Keeping Hope Alive in Haiti's Tent Cities

On the afternoon of April 28, a black cloud rumbled over Haiti and unleashed violent winds and torrents of rain that tore through an already ravaged landscape, setting off a wave of panic. Debris flew through the air, canals and streams overflowed and for a brief, agonizing moment it appeared that a natural calamity had again struck the beleaguered island nation.

Nowhere were the effects of the raging storm more apparent than in the many camps for Haiti's internally displaced people (IDPs). Throughout the city of Port-au-Prince, tens of thousands of tent homes were torn apart by the wind or swept away by floods. Though the tempest was short-lived, it left fresh tragedy in its wake and provided a bitter reminder of the helpless predicament in which Haiti's displaced continue to live.

Indeed, almost 700,000 Haitians who lost their homes in the quake are still living in appalling conditions. Despite a massive international commitment to assist Haiti, the majority of these people still lack access to basic services like healthcare, clean water, toilets, sanitation and live in tattered shelters. This environment is no match for the tropical storms hitting Haiti now, or the hurricanes that may strike within months.

The increasing gravity of the situation in the camps requires an urgent response. This is why we and 50 other members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking the U.S. administration to "take decisive action" and "work with the incoming government of Haiti and the international community to ensure that the rights and vital needs of IDP communities are addressed in a timely and efficient manner."

The letter notes that in many camps the situation is worsening: shelter installations are rapidly deteriorating; rape and other forms of gender-based violence are increasing, and a quarter of camp residents are threatened with forced eviction. Few transitional or permanent homes are available for the displaced, and according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), many families are being forced to move to even more precarious dwellings.

The onset of the rainy season has added another layer of misery to the lives of displaced families. Tropical rains and winds not only threaten the flimsy tents, tarps and bed sheets that serve as shelter; they also cause constant flooding. This greatly increases the likelihood of the spread of cholera and other diseases.

The effects of flooding are compounded by the lack of basic sanitation in many camps. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti has warned that without sanitation services in camps, "latrines are going to overflow [and] it's going to be a source of cholera contamination..." Partners in Health, an aid organization servicing Haiti for over 20 years, has already reported a large spike in cholera cases in recent weeks.

In short, an already intolerable situation is about to get worse. Swift, efficient action is needed if we are to avoid another full-fledged humanitarian crisis.

Providing IDP communities with transitional and permanent housing must be a priority. However, the first priority is ensuring that basic services, security and adequate temporary shelter are provided to tent communities. Such a task is possible if -- with our Haitian and international partners -- we strive to correct the inefficiencies and errors that have plagued past aid efforts.

As our letter to Secretary Clinton states, our government needs to bring "accountability and transparency... to the task of IDP assistance," in particular with regard to the efforts of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and IOM. USAID plays a central role within the international relief mission and should use its leverage to ensure that contracting NGOs provide full coverage of the needs of displaced persons and collaborate more closely with Haitians, particularly the very Haitians living in camps.

While our people and government have responded to Haiti's crisis with great generosity, the alarming conditions in tent camps make it imperative to ramp up and reappraise our efforts. It's time for us to step up to the plate, once again, and make sure that the next violent storms don't succeed in destroying more lives and killing the hope that remains among those who saw their homes crumble on January 12th, 2010.

 

Comments

[frerot]

11:50 AM on 05/18/2011

The lack of progress on shelter in Haiti after the earthquake is linked to the mess that is land tenure in that country. I had a meeting with the head of a large charity in july when i visited as consultant to a research team. We learned that the NGO had offered to build pre fab homes with a useful life of 5 years but could not get public land nor could it purchase as a foreign entity. Most of the people in the tents were renters and no one is willing to help them rebuild on land where a dispute is certain. In brief, it seems that a serious dialogue needs to be initiated with the new haitian administration in order to develop a policy that could use aid ressources to acquire land at a government set price in order to avoid speculation and build homes that could be acquired over time by the IDP's. this will also reinforce Haiti's anemic middle class by offering home ownership and therefore asets to many.

[rothomaha]

08:55 AM on 05/18/2011

If anyone wants to know where the foreign aid bill to Haiti went, along with any hope of that money eventually arriving there to assist in rebuilding and saving people's lives, I'd suggest looking in DR.(Senator) Tom Coburn's top desk drawer, where he secretly stashed it. In order to do this, he exercised a rarely-used prerogative of a senator to do so, citing the need to further examine it before release for debate. His excuse? The bill contained an item for funding a salary for a position already filled and funded($45,000 per year!). So, DR. Coburn, who is a disgrace to everything decent in human affairs and most especially to his profession, is the one solely responsible for seeing to it that Haitians died from cholera by the hundreds, continue to suffer without adequate medical care and clean water and adequate nutrition and live in leaky tents. All this while he engaged in coverup of sleazy affairs among so-called Christians and negotiated millions of dollars in hush money payments. There's a Great American, folks!! Let's all give him a Big Hand!!

