on my face. 

Isaac, thank you for not being as mean as you could have been, and for giving me a bit of adventure in the meantime. 

And we wait...

Isaac over Puerto Rico - headed our way!

Until Tuesday, I was feeling exhausted. So tired, I could not sleep but it was all I wanted to do. It was hard to motivate myself; I was on edge; I wore my 'grumpy pants' way more times than I liked. 

Life was difficult and more than once, I thought, I just need to get out of here. My planned trip to the DR could not come soon enough. I want to walk around, sit at a restaurant, be by myself, shop, eat at Taco Bell, and just be more normal. And don't even get me started on all the dreams I was having about being in Europe. I was in the stages of burn-out. 

And then Tuesday afternoon came. I received an email in the middle of the day from my Dad, entitled 'Isaac', asking if my organisation would evacuate me. You see, Isaac was on his way. IS on his way still. At the time, he was a tropical storm, forecast to move right over Haiti, hitting hurricane strength around the time he breached the Port-au-Prince mountains. 

And we sprung into action. I began thinking about our response; our area coordinator planned our preparedness activities. We put our staff into place. Some were to fill up vehicles with gas; others were to board up windows or move items into more secure locations. 

We watched the movements, made decisions on an almost hourly basis as to what else needed to be done. Conversations were had with our HQ, we planned our money, our phone credit, packed our quick run bags, monitored the news again, made sure our staff were safe and knew how to respond. We know that we need to keep our slotted windows open 2 inches so they don't break. We bought food (ice cream and beer included!) and we have candles for when the electricity goes out. 

In response, we have organised teams who will phone and head out into the field to do assessments, to see what the impact is in the area we are working on. I am working on the questionnaire, our methodology, and making sure that we are getting the proper information about the needs in the communities here. I prepped our teams on the process, I am making sure they have the questions, they have the information. We are linking with the local government to make sure we are reaching all the communities in the area - we are taking the lead in much of the initial response. 

Our staff were enthusiastically available to come off annual leave to help, to stay later at the office to make sure we have everyone's contact information, no complaining about the chance to work on Sunday to respond. 

As we left the office, we pushed our desks together away from the wall. Tarps cover important documents that there is a chance for water to reach. Our staff know that the office is closed tomorrow in prep, and what we will do to respond. 

And now we wait. Wait for him to make up his mind as to what he will do. Wait for him to strike or not. Wait to see what happens. 

But Isaac woke me up. I am still exhausted, yes. But he brought my adrenaline back - enough to finish these next few weeks before my short holiday. 

Isaac, bring on what you will. We are ready. 

Alumnus

In the past month since I posted last, I have been working lots, travelling lots and have lots of blog posts started but not published. Need to get back onto them. In the meantime, I was asked by my MA university to write an article about my work in Haiti for the inaugural edition of their Alumni newsletter. What an honour! So for those who are interested, I publish it again below!

Link to the whole newsletter here. 

The day in January 2010 when the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti will go down in history as one of the most catastrophic days in modern Haitian times. Over 200,000 people were killed, 2 million more displaced, and countless others affected.

I remember that day vividly. It was a Tuesday, and I had just returned home from the Senate house library where I was preparing for our lecture and seminar in Securing Human Rights the next day. I turned on my computer to relax a little before bed, and opened up the BBC news website. As the site loaded a breaking news headline popped up: “Haiti devastated by massive earthquake.” As soon as I saw that, my heart jumped and I knew. This was the last thing Haiti needed.

Prior to the earthquake, Haiti’s history is filled with coup d’états, hurricanes, dictators, occupations, and a constant stream of human rights violations. As the well-advertised statistic says, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere with over two-thirds of its population living on less than $2 per day. An earthquake of this scale, with the epicentre located only 25km away from its populous capital city, Port-au-Prince, had just set Haiti even further back on the development ladder.

