An aerial view of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort, shows the devastation of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12, 2010. Approximately 230,000 Haitians are reported to have died as a result of the earthquake. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Chelsea Kennedy. Click for a larger image.

January 12, 2010: The United Nations reports

The earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 affected almost 3.5 million people, including the entire population of 2.8 million people living in Port-au-Prince. The Government of Haiti estimates that the earthquake killed 222,570 and injured another 300,572 people. Displacement peaked at close to 2.3 million people, including 302,000 children. At least 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake. Sixty per cent of Government and administrative buildings, 80 per cent of schools in Port-au-Prince and 60 per cent of schools in the South and West Departments were destroyed or damaged. Total earthquake-related loss is estimated at $7.8 billion, equivalent to more than 120 per cent of Haiti’s 2009 gross domestic product.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jay Wamsley holds a Haitian toddler during a humanitarian visit to one of many small villages outside Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 2, 2010. Wamsley, an environmental health and safety officer, is temporarily assigned to Port Security Unit 307. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Eggers.

In October 2010, cases of cholera began to appear in Haiti. The illness had not been seen for generations and it spread rapidly. As of December 26, 2011, the Haitian Ministry of Health reports 522,946 cases of cholera since then, and a total of at least 7,011 deaths.

The situation two years after the earthquake remains grim. Over 500,000 Haitians remain in nearly 1,000 refugee camps. The deaths and illnesses from cholera continue, though improvements in sanitation and availability of treatment have cut the death rate nearly in half.

The World Food Program states

Haiti is a food deficit country. It relies heavily on imported food – 50 percent of national requirements are imported. Food prices have been rising since the end of 2010. In a country where approximately half of the population lives with less than $1 a day and three quarters have less than $2 per day, this increase has led to an overall loss of purchasing power for the majority of Haitians. WFP is using its three main programmes – school meals, nutrition and cash and food for work- to alleviate the impact of rising food prices on the most vulnerable.

Still, for the first time in 25 years, the Haitian government has all three branches functioning. The Caracol Industrial Park will open in March and its first tenant, Korean textile firm Sae-A, has committed to creating 20,000 new jobs. About half of the rubble created by the earthquake has been removed with 30-40 percent having been recycled into new construction. Much of the remaining “rubble” consists of buildings that have been condemned but the owners believe they can be salvaged.

U.S. Southern Command has conveyed a supply of disaster response equipment to the Haitian government. The United States has donated 12 boats, four sport utility vehicles, and 11,000 hand-crank radios to Haiti’s Direction de la Protection Civile (DPC).

New Jersey National Guard troops assist in a neighborhood flooded by Hurricane Irene. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen

As Hurricane Irene slowly moves into Canada, the damage it leaves behind is immense. For Americans affected by the wind, water and other effects of this record storm, here are some resources. Some websites are of more value than others. As of this writing, only Puerto Rico has received a “Major Disaster Declaration”. The list of “Emergency Declarations”, a lower level of declaration, is at the bottom of this post.

National

• DisasterAssistance.gov
• Ready.gov
• Federal Emergency Management Agency – Flood
• Centers for Disease Control – Floods

State

• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Virginia
• Maryland
• Delaware
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• New York
• Vermont
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Maine

Local

• Washington DC
• New York City
• Boston

Of Note

• Catholic Charities
• Salvation Army
• American Red Cross

Federal Emergency Declarations Related to Hurricane Irene

Number	Date	State	Incident Description	Designated Counties
3337	08/28	District of Columbia	Hurricane Irene
3336	08/28	Delaware	Hurricane Irene
3335	08/27	Maryland	Hurricane Irene
3334	08/27	Rhode Island	Hurricane Irene
3333	08/27	New Hampshire	Hurricane Irene
3332	08/27	New Jersey	Hurricane Irene
3331	08/27	Connecticut	Hurricane Irene
3330	08/26	Massachusetts	Hurricane Irene
3329	08/26	Virginia	Hurricane Irene
3328	08/26	New York	Hurricane Irene
3327	08/25	North Carolina	Hurricane Irene
3326	08/22	Puerto Rico	Hurricane Irene

United Nations map showing destinations for Libyan refugees. click on map for a larger image.

The Sallum border crossing the the entry way for Libyan refugees to Egypt. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that since February 22, 2011, 140,128 people crossed the border at Sallum. While the original stream was primarily Egyptians, Libyans and other nationalities now make up the majority of those arriving.

the last week has seen about 3,000 refugees cross the border each day. Most move on to other destinations. The IOM has helped over 11,000 refugess return to their home countries, with two thirds of those being repatriated to Bangladesh. About 2,300 refugees remain stranded at the border crossing.

Bangladeshi man at Tunisian refugee camp March 13 2011

As of March 16, the IOM was reporting that 158,000 people had crossed from Libya into Tunisia and 128,000 from Libya into Egypt. Of those crossing into Tunisia, 123,000 were third country nationals, where the vast majority of those crossing into Egypt have been Egyptian natives.

Niger and Algeria have also seen some refugee traffic. Many of these are residents of sub-Saharan African countries. Niger, especially, had been hard pressed by the arrivals in the remote city of Dirkou on the edge of the desert.

As of March 18, 2011, Egypt continued to refuse entry from Libya for Palestinians.

Paratrooper Mulhall waits with his bear for an opportunity to jump at Operation Toy Drop last year. The annual event takes place December 10th and 11th at Fort Bragg and will raise more than 6,000 toys for area families.

