By Amy Goodman Posted on July 15, 2010
Port Au Prince, Haiti - On July 12, falling six months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which killed 300,000 people, after which much of the country was in ruins. 1.8 million people living in camps, inadequate sanitary conditions, or no, no electricity and very little security, as well as without any shelter from the intense heat and rain growing stronger. Rape, hunger and despair are constant threats to people who are trapped in the camps. Six months ago the world seemed united in the commitment to help Haiti recover. Now, half year later, the debris still in place, and suffering surrounding the camps, suffocated by the heat, drenched by rain.
After landing in Haiti, we traveled to one of the more than 1,350 refugee camps, Camp Corail. This camp was located near Titanyen. They threw the corpses during the first coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After the earthquake, the site was used as a makeshift grave.
Corail is located in a plain white gravel, filled with neat rows of tents. During the day, treeless sun protection, camp becomes extremely hot.
A resident of Corail, Romain Arius, he said: "We can not continue into the situation we are living here in tents. I would ask you to give us as soon as possible homes that told us that our situation would improve. "
One day after returning from camp Corail we learned that a storm knocked down at least 94 tents and forced hundreds of residents to flee for refuge.
Haitians are angry and wonder where they went to stop the millions of dollars donated immediately after the earthquake. Disaster Accountability Project The organization found that of the 197 organizations that asked for money after the earthquake, only six have made available public reports detailing their activities.
The "international donor community", composed of the richest countries pledged over U.S. $ 9 billion, but so far only Brazil, Norway and Australia paid the entire amount they promised. Much of the 1,150 million dollars pledged by the United States have been delayed in Congress. Patrick
Elie, a Haitian activist for democracy of long standing and former Secretary of State for Public Security in Haiti, I talked about the land and the large number of earthquake deaths:
"Land tenure Haiti is in total chaos. This also follows the behavior of the Haitian elites for centuries. Took over land, especially after independence and the end of slavery, which should have been community property. And of course, now there is much discussion about who owns what piece of land. "
Patrick Elie says that in this time of emergency gives the government the power to expropriate land for public interest, the key question is what land will be confiscated: community land that farmers utilized for centuries, or large tracts of elites?
I also talked to Sean Penn. Yes, the actor who won two Academy Awards in Hollywood, who came to Haiti following the earthquake. Shortly after having experienced firsthand a medical problem of his teenage son, who underwent major surgery, Penn was horrified at the stories she heard about amputations without anesthesia being made in Haiti. Penn relief organization founded J / P Haitian Relief Foundation (jphro.org) and has been in Haiti for five of the last six months, running a refugee camp at the Club de Golf de Petionville, which is now home to 55,000 displaced Haitians by the earthquake.
Sitting in a large tent, Penn was frustrated. Comparing the resources spent by the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan, Haiti. He said: "I think Afghanistan is a ridiculous operation. And one reason is that there can be a productive operation 'For the United States. " Imagine the case of Haiti in this way. Now there is a war here, and with the next storm will surely aggravate the situation, but there is no visible face of that hate, there is a country which to criticize, there are no natural resources, and the faces here are black. "
Penn saysJ / P HRO will be in Haiti for a long time: "We adapt, adjust to new needs. I think our next major initiative will be to remove the debris and working with partner organizations to get people back to neighborhoods and back to work. Spend management camp management and community activism. "
Patrick Elie defends leadership in rebuilding the Haitian people:" We are people who can defend himself. We have a vision of where we go. We need friends, but we need people who think for us, not we have pity. "
According to the Washington Post, so far has given only 2 percent of the aid pledged for reconstruction. Hurricane season threatens Haiti, and millions of people have we all keep our promises.
