UPDATE FROM HAITI : ADDED BY PROPHETESS MARSHA
Hello Everyone
A belated Happy Easter!
Yes,
I've
yielded... I'm really on empty, so I've taken some time off. I am in
the United States with my son Tony and daughter-in-law Julie for a
much-needed R+R. I'll return to Haïti 24 April.
In the meantime, here are some interesting pieces of information.
Donor's
Conference 31 March 2010. Nearly 140 countries participated in the
donors' conference held in New York last week. The longer term plan,
which had been put together by the Haitian Government with the help of
numerous humanitarian organizations, was presented; and nearly $US 10
Billion was pledged to reconstruct Haïti! All in all, including the
emergency aid that is presently being given, about $US 34 Billion will
be needed; but this amount was more than twice what had been hoped for.
We are all gratified and very grateful.
The monies will be placed in a multi-donor reconstruction fund and
managed by the Interim Haïti Recovery Commission headed by UN Special
Envoy to Haïti Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Bellerive. UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "Our goal is not to rebuild. It is
to build back better... a Haiti where the majority of people no longer
live in deep poverty, where they can go to school and enjoy better
health, where they have
better options than going without jobs or leaving the country
altogether."
The actual reconstruction part of the plan is
estimated to cost $US 11.5 Billion over the next 10 years; and the
participating organizations will oversee that these monies are both well
invested and well coordinated.
The plan recognizes the need to decentralize jobs and housing, that
is, to move these to nearby towns. The Port-au-Prince that I knew in
the late 1980's was quite crowded with a population of a mere 1
million. Now it is impossibly congested with over 3.5 million people
living in one or two story dwellings in the same very small space.
Mr Ban Ki-moon went on to say that the Haitian Government and the UN
are committed to a new 'social contract' with the Haitian people which
would include: a fully democratic government; economic and social
policies to address the extreme poverty and deep-rooted disparities of
wealth; human rights for all that would be guaranteed by an independent
judiciary and a vigilant civil society; and good governance,
transparency and mutual accountability among the Haitian Government and
the private/public sectors as well as investors. They proposed
cash-for-work programs (investments that create jobs) and incentives for
families to relocate outside of PAP.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commended the Haitian
Government’s plan to provide the coordination and consultation needed to
direct aid where it will be most needed, and she warned humanitarian
organizations against the temptation to work around the Government
rather than with it--as well as the tendency to scatter their efforts
among an array of projects rather than to focus on deeper, more
long-term solutions. She also cautioned about the tendency to resort to
known but ineffective strategies. Indeed, Haïti is a graveyard of
these kinds of aid!
President Préval noted, "...There is also a need for us to take
stock and learn the lessons of this terrible disaster. This has shown us
that generosity must be more disciplined... International aid must be
coordinated upstream if it is to be effective.” He also remarked that
Haïti needed investment in infrastructure such as roads, electricity,
transport and telecommunication.
Prime Minister Bellerive, remarked that the plan would move from an
immediate emergency response towards reconstruction after the first six
months. The first 18 months of the reconstruction part of the plan will
focus on rebuilding transport, communication, and other parts of
Haïti's infrastructure along with job creation in the agriculture and
textile industries.
The plan also focuses on providing basic housing for all, investing
in youth, good health care, developing an agriculture infrastructure,
and vocational training. Mr Bellerive said that he desires to see Haiti
emerge over the next twenty years as a fair, unpretentious, strong,
competitive, decentralized modern society, based on solidarity, an
effective judicial process, and strong regional development.
A couple comments here...The Haitian Government and numerous
humanitarian organizations have done an analysis of the present
situation and responded with a good plan and a commitment to coordinate
its implementation.
But the real 'how' of the plan has not yet been concluded--that is,
HOW will they do the reconstruction? Will they bring in large
organizations to perform the key reconstruction while the Haitian people
stand by and observe; will they construct while asking the people to
participate in some modest way; or will they leave the actual
reconstruction to the Haitian people while experts guide and assure
proper technique?
In essence, it goes back to the three types of works that the
community developer from southern Haïti described in my presence so many
years ago: Will it be a colonialistic type work by 'destroyers' who
will do what they want? Will it be a 'builders' work who will take
charge while giving the Haitian people small jobs and eventually turn
over what the people perceive as 'the foreigners' project' to them? Or
will it be a community based work supported by 'catalysts' who provide
technical assistance and will help to responsibly funnel the resources
needed?