As an American attempting to learn French, not Spanish, I had always had a particular interest in the nation, being one of the largest French-speaking nations in the Western hemisphere. With previous work experience working in the relief department of a large NGO, when the earthquake struck, I wanted to go. I read everything I could about the response; I blogged on the topic; I even communicated to my previous manager about what the chances were of me going. But as it was the middle of the year for the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights, I knew it was not the right time. Yet.  

I first arrived in Haiti on 10 December 2010, only a week after walking across the stage to receive my MA in Human Rights degree. At the time, Haiti was approaching the one year anniversary of the earthquake, a massive cholera epidemic had struck the country, the election process was in a stalemate marred by fraud and violence, and two of Haiti’s ex-presidents in exile had just returned to the country, which spurred questions on their return and what it would mean to the country. To put it succinctly, it was a mess. In the almost two-and-a-half years since the earthquake though, it is evident that the country has taken quite a few steps forward to “build back better,” now having a somewhat functioning government, IDP camps disappearing, a cholera epidemic that exists but is more manageable, and NGOs returning to long-term development projects. Complete recovery and stability, however, still yet remain elusive; the situation here can change overnight.  

I have lived in Haiti off-and-on since graduation, working mostly with a few humanitarian organisations with donors and reporting, and implementing assessments, and project monitoring and evaluation. While none of these positions have worked directly in the human rights field, the knowledge and skills I gained of human rights through the MA course has been very influential in the roles, as I am working to develop proposals, write reports, conduct assessments, and engage with donors, beneficiaries, and the UN and other NGOs here.

Working out in the field undeniably gives an interesting insight to the field of human rights and the work of NGOs. It is definitely difficult work! I appreciate how much the international community attempts to integrate human rights principles into the development of their projects and their organisational strategies, particularly the principles of impartiality, participation, accountability and advocacy. But just because we attempt it, doesn’t mean it’s easy, especially in an emergency response. Participation and advocacy take a long time, and it is hard to encourage duty-bearers to take responsibility if the government is non-functional! However, I have seen first hand how essential these principles are to respect and dignify the communities we are working with. For example, communities love being able to contribute to the design of their own shelters; the sense of pride is astounding when meeting with small business owners who have been able to bring their businesses back to life through partnering with our organisation!

However, the realities of the field, the realities of living in a developing country do bring to light how much further we have to go. How can we assure the effective implementation of a rights-based approach in an emergency response that needs to be implemented quickly? How do we hold a government accountable to their human rights obligations if it can barely function on its own? How can one change a societal perspective of power that leads to feelings of entitlement and selfishness?

Being field-based, I get to see the fruition of the work that we are doing, the projects we are designing and implementing, the impact we are making to the lives of those who are vulnerable and it is the best part of being out here. But I also see how much further we have to go. The work of human rights is a long, difficult, complicated process and I can only be thankful for the role I am allowed to play to uphold these important principles and the contribution I can make to give others the opportunity to live a life that is “free and equal in dignity and rights,” as the UDHR says. I know I will keep working and striving to reach this difficult and lofty goal.

Human Rights in Haiti Resources:

·          Haiti’s Human Rights international treaty adherence: http://www.adh-geneva.ch/RULAC/international_treaties.php?id_state=84

·          International Disaster Response Law in Haiti, IFRC: www.ifrc.org/PageFiles/87274/MAA0000410ar.pdf

·          Measuring the way forward in Haiti: Grounding disaster relief in the legal framework of human rights, Amanda M. Klasing, P. Scott Moses, and Margaret L. Satterthwaite:

·          http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_report_158.pdf

·          Indicators in Crisis: Rights-based Humanitarian Indicators in Post-Earthquake Haiti, Margaret L. Satterthwaite, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1833530

Commémoration de Deux Années - un réponse

Two years ago today, a cataclysmic earthquake struck Haiti.

And today, the media is overwhelmed with articles about what has and has not been done since the earthquake struck. 

In response to the BBC's article entitled, "Haiti's tent cities signal long road to quake recovery" this is what I have to say.