The men and women of the United States military not only volunteer to defend our nation, they reach out to the needy wherever they may be stationed. The Marines claim the title “No Better Friend” but it really does apply to all the services.

Since 1998, the Airborne community at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has jumped, willingly, from perfectly good airplanes to obtain toys for needy local children. Operation Toy Drop is a tradition that continues to bring smiles to children and to paratroopers alike.

The concept is simple. Paratroopers register for a chance to jump with one of several foreign jumpmasters, and to earn the “jump wings” from that country. Foreign qualification badges are prized by any servicemember, and foreign jump wings especially so. The 2010 operation will have double the usual number of foreign jumpmasters so more paratroopers can earn their foreign wings.

As part of registering, the troop donates a toy. The toys are then distributed to a variety of agencies that provide children’s services. The goal is at least 6,000 toys.

Paratroopers wait in line with their toy donations for Operation Toy Drop during the jump lottery at Pope Air Force Base's Green Ramp Friday. The paratroopers whose numbers were called were able to jump as part of the toy drop to earn a set of Canadian or German jump wings. photo by Eve Meinhardt/Paraglide

Not every troop will get to jump. Space is limited so there will be a lottery to gain a spot on an aircraft. Over 4,000 soldiers are expected to register. Germany, Ireland, Chile and Canada are the foreign nations participating.

“In Katrina’s Wake: The National Guard on the Gulf Coast, 2005,” a book that chronicles the National Guard’s involvement in the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, has been released by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

This 64-page monograph, written by National Guard historians Bill Boehm, Renee Hylton, and Army Maj. Thomas W. Mehl, shows how Katrina first grew from a seemingly-routine Category One hurricane in Florida into a behemoth storm in the Gulf of Mexico bringing 150 mph-plus winds and large swells of water upon hundreds of thousands of people.

It struck Louisiana and Mississippi somewhat diminished in strength, but bringing with it the capability to flood 80 percent of the city of New Orleans as its levees failed, and to flatten buildings and structures in the state of Mississippi. Over 1,800 individuals were killed, and many more incapacitated.

The story of the National Guard during the time of the hurricane was not well-publicized, nor was it correctly reported by mass media outlets, said Boehm, who is the lead author of the book.

The National Guard undertook the largest humanitarian mission in recorded U.S. history by sending over 50,000 Soldiers and Airmen from all 54 states and territories to the stricken region for over a month.

This book focuses the readers on the tasks undertaken by the Guard in aiding marooned residents and assisting local authorities without overemphasizing political or social commentary prevalent in reporting the larger story.

It also uses oral histories recorded by soldiers and airmen on the ground to illustrate the stark conditions present there and includes maps, photographs, and multiple appendices that further detail the National Guard units that came to the Gulf States, and a timeline that shows how events progressed, Boehm said.

The book can be found on the National Guard Website.

DVIDS

Two Colombian Armada tender boat operators, crew members from the Cartagena de Indias, pilot their craft towards a small port in Killick to the awaiting U.S. vessel, landing craft utility 2026, the Hobkirk, April 22, near the conclusion of a 6-day mission with the U.S. Army and other non-government organizations. Cooperation between the U.S. Army, Colombian Armada and Army, along with Red Cross groups from both Haiti and Colombia, resulted in several thousand tons of humanitarian supplies reaching the Haitian people. Photo by Capt. Jose Emperador

It’s almost as if the multi-national team of Haitians, Colombians and Americans, who began working less than one week ago to offload humanitarian cargo inbound from Colombia, have been working together for years.

The complex effort of transferring cargo from the anchored Colombian Armada Navy ship, Cartagena Indias, to two alternating U.S. Army landing craft utility vessels, the Matamoras and the Hobkirk, near a small port at Killick, Haiti seemed like a routine effort to the novice mariner. Representatives from all organizations credit teamwork, cooperation and motivation as the catalyst for the successful operation which ended April 22. And no matter which language was being spoken, be it Creole, French, Spanish, English or a mangled combination of all four, everyone involved seemed to agree that the cooperation was “excelente.”

Colombian Armada ship Commander Jose Guillermo Rodriguez says a chance meeting at Port-au-Prince’s main port with U.S. Navy and Army officers began the discussion of a possible joint cooperative mission between the two allies. Rodriguez, skipper of the Cartagena de Indias, a ship used by Colombia primarily for counter drug patrols off the South American country’s coast, said the partnership began forming during the initial encounter. “As soon as I met the officers from the [U.S.] Navy and Army, we began discussing how we could help each other,” Rodriguez said. “After further discussion, we determined they could help us offload cargo from the Cartagena and get it ashore to waiting representatives from the Colombian Red Cross.” Rodriguez added that the partners between the various organizations were motivated and committed to the effort.

“The Colombian Red Cross in conjunction with the Haitian Red Cross and your Soldiers [U.S. Army] came with the LCU of the Army …and every day they came to help unload,” Rodriguez said.

The Hobkirk’s vessel master, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Willis Allen, says the small, damaged port facility at Killick isn’t conducive to a ship the size of the Cartagena. Allen says his vessel, with a flat bottom and shallow draft, is capable of pulling up right to the beach if needed. This quality, unique to LCU-type boats, allowed him to complete those final legs to shore that the Cartagena previously had to do with its utility skiffs.

“We moor alongside the Colombian ship… we tie up, they take a crane and put a gang way down to our vessel and we just start a chain and start the food down to the vessel,” Allen said.

Allen joined the consensus of opinions in saying there was excellent cooperation between all the agencies involved.

