Religions for Peace

21–25 MARCH 2010

Tuesday, 23 March

How can a society bounce back from a disaster of the magnitude that struck Port-au-Prince, that came on top of previous hurricanes and deep poverty and political mismanagement over many years? Estimates are that around 280,000 houses are destroyed or severely damaged, and that 8,000 schools are damaged. Education is perhaps the best psychosocial remedy for children, and schools are aimed to open by April 8. But where to teach when all these schools are damaged? Tents are being brought in for temporary schools, but the fear is that the first hurricane will wipe them away. Then again, between 60 -70 % of schools are private. Even if the school buildings are there, school fees are needed for students to restart their education. Even middle class families lost everything during the earthquake. They had invested everything in their homes and businesses, and not in the bank. With their houses and businesses destroyed.... their capital is back to zero. How then to pay school fees? Fortunately Caritas Internationalis has been able to support the Catholic schools, enabling them to waive school fees for two years. Our partner ACT Alliance is particularly working with UNICEF and the government to get schools restarted. The Federation of Protestant Churches also shared plans for major intervention in the education sector. They have also decided to utilize funds received through emergency appeal to waive school fees for the time being.

Wednesday, 24 March

Yesterday we visited a small make-shift clinic in a city square, run by CARITAS Mexico. 29 tents made up the "ward" part of the clinic. Patients are living there with their families. When a patient is ready to be discharged, Caritas tries to help the family with a new tent and a place to put it up. If needed, they will also be provided with a basic package of utilities they need for daily life. The pharmacy is functioning under a roof with a simple concrete counter as the only furniture. The examination room is behind a curtain, consisting of one bed and one bench. Regular treatments were taken care of by a doctor and some nurses, including simple operations. If more complicated operations are needed, patients are transferred to a team of Cuban doctors in a small hospital down the street. In the sweltering heat the team is doing a remarkable job to keep this as a small living community for the patients and their families, while treating and nursing the patients. We visited the clinic together with Msgr. Bishop Dumas, who is the President of Caritas Haiti.

In one of the tents I met Marie Michelle, 15 years old. One leg had been amputated close to her hip (see photos to be provided). She had been at school when the earthquake hit, and the school fell on top of her. After more than 48 hours in the rubbles she was rescued, but her leg was not to be saved. Marie Marie Michelle was courageously smiling in the midst of her intense pains:

21–25 MARCH 2010

“Why can I not have my leg, since I feel the pain from the missing leg all the time? I want a leg!” She was obviously going through a hard period of pain and the loss of what had been an important part of her. At the same time she was looking ahead. She realized that her life may have to be lived with an artificial leg, and she was quite determined to learn how to use it. Even in this difficult and painful situation she had not given up the dream of her life:"I want to be an air steward!" She was ready to continue her education and face the rest of her life. The bishop encouraged her and indicated that she could perhaps create history by being the first air steward with artificial leg.

In the masses of people who lost their limbs, their family, their friends and their physical possessions, Marie Michelle is one young girl who needs to recreate her life and build her future on the ruins of rubble and depression.

Thursday 25 March

Yesterday we visited a camp with about 2,000 people, run by our partner Islamic Relief. The camp had been established in an area that probably had been used as sports fields. With tents in straight rows, with drainage ditches dug to avoid floods during the upcoming rainy season, the camp seemed well established. In each corner of the area there were makeshift latrines, and in one end a bladder tank providing water for washing. Water was brought to the camp by trucks, and food provided once a month.

Life in any camp situation is testing and difficult. Only some few people had their jobs, while most people were attempting to survive as best as possible. One woman had established a mini-stall outside her tent from where she sold tiny bags of powder milk for one Haitian dollar. A match box was valued two dollars. Islamic Relief was preparing a "cash for work" program that hopefully will assist a fair number of families. People will be asked to clean up rubble from the earthquake and clean areas for rubbish as a kind of public work program. The program may relieve families for some time, but after a while they need to look for something of more permanent nature. Sanitation is extremely important in any situation, but not least in a camp setting where diseases spread so quickly. Jim is member of a local youth group that has been mobilized by Islamic Relief to do work in the camp. He shared that the camp population looked forward to today, since work on showers would start. Some boys were playing around with a basket ball, and Jim informed me that their group arranged for soccer tournaments once a week to keep children active. A school had been running in a tent for a while, but the authorities had stopped this, requesting that students should be brought to their regular schools as schools are assumed to start April 8. Very few schools are intact, but school grounds have been cleaned and tents are hopefully in place by the time of school opening.