Do you remember? Eske ou sonje? Tu t'en souviens?

Where were you on January 12, 2010?
Ki kote-w te ye jou ki te 12 janvye 2010 la?
Ou étiez-vous le 12 janvier 2010?

Your thoughts about the earthquake in Haiti

January 12, 2010 a day that we will never forget! This day changed our perspectives on life ( at least some of us). What we can all agree on is that it pushes back at least 50 years or more. I have written a lot about it, specially the way the aid is administered and I also have some testimonies and many pictures.

Haitians are very resilient and will get through this hard time but it will take time and effort and healing and even a change in the mentality and this is before even receiving help form other country. We are the ones (Haitians) who can change the situation in our own country we surely need help but no amount of money will change our mentality, attitude or belief for good if we are not willing to or unite ourselves for the greater benefits of our beloved country.

I went myself to help as an interpreter and saw first hand what was going on and I was there a month ago and can still see the impacts.

No matter where you are from, if you have a wish, a word of wisdom or encouragement, a poem, a prayer or if you have participated in any rescue mission directly or indirectly, please let us know what you would like to say either to the world or the Haitian people about this event.

God bless!

How the "aid" can and is actually hurting us

I know this particular statement I am about to make will be very controversial and believe me I wish I had another way to put it but, all I am asking my readers, is to make sure you read the whole text not a snippet of it in order to fully understand what I mean but then again you do not have to agree with me and I will humbly accept your critics, disagreement or if you want to add something more to what I wrote. All you have to do is hit the comment button so that everyone can read what you think.

Unless you have been living under the rocks, you are aware of the terrible earthquake disaster which occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010 and the whole world was watching live days after days as the Haitian people is trying to go through rumbles with their bare hands to save their loved ones and also how the world responded pretty fast with their financial support and many organizations and individuals went there to help. It was very humbling to see the outpouring of support we got and are still getting till this day. For this I say thank you to all of you, who in a way or the other help Haiti, prayed for us or just mourned with us. We are forever grateful to you!

Of course, the very first 3-4 months is to be considered as emergency where people needed the basics be handed to them such as water, food, clothes, money etc…  Unfortunately this has not stopped.

Now, I am not an expert in anything I just happen to be fascinated by the way things are going since I myself had the opportunity to go and help as well and in case you are wondering I am also from Haiti and yes I was raised in an orphanage, a NGO (Non-governmental Organization) you will very soon see why I state that upfront.

I do think there is a big problem with the way aid is being administered in Haiti. First of all since we have very poor infrastructures, we have way too many NGOs in Haiti that are not even controlled by anyone. They basically do what they want to do. A lot of them are just seasonal they come for a week or a month just to make a name for themselves or to say they have been Haiti. We do not have enough roads and there are way too many cars in Haiti. I have observed myself so many rental cars in the street of Haiti.

Here is a paragraph by Kevin Edmonds a NACLA Research Associate in an article entitled: NGOs and the Business of Poverty in Haiti published on Apr 5 2010:

Haiti has the most privatized social-service sector in the Americas, with some 80% of the country’s basic services provided by the private sector through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). No other country in the world has more NGOs per capita. Edmond Mulet, head of the UN mission in Haiti, conservatively estimates that there were more than 10,000 before the January 12 earthquake. Many Haitians ironically refer to their country as a “republic of NGOs.”  (source https://nacla.org/node/6501)

Of course I would say with no way to prove it, that this is close to double after the earthquake. With all these people in country, I do think that resources are diverted instead of going straight to the Haitian people the intended target. Instead we have more traffic jams, more pollution in the air and many people just enjoying the beach instead of being productive and others just making money for themselves. Please understand that that there are many good NGOs in Haiti that are doing the right things and which have been around for years and let me explain that not all new NGOs are bad or ill-intentioned but the many of them are of no use to the Haitian people at all.

Why do I say that? Suppose an organization brings 50 people from abroad to come work in Haiti to build something, this is wonderful right? Wrong! How about this same organization instead of spending this money to pay airlines and hotels and car rentals and meals etc… for these 50 people, brings in 10 of them and then hire locals to train them on what they are doing? Wouldn’t that be more beneficial for the country? Wouldn’t it help more in term of the people being trained having more pride and knowing something for life?

You will never help Haiti if you do not help the people help themselves. If you are not helping people help themselves you are just destroying the country for the future. For, the 50 people you brought in after the job is complete and the money is spent whether well done or not will return back to their country and since no one was trained, they will have to be called back if there is a problem and the money spent to pay them could have been used to help the nation.

"Teach us how to fish! do not give hand it to us". If you want to build a house bring in one or two experts and train the locals, there are many good engineers in Haiti who can be trained and also have the people for which the houses are being built be a major part of the labor so that their understand what it takes to build a house, they know they have invested in it and they will be more likely to keep up with it and moreover you give them a sense of pride.

I think that a lot of organizations are setting the Haitian people to be "professional beggars" deprived of all their pride. This is going to kill our self-esteem in the long run! Haiti does not need things to be handed to her. Haitians need work, do not just give things away. We have our pride and though we are in need we would rather work to deserve what we have. Don’t give them rice but rather teach or to be more efficient in cultivating the land, give them the equipment and train them on how to take care of it, so that if it is broken you do not have to come from abroad to repair it but they will be able to do it themselves.

There are many ways this can be accomplished. Instead of giving them money how about you teach them how to save what they have or invest it in macro enterprise, don’t just hang them money, loan them and let them invest it in a small business and reward those who do good with a low interest rate. Don’t just bring in your tractors, your engineers and your own people and do the job and leave. Teach the locals how to maintain them and how to build them rather help with the equipment because the manpower is already available.

As I previously said , I am very thankful for all the help we are getting but an aid which is not efficient is worthless and if an organization really wants to help it should invest in local people instead of bringing in seasonal foreigners. This is not help the Haitian people this is not helping the economy. I do not want to name any organization whether on the good side or the bad sides but you guys have an idea by now on how to distinguish a good one from a bad one.

I have more to say about this subject but I do not want you to get too tired of me. If there is need to add more I will do so either in a comment or a new post. 

Ask yourself this question: what is a country with its people with no sense of pride? What will become of a country if all of its citizens are just receiving from others? If you want to help, make sure that you are helping people help themselves rather than just waiting for a handover. 

Haitians are very proud people and they are very resilient. Let me make sure to conclude also that as Haitian, there is no way we can progress even when all the world pour in billions of dollars in Haiti unless we ourselves decide to change our own country. Let us work together toward a better country and let us stop hating each other, killing each other but rather work hand in hand as our national motto clearly states: L'union fait la force (Unity brings power). Let's be appreciative to those who are helping us and remember that if we do not help ourselves their help will for ever be worthless 

Be blessed and may God bless Haiti and all of those who are helping us help ourselves.