“It shows a lot of hospitality between two countries to make things happen,” Allen said. He also said the Haitian workers, the Colombian Red Cross and the crew of the Cartagena, along with his Soldiers, worked extremely well and efficient together. Prior to the use of the two LCU’s, the Colombians off-loaded a load similar in size but that effort took 18 days.

“It is my understanding that when they unloaded the first shipment they had to unload everything to small boats all by themselves by hand.” said Sgt. 1st Class John Gaviria, who coincidentally is Colombian as well as the Hobkirk’s 1st mate. “The experience that I’ve had with the Colombian Armada, the Colombian Army, and the volunteers of the Colombian Red Cross has been excellent.”

Representatives from the Colombian Army, who helped with transportation on the cargo was offloaded, also shared similar sentiments. Colombian Army Maj. Diego Pastrana, second commander, equivalent to an executive officer, of the Disaster Awareness and Prevention Battalion, said their job has required a lot of effort taking into account that they could have used some much-needed resources. “Here, the American Army has been the fundamental logistical part to all the support necessary,” Pastrana said. “At this moment, we’ve been supported greatly and thanks to that, we are able to continue our support for the Haitian people.”

Jose Estrada Charis, director of area relief for the Colombian Red Cross says all the agencies involved formed a strong team. “Responding to emergencies and natural disasters often create a fraternal bond between various nations in the world involved,” Charis said. “The Colombian Army and Armada [Navy] with the American Army have formed a team with the Colombian Red Cross.”

“The humanitarian supplies that the Colombian Red Cross is providing to the Haitian Red Cross as well as the interaction with the American Army and that great friendship and great team that we’ve now created has created an excellent rapport between us all,” Rodriguez, said. “As the commander of this ship, it is one of my hopes that all our crew remember the images we see on land and learn to better appreciate what we have back in Colombia because, in reality, we all live in paradise.”

DVIDS
Story by Capt. Jose Emperador

Haitian citizens remain in the street afraid or unable to return to their homes. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Candice Villarreal

And it grinds on.

AlertNet / Reuters

Around a quarter of a million Haitians living in precarious tent camps could face a “catastrophe” unless they are moved quickly to safer areas ahead of the approaching rainy and hurricane seasons, the United Nations has warned.

More than two months after the Jan. 12 earthquake that wrecked Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities, rain and storms threaten to turn some of the city’s squalid tent camps into toxic rivers of mud and human excrement, and protecting the 250,000 residents who are judged to be most vulnerable is a race against time.

As of last week, only around 200 families had been moved to temporary shelters outside of the capital approved by the government.

“We just can’t let people continue to live in these conditions,” France Hurtubise, public information officer for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AlertNet by phone from Port-au-Prince.

“Some sites sit on flood plains and on hills, which is very dangerous and could lead to landslides. That would be a disaster. These people will have to be moved or it will be a catastrophe if they remain in these sites.”

The government wants some quarter of a million people in around seven of the capital’s 461 camps considered at high risk of flooding and landslides to move by mid-April.

It says relocating people to new temporary sites is the last resort, and is encouraging quake survivors to return to their homes or seek shelter with host families in and around the capital.

The plans mean finding at least 600 hectares of land for alternative settlements, which is hard to come by in an already crowded capital city, says OCHA.

Only around a third of the land needed for resettlement has been identified by the government so far, according to a recent OCHA report.

“We are urging the government to identify more land. Work needs to move faster to move people out of harm’s way before the rainy season starts,” OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs told AlertNet from Geneva, echoing growing frustration among aid agencies.

Progress has been slow in moving people to safer sites because of difficulties in finding rubble-free land to build on, agreeing land deals and obtaining government approval and building permits, the United Nations says.

Tension between landowners and displaced people settling on private land is also a growing concern, according to OCHA, and in some cases people have been forcefully evicted.

“A strategy to address the legal rights of land owners while also protecting the affected population needs to be developed,” the U.N. agency says in a report.

There are some very simple ways that the people of Haiti can be helped. There are actions that all of us can take to provide that help. And, sadly, there are a great many ways that our work and our money can be used that will not benefit the Haitians.

Most of us will never see a place with more basic needs than Haiti. Providing for those needs means more than just a shipping container full of old clothes. It means that the work and the money we donate must go to groups that are effective, expert in their field, on the ground in Haiti right now, and will use the resources we provide to aid the Haitians the the ways they need aid. We can see all their needs, but we must assist them through their choices and their involvement in the relief and reconstruction process.

This series has repeatedly pointed to the number of small NGOs that are working in small ways to help the Haitian people. Most of these groups are religious in nature. Some are supported by various denominations while others have been “adopted” by individual churches. Some of these groups are just the efforts of a family and their friends, who are devoting their lives to service in Haiti.

If you attend church, the best way to help the Haitians is to donate to the church’s charitable arm for Haitian relief and reconstruction. Here is a list of some of those NGO’s:

• Caritas – Caritas is the worldwide Roman Catholic assistance charity. There are others, but this is the largest. All of the money raised by Catholic Relief Services in the United States is going to Caritas. This charity is not rated by the website Charity Navigator.

• American Jewish World Service – AJWS is providing grants to 13 small NGO’s on the ground in Haiti. This charity has a 4 star rating by the website Charity Navigator.

• Episcopal Relief & Development - Working with the Diocese of Haiti and the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. This charity has a 4 star rating by the website Charity Navigator.