Cemetary in the rural mountains outside of PaP. 
It dramatically increased in size post-earthquake.

As an aid worker based in Port-au-Prince, I have seen many of the disparities and struggles of the Haitian people over the last 2 years.

You are correct - there are still many people living in camps, and much work still needs to be done. There is still a massive lack of access to good water and sanitation, a problem in a time of cholera, unemployment is still rampant throughout the nation, stable homes are difficult to find.

But much has changed. Many people forget that 2010 was a difficult year for Haiti - more than just the earthquake at the beginning of the year. The rest of the year included a cholera epidemic, a hurricane, political violence, followed by difficulties in creating a functioning government.

Aid work does not happen overnight, particularly in a complex context such as this. Prior to the earthquake, Haiti was struggling to get to its feet. If the international community was looking to get Haiti back to its status quo prior to the earthquake, you might be able to see all the work that has been done in the last 2 years.

But the international community chose to 'Build Haiti Back Better.' This takes time; this takes money; this takes stability. Two years is not enough time to see this change; money promised has not been disbursed; 2010 was not even close to being stable.

I was not in Haiti for a few months towards the end of 2011. When I left, cholera was still a major concern, donors were taking their time in approving projects and delivering money, and Haiti still did not have a Prime Minister.

When I returned, however, I found a different Haiti. Construction is happening everywhere; new businesses are being developed; the government is proving to be stable, although, as with any government, there are still many concerns. Initiatives are in place to assist those living in camps to move to more permanent homes. Haiti even decorated for Christmas this year!

One cannot look at what has NOT been completed without looking at what has, with the eye that development takes time. The US did not become what it is today in 2 years - no, it took hundreds of years! Why do we expect change in Haiti to take place in a minutia of the time?

Haitians are very impassioned individuals; they are dedicated to their country and to building it back better, as is much of the international community. Instead of saying alarmist statements, such as walking into camps to see a man pointing a gun at another man's head, why can we not focus on the fact that those living in the camps are committed to moving their lives forward, to finding whatever work they can to earn enough to send their children to school.

Change is happening in Haiti. President Martelly was correct in saying that yes, we want to move fast, but we also want to do it right. Please do not expect quality to happen overnight.

For those that are interested, I enjoyed reading these articles below.  

The Guardian -

Haiti earthquake: two years on, and just half of promised aid has been delivered 

The Miami Herald -

Many question whether Haiti quake donations were put to best use

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/09/2581629/many-question-whether-haiti-quake.html#storylink=cpy

 

30-minute Haiti...

Yesterday, I went back to uni to visit my old professors for a catch-up. It was lovely. While I was there, though, I agreed to come back today and talk to this year's MA students about my experiences, how I got my job, and how what I learned in the MA in Human Rights contributes to my work. 

Well, that got me thinking, of course. How can I sum up 3 months into 30min with time for questions?

well, for starters - I started with WV when I was 20 years old...a few weeks before I turned 21. I started as an intern in their humanitarian department. I worked with them for about 3 months before heading back for my final year of undergrad. I came back post-graduation, as an intern again. And then have never left. Even as I moved to London to pursue a Master's degree, even as I actually tried to end my job, it didn't. I wanted to have a clean cut with WV to pursue a different path, but God had something different for me. So I worked with WV remotely and part-time. To be honest, one of the reasons I pursued it was because I hoped it would lead to a field-based job.

When the Haiti earthquake hit last January, I was broken. I wanted to be there. Something in my heart left me and flew to Haiti and it stayed. I was so upset that I could not go then, because of my commitments to school. I never expected that I would end up there almost 1 year later.

But that is what happened. Because of the job I was so eager to cut, I was able to move to Haiti. God knows better right? And I have never looked back.

Haiti is...different. It is complex. We always say that Haiti is different everyday, and it is. I love it. Something is always happening - from Duvalier coming back to political election violence to parties and parades in the street on a Sunday evening in the month leading up to Carnival. Haiti always throws something different your way.