[WujiUIBe]

09:28 AM on 05/18/2011

You say he is a Dr.?

His actions must be reflective of the high moral character that all scientists possess? We need more like him running the world and setting the social agenda. God is the one who fills the empty bellies, provides shelter, and tends to the daily needs. It seems safe to assume that Dr. Coburn is not God.

I wanted to skip reading this story, because I knew it was heartbreaking before I ever read a word. Charlatans inside and outside of Haiti keep Haiti twisting in the wind.

[rothomaha]

12:20 PM on 05/18/2011

Yes, he is an M.D., an OB-GYN, sad to say. Although I, too, am an M.D. I am appalled that this poor excuse for a human being is a member of my profession. His social agenda is set by his distorted, fundamentalist views of Christianity which brooks no arguments. The most unfortunate part of this is that while it is plain to you and me that he is not God, it is not quite so clear to him! As usual, those who most loudly proclaim their faith, whether Christian, Muslim, Jew or whatever, are the least committed to it!

[dirtydog1776]

08:53 AM on 05/18/2011

The Haitian government is corrupt and violent, feared greatly by even its own people. There is no shortage of a willingness to work on the part of the citizens but those that do try to get ahead find that there is no protection of their rights and the fruits of their labor against criminals and corrupt politicians. In other words, easier to sit around waiting for handouts. Like most other disasters around the world, it has turned into a pork barrel for corrupt UN and other government officials, war lords and various other criminal elements.

[Passiton27]

06:17 AM on 05/18/2011

'enough to build a small city and stimulate the economy with the investment of the reconstruc­tion.....w­hat happened to it....if the country is so corrupt and ungovernab­le' Are referring to Haiti, or the United State? At least 40 cents out of a dollar goes toward defense. Why not trim that a bit? Get rid of poverty.

[DMDAY44]

01:14 PM on 05/18/2011

Wrong. For fiscal year 2010, the Defense budget of the United States accounted for 20% of the total Federal Budget. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for 43%.

What happened to all the money that has already been donated to Haiti?

[FoxIslander]

01:48 PM on 05/18/2011

...it will be dribbled out in paltry amounts as the Red Cross sees fit...after sitting in their bank accounts of course for years.

[Passiton27]

05:12 AM on 05/18/2011

Typical Us and Them language. I am interested what moral philosophy prescribes for the United States Of America, a very rich country I have heard, to ignore the suffering of the poorest of the poor. Oh wait, The US has no moral philosophy other than Me, Myself, and I. We do have problems here, but the amount of aid we send to other countries based on our popular and wealth is abhorrent. Our collective problems on earth have one problem, and one solution. The problem: Systemic Oppression, whether it be economic, racial, gender and the rest, can be solved by eliminating systemic privilege. Until that issue is addressed we will see poverty here and across the globe.

[dennisdelia]

04:56 AM on 05/18/2011

in the past year hundreds of millions of dollars flowed into that small country, enough to build a small city and stimulate the economy with the investment of the reconstruction.....what happened to it....if the country is so corrupt and ungovernable, it should be put into receivership of the UN not controlled by the same people and system that leaves its own people in tents after a year!! Certainly don't put more money in to the same corrupt failed state!!!

[ligligl]

03:39 AM on 05/18/2011

What happened to all the money already(supposedly) sent to Haiti? Have there been audits run?

[mirodog]

11:54 PM on 05/17/2011

This articles description of the conditions in Haiti can't be accurate because, when the earthquake there was in the news, we told the Haitian people we loved them and would help them.

[Alwayspissedoffatsomeone]

11:31 PM on 05/17/2011

America is no longer the planet's soup kitchen.

[O K Ali]

10:38 PM on 05/17/2011

The transparency I want to see is why people are still living in tent city and why supplies were sitting in warehouses.

[dkinton49]

10:35 PM on 05/17/2011

We can send them aid but we cannot make them use it wisely. Time to cut the aid and help the tornado victims in the southeast US.

[mikeisfine2]

07:09 PM on 05/17/2011

No one wants to send good money after bad , if the haitians cant help themselves after ALL the money thats been poured into that country , TOUGH !!!!!