• Lutheran World Relief –
  

  To help provide immediate relief to rural communities, and set the stage for a long-term response, LWR is working with local Haitian organization Partenariat pour le Développement Local (Partnership for Local Development or PLD). LWR is collaborating with Lutheran World Federation, Catholic Relief Services, International Orthodox Christian Charities, Church World Service, the United Nations Foundation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Women of the ELCA, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, World Neighbors and Action by Churches Together to deliver relief supplies and expertise where they are needed most.

  Donations to LWR are being matched on a 1:2 basis by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, up to a max of $1 million. This charity has a 3 star rating by the website Charity Navigator.

There are many other religious charities working in Haiti. Some are associated with various sects while others are non-denominational. These include Star of Hope, Joy in Hope, Heartline Ministries and World Wide Village. If you should be looking for a small charity where your dollars will make a big difference, any of these deserve your consideration.

The American Red Cross deserves special mention in this piece. As of March 10, 2010, it has received $354 million in donations for Haiti. It has spent or allocated a total of $106.4 million dollars. Its website talks a great deal about the international Red Cross response and the relief it has provided.

Almost immediately following the earthquake, the American Red Cross provided 3 million pre-packaged meals as well as $30 million to feed 1 million people for a month in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme. Relief workers are also providing 1.5 million liters of water each day in more than 120 locations throughout Port-au-Prince and outlying areas. Red Cross sanitation experts are constructing latrines and developing waste-disposal solutions in support of spontaneous settlements as well.

In addition, during the first two months more than 400,000 people have received basic supplies from the Red Cross, including hygiene kits, cooking tools, buckets, blankets and mosquito nets.

The American Red Cross contributed $374,500 to support the health ministry’s emergency [vaccination] campaign …

It is very unclear from the Red Cross’s site how much money they have actually spent versus “allocated”. The American Red Cross has about 50 disaster specialists in Haiti. This charity has a 3 star rating by the website Charity Navigator. I will not recommend the ARC at this time, until its spending and plans become clearer.

Americares tells us that it has spent $20 million for relief efforts to date. It has raised $12.5 million. It has a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator. It is primarily a relief and not a recovery NGO.

Mercy Corps is a 3 star charity at Charity Navigator. Its website describes their relief efforts and some innovative programs to help jump start the economy. They are operating a cash for work program focused on debris clearance. They are also working with the children in the refugee camps, providing both psychological resources and care for these traumatized victims of the earthquake.

Doctors Without Borders is a 4 star charity. With its international counterpart, Médecins Sans Frontières, it is heavily involved in post-quake medical care. It is operating 26 hospitals and health centers in the country.

Habitat for Humanity has a 4 star rating. Its local office was destroyed by the Haitian earthquake. It has plans for transitional homes that can be added to over time. These will be built with the natural threats in mind. They are also planning to reuse and recycle as much of the debris as possible. They are currently providing emergency shelter kits.

Lions Clubs International Foundation has a 4 star rating. Its disaster and major catastrophe grants are given to smaller NGOs and local Lions Clubs for their projects.

Samaritan’s Purse is the charitable arm of the Bill Graham organization. It has a 4 star rating. They are acting as a relief organization, working through local, Haitian churches. They have teams in the heart of the quake damage, Leogane and its surroundings.

I do not mean to neglect any worthwhile NGO or religion. This is a sample of quality charities that I hope you will consider as you continue to provide support following the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Donations to the charities named here will help in both the relief effort, and most importantly, in the recovery effort.

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

Haiti has been awash in visitors for the last two months. The relief effort after the earthquake brought thousands of people to the country that had never been there before. Few had any understanding of Haitian traditions, Haitian customs and the way things were done in Haiti up until January 12, 2010. That was both a good thing and a bad thing.

On January 11, 2010, Haiti was a cesspool. Its people were among the poorest on the planet and its government was dysfunctional in all of the traditional ways of a third world country. It had no army, and its police were supported and supervised by United Nations military forces.

Tabitha Hale is a twenty-something conservative activist. She is well known in political social media circles and is considered by many to be an up and comer.

Tabitha spent six days in early March, 2010, in Haiti working with groups associated with her church. She worked in the southern coastal community of Jacmel and in the surrounding region. I was fortunate to interview her on March 17 about her experiences.

Jacmel was in the part of the earthquake damage zone that did not receive immediate assistance. The Canadian military eventually moved in, took control of the city’s small airport and began relief efforts. Hale had nothing but praise for their efforts.

As a city, Jacmel had a tourist “zone” where the businesses and buildings were oriented to tourists, many of whom arrived by cruise ship. She found this area to be virtually leveled. The remainder of the city had a great deal of damage, but Miss Hale sometimes could not tell whether the damage was from the earthquake or was from before the quake.

The local soccer field is now a tent city, filled with refugees from the quake.

The hospital in Jacmel was damaged. The Canadian military were operating a clinic in tents on the grounds of the hospital. Across the street is an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity.

The orphanage is spartan. The Sisters follow Mother Teresa’s rule, to take the sickest of the sick and the poorest of the poor. Hale writes:

The Sisters that run the orphanage are clearly good women. They did their job well – they kept the place pretty clean, and I think the kids were fed enough. They clearly made most of the clothes – most of the babies wore matching checked shirts, all sewn from the same fabric.

I tried for a minute to put myself in their position. They clearly didn’t have the resources or the knowledge to give extensive medical treatment. They treated for Scabies and did what they could. Babies still die all the time. There aren’t enough of them to give the babies the attention they need. The babies are mostly two to a crib, and like the little girl, there is little attention paid to anything but keeping them alive. After all, what else can you do? When you’re charged with keeping that many children alive, how can you really do anything else?