My work with them has not been easy by any means. It was a level of difficulty I was unprepared for though. There are so many changes within WV and things going on internally so it is difficult to be prepared for something you are completely unaware of. But I tried to rise to the challenge. I hope I succeeded. Only time will tell for that one.

I think I have changed throughout this as well. I have become more self-reliant (if that was even possible - I was already VERY self-reliant before I left). Strength and resilience, while I always knew I had these traits, I never knew how deep they were. I truly discovered where my professional strengths lie. I love analysis, holding people accountable, improving programmes to be the best they can be, building the capacity of others - particularly national staff - and working with the communities to, as Clinton says, "Build Haiti Back Better." I only see the point of a project if it is sustainable - or a means to an end while the sustainable option is being developed. When I leave, I want to leave systems and things in place that are not going to die without my involvement. I want Haitians to be the proud owners of a better Haiti, not the receivers. Of course this is VERY difficult. And involves a lot more people than just myself. 

My MA in Human Rights helped me more than I realised in the last 3 months. Not just by getting me out of the US, but by being a massive stepping stone to getting to the field and by also showing me how essential human rights principles, such as equality, participation and inclusion, accountability, and increasing the capacities of rights-holders to hold duty-bearers responsible for their actions, are in programming. 

I also came to realise that the faults I have - I need to listen more, be less opinionated, and be more patient - need to drastically be improved upon. And I am working on it. I ate many pieces of humble pie while I was in my last role. 

When I left for Haiti, I knew it was the place I was supposed to be at. And I still stand by that comment. I know I am not done with Haiti yet - and I know Haiti is not done with me. There is still lots left for me to learn (and not just learning French - although that is a BIG priority too). Even though it has only been a few days since I left, and I am loving being back in the UK, I cannot wait to get back into action. Watch out Haiti, I won't know what hit me by the time we are done.

Some super smart decisions were made this week...

Super smart decisions like deciding to stay out until 2am on Thursday night because my old boss was in town, when I had my alarm set for 5:30am the next day because I had to be at the office early. Yep, smart decisions like those. But it was a good night and it was great to catch up with people from the past.


So, this past Wednesday was the 1-year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake. On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck just outside of Port-au-Prince causing massive destruction and displacing over a million. 




Now, 1 year later, 800,000 people are still displaced and a cholera epidemic has struck the country. But that does not mean that there was not extensive amounts of work done in this past year. Despite all the media criticising our response saying it was too slow, that cholera should not have happened, that we should learn from other emergencies, being here I can see how difficult it is to get things done. Especially in this insecure political climate. Development is not some easy formula and if you want to fix one thing (such as getting rid of cholera), you have to fix lots of things (like the sewage system - which should be the government's or corporation's responsibility; depending on who owns them). Its a slow, long, arduous process and is not something that can be easily measured in a year.

Houses in Port-au-Prince's hills

In my humble opinion, we are doing some actually very great work in response to the cholera epidemic. Cholera is a fierce disease; it can take a life in less than half a day. But when you look at our (as in all NGOs) response, yes people are getting cholera, but not many are dying from it. Which says something about our treatment. And in the North of Haiti as well as in PaP, transmission of cholera is decreasing, which means that we are doing something right with our hygiene promotion...


Anyway, this week was a busy week for lots of people because of the 1-year anniversary. Wednesday, the office was closed in remembrance of last year, and we had lots of visitors doing field visits. My week was spent working, of course, with very little socialising. Except for my super smart decision Thursday night. haha. 


My Friday was spent mostly in a car, taking a trip out to our activities at the Border, where we have a CTC - Cholera Treatment Centre - as well as some hygiene promotion activities. It was great to get out and see some of the amazing work we are doing. Although I was exhausted by the end of the day, due to lack of sleep... I am trying to get out of the office as much as I can. This helps with relationships with people, as well as just appreciating the work we are doing. 

