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We are just back from Haiti. It has been almost 3 months since the earthquake and my biggest impression is the uncertainty that the people are dealing with – how long will they be living in a tent? Will they be able to repair or rebuild their house? Should they move out of the city? When will their children go back to school? Where?  Is it safe?
So many problems, multiplying the difficult life they already had. In some places life appears as usual with street vendors and traffic congestion. Then, try to drive to a business to find it was destroyed. One can only imagine the loss and grief and memories of the terrifying events. So many sick and injured people remain in hospitals or need follow up care. Hundreds of people line up every morning at medical clinics, some get in, some try again tomorrow. When we were working at the Community Hospital clinic there were nurses, but not enough doctors. Were legs healed enough to bear weight? Was it time to remove a brace? Difficult to know for sure without an orthopedic specialist.
We saw buildings caved in or flattened and people living in refugee camps all over Port au Prince and outside of the city. There are piles of rubble everywhere, some people scooping up crumbled cement into a dump truck, one shovelful at a time. The further from the airport you travel, and down side streets, the worse the conditions of these camps. Near the airport, the tents are made of shrink wrap over a dome of PVC pipes; they have water tanks, latrines and medical stations. Away from there, the shelters are made of cardboard, wood boards, sheet metal, tattered sheets and tarps over sticks; there is not enough water, food, medical attention, no latrine. We saw infected wounds and dehydrated babies, and a birth – woman in labor in a dirty tent with flies all over her, gave birth to a healthy appearing baby girl. The mom was given a clean tent and supplies the next day.
Maria, the school director, slept outside in the open with her small children for four days before they got a tarp. She is separated from her children now so they can be safe in the Dominican Republic with a relative, and Maria plans to reopen the Foyer d’Espoir school April 12, under a tent. Blackboard writing inside the school is still there “January 12, 2010” and Christmas decorations are still on the walls. With all of this there is courage, spirit and dignity.
We will stand with the Haitians and never turn away.
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