Hale did not see any large aid agencies at work during her visit. She saw, and writes about a number of small NGOs, mostly faith based, doing what they can with limited resources. She saw little sign of a Haitian government.

Roads, as we know them, were nearly non-existent. Some were, as she describes them, trails. She saw survivors living in the rubble of their homes. No one was able to remove the rubble because there was no equipment, no plan. She believes that recovery can begin only if the rubble is cleared and people have to rebuild.

Tabitha Hale’s experiences in Haiti can be found at this link. Here is her Facebook page.

Andrew Lubin is a noted journalist and writer, covering military affairs and the United States Marine Corps. He spent ten days in Haiti, from January 24 to February 2, 2010, embedded with the 22^nd MEU.

The Marines are providing earthquake relief west of Port-au-Prince along Haiti’s norther shore. Their coverage ranges for 60 kilometers from Carrefour through Leogane to Grand Goave and about 8 km. inland. The Marines have spread out into several encampments to better cover their assigned locations.

I interviewed Prof. Lubin on March 16. While his stay in Haiti was some time ago, he has kept in touch with the Marines in Haiti.

Port-au-Prince from the air on Jan 24. Photo by Andrew Lubin

Port-au-Prince from the air on Jan 24. Photo by Andrew Lubin

Lubin described the scene as “complete destruction”. Haitian authorities were either killed in the earthquake or abandoned their posts. The Marines are working with local community leaders, such as teachers, and small NGOs that have operated in the region for some time.

Earthquake damage to haitian church. Photo by Andrew Lubin

One of the NGOs that the Marines have worked with is the Star of Hope.

Prof. Lubin talked about the grassroots efforts at recovery that the Haitians are making. He found the Haitian people to be very entrepreneurial, and spoke with admiration of the various enterprises he saw being set up in the disaster zone.

He saw no sign of any Haitian government presence in the region. He saw no signs, at that time, of any of the larger aid agencies working in the region. Lubin specifically mentioned the Red Cross as having raised a lot of money but not being visible on the ground in the Leogane area.

Little or no recovery efforts had been made during his stay. The Marines used their equipment to establish bases and make necessary improvements to roads but they were not there for recovery.

Both interviewees were emphatic that Port-au-Prince is in terrible shape. Hale and Lubin were able to see the city from the air during their stays. Hale described it as a sea of blue, the tarps being distributed for temporary shelter.

The Mangine family is part of the group that Tabitha Hale worked with. They have a blog about their life in Haiti here. From March 9:

So much is broken; there seems no way to move forward. When such a huge percentage of a country’s population is now displaced, it’s as if, in spite of the already widespread death and destruction, we are tiptoeing on the edge of a cliff—or on the edge of a cracked and slanting building and we’re all just crossing our fingers that nothing else bad is going to happen. But without doubt, rainy season is coming to Haiti. With little doubt, tropical storms and hurricanes are headed to Haiti within the next few months. The misery. The disease. The landslides. The hopelessness. The mud. The death. We’ve just hit the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I don’t think that ANYONE has a plan for what’s going to happen when these inevitabilities arrive. What the heck are these people living in tents (literally, a million or more of them) going to do when the rains come? It’s a question I hear pondered often, but never answered. Because no one knows WHERE all these people—my neighbors—will go when the rains come. My faith has been stretched a lot lately. I find myself with more questions for God and less peace because I don’t have any answers.

The Catholic Church in Haiti suffered a massive blow. While I do not have numbers on the diocesan clergy, I do have information on the deaths, injuries and damages to religious orders. At least 36 priests, sisters and brothers were killed, and hundreds of students in schools.

The Livesay family work in haiti and are also blogging. March 8 post:

I wish I knew how to explain the insane number of “tent cities” there are popping up all over Port au Prince and surrounding areas. Everywhere you turn there is another large area of tents packed wall to wall. Some areas have all matching tents, you can sort of tell that the distribution happened all at once because everyone has blue or everyone has white or everyone has the same usaid tarps. On the edge of these little cities the people who did not get a tent or a nice tarp have made little make-shift tents with sheets and sticks and thin plastic bags. It is completely mind-numbing to think about these people in this housing during rainy season. I don’t know how they can possibly live like this.

Jessica Leeder is writing a blog from haiti for the Canadian paper The Globe and Mail. It’s focused on the Jacmel region. A March 15 post:

Port-au-Prince has the feel of a desperate, dangerous place that is growing steadily worse. While Jacmel has been improving by small but significant leaps, in my two visits to Port-au-Prince I’ve seen little change. While small businesses are starting to open their doors again in Jacmel – soft-drink wholesalers, a few clothiers and auto parts and grocery vendors – Port-au-Prince remains wholly destroyed. The place looks, as the Governor-General pointed out, as if it has been bombed. A persistent cloud of dust hangs over the city, and its particles get everywhere – into your eyes, your nose, your ears, your mouth.

Both times I’ve come from the place, I leave it feeling filthy and spent. It is draining to see all the destruction, the utter lack of hope. I feel sorrow for the people who remain there.

Arriving back in Jacmel after more than a month of living here, feels like coming home. Opening the car window to breathe in the air reminds me of the year I lived in New York City. I lived in an apartment on Central Park West, right next to the park (although we couldn’t afford a view!) and when I would come up out of the subway after traipsing around the projects in Brooklyn all day, the air was clean and distinctive. The same is true in Jacmel.

The fact that there’s no large industry here is bad for the economy but wonderful for the environment. The sea air is lovely and welcoming after the pollution of Port-au-Prince. And even though the streets can feel packed and frenzied – and full of rubble these days – compared with the capital city, Jacmel is a mellow little town where nobody moves too quickly and nobody ever really gets upset.