Our CTC at the Border

All in a week's work. 1-year anniversaries, visits from Sean Penn and Bill Clinton (my flatmate saw them at the Lebanese restaurant here), trips out to the field, catching up with an old boss. Someone I was talking to this week said that their first field experience was in Haiti and they have felt this connection to the place ever since then. I have a feeling that this will happen to myself as well. Haiti is definitely growing on me...


PS. other actual smart decisions were made this week. Like taking next weekend to go to Turks and Caicos for instance. And other work-related ones of course...

The Beauty Outside of Port-au-Prince

Maybe the Earthquake was a good thing…

The recent earthquake in Haiti may have been the best thing that could have happened to the country.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that Haiti deserved it. The massive level of destruction and loss of human lives (tens of thousands feared dead, millions more affected, says the Haitian Red Cross[1]) is horrendous and never desired.

What I am saying is that Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s most impoverished nation, may finally be getting the attention it needs to bring it to a higher level of development.

Haiti, a Caribbean nation with beautiful beaches, lush mountains, valuable natural resources and a rich French-Creole history, is a country that should attract many tourists. But for the last almost 170 years, Haiti has been plagued by political instability, dictatorships, coups, violence, and an ever increasing poverty level. A bloody rebellion in 2004 left the country in shambles; 2008 brought a series of hurricanes that overwhelmed the nation and destroyed much of its already limited infrastructure.

Under current President Rene Preval, the country seems to be slowly stabilising. But President Preval has a long way to go. In 2009, Haiti was number 149 out of 182 countries on the UN Human Development Index[2], in company with countries such as Sudan, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea. Human rights abuses abound in Haiti. The right to life, arguably the most essential human right, is still continuously violated. Rampant instances of crime and corruption, violence against women and girls, and cruel and degrading treatment in Haitian prisons were still exposed as recent as March 2009[3]. Even more staggering are the breaches of economic, social and cultural rights: only 1 in 5 Haitian secondary-school age children actually attend a secondary school. Only 25% of the population has access to clean water, 80% of the rural population lives in poverty, including particularly vulnerable women and children.[4]

The World Bank called Haiti “a Poverty Trap”[5] – where underinvestment in human capital, lack of economic opportunities, and poor governance keep it locked in a state of hopelessness.

So what needs to be done to bring Haiti onto the development train? Of course, for a problem this large, there is no quick fix. Haiti needs a secure and stable environment and economy; its government needs to be strengthened; its people’s inherent human rights need to be fulfilled. Most of all, Haiti needs the support of governments and donors.

Haiti has ratified the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all which bind the government to respect, protect and fulfil specific human rights, as defined by those treaties. In 2004, the United Nations established the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)[6] to secure and stabilise Haitian social structures, assist the political process and to monitor and report on the human rights situation in the nation.

Monumentally, in 2009, Haiti received full debt relief from the International Monetary Fund under the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which is designed to allow a country with an un-manageable debt burden to achieve poverty reduction through re-investing that money in governmental structures and social services.  

But with every step forward, Haiti –the ‘Poverty Trap’ – seems to take two steps back. The earthquake has affected the most vulnerable and has damaged crucial infrastructure. It is going to take a lot of investment to get Haiti back on track.

But here we are today: Haiti is the number one story in the media. Donations to humanitarian relief and development organisations are flowing in. Former US President and current Special Envoy for Haiti, Bill Clinton agrees that what Haiti needs most now is “money for water, food, shelter and basic medical supplies to bring immediate relief“[7].  From these contributions, development agencies can assist in the process of not only just getting Haiti back to where they were at 4:30pm local time on January 13, 2010 just before the earthquake struck, but also to where they can be – secure, stable and full of hope.

So, as devastating as the earthquake was, maybe it was just what Haiti needed.

---

[1] http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13103860.htm

[2] http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf

[3] http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/126/97/PDF/G0912697.pdf?OpenElement

[4]http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20207590~menuPK:443285~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html

[5]http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20207590~menuPK:443285~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html

[6] Security Council resolution 1529 (2004)

[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/13/AR2010011304604.html