The latter, of course, is the ideal; but I suspect it will not
become the operative model. If that is the case, then the plan risks an
overall lack of a sense of ownership by the Haitian people which will
ultimately lead to strong favoritism and overt corruption. Without
proper oversight (and this is not easily done by foreigners since they
are generally not familiar enough with the culture), the resources will
be funneled to friends of influential local persons, as will contracts
for labor and supplies. The costs will be inflated yet for limited work
both in terms of quantity and quality.
That's the siren song of Haïti; and despite many safeguards against
these problems, they still do occur if the projects are not executed by
the right persons. Good results are possible, but only if the projects
are led with full community participation and transparency so that there
is proper oversight and accountability. This is easily said but very
difficultly done.
Camps and Relocation. Five suburban areas have been proposed by
the Haitian government to relocate persons from the overcrowded camps;
but to date only one area has been secured, about 25 acres near the
airport. The camp cluster suggests the following approaches for the
camps: encourage camp residents to return to their homes if they have
been evaluated and are safe (about 40% of the population); help camp
residents to resettle near their old neighborhoods once rubble is
removed (about 20% of the population); assist residents to find lodging
with host families (about 10% of the population); and support the
remaining residents at the sites that will now be reasonably
decongested. If none of these options is available, then they will help
residents to relocate to areas that are more secure from flooding.
There seems to be a lack of communication about the plans to the
camp dwellers, and the cluster is encouraging more information sharing
by the Government. This is a real problem, especially since most people
are reluctant to make yet another major life shift right now.
Transitional Shelters. It will be important that
organizations confirm land titles before building transitional
shelters. This has been less of an issue outside of PAP, since many
have clear title to their land; thus shelters have already begun to be
erected. But it will be a major factor for planning temporary housing
in PAP since much of the population does not have clear title to the
land upon which their homes had been constructed. Other important
issues are the potential length of stay in the shelters and their
ultimate ownership. Over 120,000 transitional shelters are being planned
by 40 agencies participating in the shelter cluster.
Also, a national building code will be needed. There had been very
few construction standards in force before the earthquake, and this will
be a critical factor in rebuilding. The code should be sufficient for
the needs but not overly rigorous, thus hindering reconstruction. This
will be a tough balance to strike.
Earthboxes. Cluster agencies are discussing the possibility
of including 'earthboxes' with the transitional shelters--containers
where small family gardens can be established. These are well suited to
the post-earthquake phase since they require minimum space, do not need
fertile ground, are transportable, and can be moved if a family
resettles elsewhere. The boxes use 60% less water, 50% less fertilizer
and 90% less labor than a traditional garden and produce high yields,
even out of season. Here is a site if you are interested in learning
more:
http://www.earthbox.com/index.php
Conditions
in PAP. People are becoming weary of the present living conditions
and all the inconveniences. Not only are the camps crowded with
insufficient toilets and showers, the traffic is horrible! A 25 minute
trip can now take--regularly--up to two hours, and that's not counting
when trucks break down, which is also a regular occurrence!
Because of the horrible road conditions (and less of them because of
the rubble), there is a new game developing: how many cars can you pass
in stalled traffic while zooming in the oncoming lane before you either
crash or find someone you can bully to let you in? The Haitian people
tend to put up with this kind of behavior for a long time; but when
they've had it, they can react very violently. The Government must take
some action before this touches off into violence. We are all short on
patience these days.
The other problem is the cost of living. Food prices have increased
by at least 30%, and it is making it very difficult for any of us to
buy groceries. Also, home rentals have skyrocketed, some as much as
300%. I've heard of cases of people being put out of their lease so
that the owner can rent their home to an organization that will pay an
inflated market price. Since most offices are located in larger homes,
you can imagine the premium being placed on them--especially now as more
organizations are arriving daily to Haïti.
Well, that's the latest, and here are a few specific requests for
prayer:
- That the Haitian people remain calm and find what
they need--dry shelter, enough food, and the right support
- That
they keep their resolve to wait out this hard trial
- That the Government will work at better traffic control
- That
we all can find suitable new homes and business dwellings yet not
displace anyone. We are presently working out of our warehouse, which
is both far away and packed with people. My poor boss has lost his home
and is actually living there!
And things to thank the Lord
for:
- AMAZING grace
- Overall
good support from the numerous organizations that have come to help
- Relative
safety though there are more episodes of theft recently
- Friend
helping friend--even stranger!
Blessings to you
all!
Judith
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