Haiti Epidemic Advisory System (HEAS) SitRep: UPDATED 13 MAR

Formal medical surveillance efforts remain operationally nascent. Informal surveillance and ground ops expanding quickly in Port-au-Prince. The ad hoc medical infrastructure largely supported by rotating medical responders (who are typically rotating every 1 to 2 weeks) and NGOs is contracting over time as international interest in Haiti declines. Forty-six NGOs have departed since the earthquake according to the UN Health Cluster. This likely represents the first responder community providing immediate trauma and recovery support. We have further identified a critical problem with logistics, where responders are unsure of where supplies are located. This is compounded by lack of efficient resource tracking at the hospitals and clinics. The implication is the medical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince is becoming more sensitive to abrupt changes in patient flow, and it portends a high probability of losing control in the context of an outbreak response during the coming rainy season.

In summary, recovery is a long way off for Haiti. It is unclear if any real efforts are being made and the utter lack of Haitian governance tells the story of the last three generations. Haiti is not a country so much as it is a place where people need our help.

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

Asking who is in charge of a country is the sort of thing the State Department and the C.I.A. hire folks for. Countries are rarely run solely by their government. There are many other interested parties and Haiti is not an exception to that rule.

The complication for Haiti after the earthquake is the hundreds of outside agencies that are on the ground providing earthquake relief and reconstruction assistance. Some are charities and non-governmental organizations (NGO). Some are international and transnational agencies. And, there are military units from a number of nations that are also in the mix. Who is in charge in Haiti?

The current government of Haiti is headed by Rene Preval, former President (1996-2001) and former ally to Aristide, who was elected in 2006 with a very slim majority of the overall vote. A 30-seat Senate and a 99-member Chamber of Deputies were also elected at the same time. Municipal elections were held last in April, 2007.

There is no Haitian Armed Forces. The Haitian police are supervised by the United Nations.

The United Nations created the UN Stability Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2004. Prior to the quake it had an authorized strength of 7,060 troops and 2,091 civilian police.

The Haitian government lost several government buildings and many employees at all levels in the earthquake of January 12, 2010. Other employees have chosen not to return to their positions. The government is operating out of temporary quarters in the vicinity of the Port-au-Prince airport.

The number of non-governmental agencies and international aid agencies operating in Haiti at this time is not known. Some of these groups have been working in the country for decades while others are newly arrived. Much of the aid provided by various governments is being channeled by those governments through “partner” agencies, giving them a great deal of resources and power when compared to other NGOs.

In addition, the country has been divided into sectors where certain agencies have been given the lead for relief and recovery efforts in that region. Many of these sorts of decisions have been made since the earthquake in the inordinate number of meetings and conferences that have been held in Haiti, in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere.

The next large meeting related to this disaster is the International Donors’ Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti. This will be held on March 31 in New York City.

Preparation for the International Donors’ Conference thus includes broad-based consultations with key constituencies, including Haitian civil society, the Haitian Diaspora, the private sector, Haitian state and local government, non-governmental organizations, and stakeholders in the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

I believe the preceding list can be characterized as “all the usual suspects”.

I have interviewed several military officers as well as reporters who have been on the ground in Haiti since the earthquake. The Haitian Coast Guard and Haitian employees at the airport are the only civil servants that have been discussed as being on the job and a part of the relief and recovery effort. In the earthquake zone, for all intents and purposes, the government is non-existent. Outside of Port-au-Prince, little or no recovery efforts have been made.

Progress is being made by small NGOs, mostly religious in nature, who have a long history of working in Haiti. Identifying local community leaders and persons of influence has been a key aspect of U.S. military work in the country. At the grassroots, some things are being accomplished.

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

Shown are the remains of a cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, left unrecognizable by the violent earthquake that devastated the city on 12 January. 15/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

The earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 did a great deal of damage, to the government and to the people of Haiti.

Map of assessed damage and population movements after Haiti earthquake. Click for larger image.

The Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince was a symbol of national pride for many Haitians. It validated their nations as an equal to others.

A U.S. helicopter prepares to land on the lawn of Haiti's Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince -- left in a state of near-collapse after the earthquake. 22/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

The earthquake on January 12, 2010, damaged a great number of government buildings, destroying some, and making governance far more difficult for the Haitians.

Men work to seal the entrance of the Ministry of Public Works, left severely damaged by the powerful earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 12 January. 14/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

A man injured by Port-au-Prince's powerful earthquake observes the Haitian Government Taxation building, reduced to a heap of rubble. 14/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

The Haitian National Penitentiary was damaged and up to 2,000 inmates may have escaped.

The Haitian National Penitentiary stands burnt and empty following a powerful earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on 12 January. 14/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

The United Nations, its peacekeeping force and aid agencies, suffered losses as their building partially collapsed.

An aerial view of the United Nations' headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in unrecognizable condition after the devastating earthquake. 13/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

The morgue at Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital was overwhelmed.

Hundreds of dead, victims of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, are laid in front of the morgue of Port-au-Prince's General Hospital. 14/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

• Leogane was 80-90% destroyed.
• Jacmel was 50-60% destroyed.
• Gressier was 40-50% destroyed.
• Carrefour was 40-50% destroyed.
• Petit Goave was 15% destroyed.

Haiti has one international airport, in NE Port-au-Prince. The air traffic control tower at that airport was damaged beyond repair. There are smaller airports, with the ones in Jacmel and Cap-Haitien being the most significant. The United States inserted an Air Force Special Operations team on January 13 which secured the airport and began air traffic control operations. that was followed by additional trained personnel and the arrival, on January 21, of a mobile air traffic control system.

Port-au-Prince airport on January 16 2010. US Air Force photo

A Federal Aviation Administration mobile air traffic control tower is being loaded on to a Russian owned Antonov An-124 aircraft bound for the Port Au Prince Airport. The tower will serve as the main tower for the airport. Reservists from the 914th Maintenance Squadron, Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the 73rd Aerial Port Squadron assist with the approach shoring. (Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Chance Babin)

The country’s seaport, in Port-au-Prince suffered a great deal of damage. A significant leak from oil storage facilities also occurred.

US experts examine Haiti port damages

Port-au-Prince harbor damage. Click on the image for a larger photo

According to the European Union:

• Bodies recovered and buried (minimum estimate) – 222,570
• Extracted alive from the rubble by int. rescue teams – 211
• People with immediate need for shelter – ± 1, 300,000
• Total number of people affected in some way – ± 3,500,000

Additional photos of the damage from the earthquake in Haiti can be found at this link.

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

A grizzly scene marks the road to mass graves where hundreds of bodies have been deposited in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which claimed countless lives. 15/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Logan Abassi

Haiti has always been a nation of extremes. The grinding poverty of nearly all its people contrasted with the wealth displayed by the elite. The voodoo rituals performed in huts compared to High Mass at the cathedral in Port-au-Prince. The bare, unforested hills displayed behind the green trees around the enclaves of the rich.

An SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter flies over the mountains of Haiti to deliver supplies to those affected by the earthquake on other parts of the island. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker

A boy silently prays in front of Port-au-Prince's Presidential Palace where thousands of Haitians have flocked to observe a three-day mourning for the countless lives lost in the earthquake that struck their country one month ago, on 12 January. 13/Feb/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Sophia Paris.

A Haitian boy plays in the bay while Sailors from the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) perform an assessment of the area. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker

An aerial view of a tent city for displaced Haitians. U.S. Navy photo by Air crewman 2nd Class Shawn Cossins

Information Systems Technician 1st Class Christine Perez, left, from Elgin, Texas, Chief Navy Counselor Nicole Lozano, center, from Salt Lake City, and Seaman Nicole Worthy, from Vallejo, Calif., comfort a crying baby after a medical examination at Killick Haitian Coast Guard Base. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Martine Cuaron

An aerial view of the damage to the town of Leogane after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in and around Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 12. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Theodore W. Ritchie

A neighborhood is in ruins in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince following the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Jan. 12, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Wilson

Haitian citizens remain in the street afraid or unable to return to their homes. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Candice Villarreal

A man walks through the ruins of downtown Port-au-Prince, left ravaged by Haiti's earthquake. 23/Jan/2010. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jay M. Chu

At just before 5 p.m. local time on January 12, 2010, the Port-au-Prince region of the island nation of Haiti suffered an earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter scale. The quake generated tsunami waves reaching as far as the U.S. Virgin islands.

USGS: The quake occurred along the boundary separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. There were at least 59 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater and sixteen over 5.0.

USGS map of six weeks of Haiti quake aftershocks

At about the six week mark, the USAID working with the Haitian government and other groups put together a map illustrating the severity of the shaking from the earthquake, the damage assessment in various communities and the internal movement of population.

Map of assessed damage and population movements after Haiti earthquake. Click for larger image.

USAID says the following about Haiti:

Haiti is a semi-arid, mountainous country with densely populated coastal plains, river valleys, and a large elevated plateau.  The country’s greatest assets are the more than 9 million resilient Haitians, limited but diverse agricultural resources, and a potential garment export industry.  One of the world’s poorest countries and recently suffering an estimated $900 million in hurricane-related damages, Haiti is defined as a low-income chronic food deficit country by the World Bank, only able to produce less than half of food needs (43 percent in 2008).

Under the leadership of President René Préval, economic growth was 2.5 percent in 2006, but dropped to 1.3 percent in 2008. Many challenges remain, including:

• 54 percent of Haitians live on less than $1/day (UNDP HDR 2007) while illiteracy is estimated at 44 percent;
• Unemployment rate in the formal sector is between 70-80 percent;
• 46 percent of Haitians do not have sustainable access to potable water (UNDP HDR 2007);
• Haiti ranks 154 of 177 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index.

The hardest hit community is Leogane. Here is a map showing the preliminary damage survey. Some 80% of the town was damaged or destroyed.

damage assessment for Leogane Haiti through February 2010. Click for a larger image.

In a series of articles this week, we will look at Haiti, the relief effort at this time, and what the future might bring to that poor nation. With the emphasis shifting from earthquake disaster relief to reconstruction, it is a good time to examine the changes that Haiti may see and the things that will remain the same.

There will be link-rich content, photos, and some finger pointing.

Over 60 articles about the Haitian earthquake, U.S. military assistance to Haiti after the quake, American giving to earthquake relief and other related topics can be found at the link Haiti Quake 2010.

It’s not every day that you see a miracle, but we had one at Camp Eggers this week. Every week, military members, contractors, DA and DoD civilians, coalition members, local vendors, and people from the embassy and the State Department, come together and prepare donated items for distribution to our poverty stricken Afghan brothers and sisters. We’re used to that “miracle.” This time we had a miracle of loaves and fishes.

Bottom line up front, this week we did not receive enough donations to make 50 bags of mixed items for poor families; we needed 100 for a mission to a large refugee camp. Somehow, by the end of our weekly preparation, we had enough to make over 100 bags. We added some shoes and some women’s clothes from previous donations, but we finished with enough of those left over to store them again for another day. I don’t know how it happened. No angels appeared. No waters parted. We did not run screaming down Gator Alley rejoicing in an unexpected blessing. People here on Camp Eggers have no idea what happened.

No doubt some of the volunteers came to different conclusions regarding our surprising bounty. But that’s a miracle for you. There were probably some who ate miraculous fish and bread and did not know from where it came. Some may have thought there was a rational reason, like the fish and bread came from their neighbors, or they just didn’t see the delivery porters. Some may have known it was a miracle and told no one. But I saw this one, and I don’t know what happened. But I know what I think happened. And I pray that all of the bags distributed at our next mission bless their recipients in miraculous ways.

And if anyone reading this wants to help desperately poor Afghans, please send donations of gently used clothing, blankets, coats, shoes, socks, sundries, toys, and school supplies to:

CH Albertson
VCR Program/ Chaplain Section
NTM-A/CSTC-A APO, AE 09356

NTM-A

Please follow the links for the complete story:

Locals sit by their stands, filled with everything from rice, to cigarettes, to Revlon lipstick. Men carry enormous bags of fruits and vegetables on their heads, zigzagging through the maze that makes up the “orange market.” It was dubbed this by the U.S. soldiers in the area because of the massive amount of oranges that lay in piles by the side of the road, waiting to be peeled by Haitian women, stuffed into plastic bags, and sold to locals as they walk the streets.

The market is a bustling place, as are the areas of Port-au-Prince where vendors fill the streets, selling second-hand clothing, beautiful paintings and hand-carved wooden sculptures. Seven weeks after the earthquake that devastated Haiti’s capital, and life is ever so slowly returning to normal.

Many citizens have spent these few weeks cleaning and restoring their places of business, just wanting to get back to work and restore some normalcy to their daily routine after the traumatic events following the disaster.

Medics from the Colombian army and air force are working side by side with U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy doctors at an intermediate aftercare facility in Port-au-Prince. They are in here to assist with the ongoing humanitarian aid their country is providing to the people of Haiti Feb. 27. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard Andrade)

Medics from the Colombian army and the air force are working side by side with U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy doctors at an intermediate aftercare facility in Port-au-Prince.

The fact that the IAF is so close to the port makes it easy for the medics to transport patients to and from the USNS Comfort.

Columbian army Col. Pedro Segura arrived to assist with the ongoing humanitarian aid their country is providing to the people of Haiti Feb. 27. He is in charge of the Columbian contingency that is in Port-au-Prince working with U.S. forces.

“We will be in Haiti as long as it takes,” said Segura.

“We will do our best to collaborate with the U.S. forces to help the people of Haiti,” he said.

The Colombian Red Cross is also in Haiti, handing out water, first aid kits and hand crank radios at many food distribution points. The newly arrived medics are eager to be part of the Haitian mission.

As the vaccination posts are installed, the Red Cross gently reminds people that by vaccinating themselves and their children, they are fighting back against the extreme vulnerability into which the earthquake threw them.

“We have done everything we can to support our community,” says Noel Ylmond, leader of Villambetta’s displaced.

“Our priority has been to put children first from the very beginning. But it’s difficult for people to accept that when other priorities seem more pressing.

“These children are our hope, our future”.

Five vaccination teams have been operational since 8 February, vaccinating as many as 10,000 in a single day.

The vaccination consists of five different components: measles, diptheria, pertussis and tetanus, as well as albendezol – a deworming agent – and vitamin A.

“We still have 50,000 more people to vaccinate,” says Dr. Guilbert, a former professor at the university medical faculty and the nurses school, both destroyed in the earthquake.

Thirteen dead. Submerged houses. Fields and banana plantations waterlogged. Drowned livestock. Impassable roads. Fresh trauma for quake-displaced thousands. This is the plight of Les Cayes, a city on Haiti’s south coast, after an unseasonal deluge. And hurricane season is not far off.

Trucks loaded with 4,030 meals left Port-au-Prince on 2 March for emergency distribution in and around Les Cayes. Food has also been sent to Nippes region, north of Les Cayes, which has experienced bad flooding.

The UN World Food Programme, with local authorities and NGOs, plans to supply 10-day rations to affected populations, including some 3,000 people evacuated from their homes.

“The poor state of the sewers caused flooding in every [district] of the city,” said the regional president of the Haitian National Red Cross Society, Jean-Yves Placide.

“In some places the waters rose to ceiling level in people’s houses,” he said. “The situation will be really worrying if it continues to rain. The sun is out now, but the storm clouds come and go.”

“People are used to dealing with floods, just not this early,” one aid worker in Les Cayes told IRIN.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) yesterday “decongested” an improvised settlement on the outskirts of Leogane where 635 families who lost their homes in the 12 January earthquake had taken refuge.

It’s believed to be the first exercise of its kind in the international humanitarian response to the quake.

The Danish Red Cross relief Emergency Response Unit (ERU) has resettled 126 families in a new tented encampment on privately donated land alongside the old site.

The other 509 families were given a choice of a family-size tent or emergency shelter materials – timber, tarpaulins and toolkits – and are returning to the general areas from which they came.

It was all done on an entirely voluntary basis.

The number of sites identified by the UN as priorities for decongestion in Port-au-Prince has now risen to 21, but an acute shortage of land is making this difficult.