Reports from the Field

HAITI’S ANSWER for Six Months & Sixty Years

Monday, July 12th, 2010

By Melinda Miles, Let Haiti Live

a project of TransAfrica Forum

July 12, 2010

I. Introduction

“People died because centralization forced everyone to be in Port-au-Prince – everything goes via the central authority: there’s no ability for local government to do anything. All the major universities, to get a passport, or a driving permit, means coming to the capital. So, when Port-au-Prince collapsed, the state collapsed, and the people with it.”

- Reflections on reconstruction, Oxfam meeting, March 5, 2010

“We have to take advantage of this catastrophe and say, ‘The clock is set at zero.’ We have to build another Haiti that doesn’t have anything to do with the Haiti we had before. A Haiti that is sovereign politically and that has food sovereignty.”

- Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, Executive Director of the Peasant Movement of Papaye, “The Clock is Set at Zero” by Beverly Bell, Other Worlds, March 3, 2010

The question in Haiti today is more profound than most realize. As we commemorate the six month anniversary of the devastating 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010, international aid agencies, the United Nations and NGOs are focused on transitions: transitional shelters, transitional camps, transition plans. All of this begs the question, to what is Haiti transitioning? The answer to this question has been shockingly absent from debates in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Clusters, coordination meetings for those engaged in the earthquake response. All the dimensions of the interim response and the short-term solutions are debated and discussed, but the elephant in the room remains the biggest question of all: what will finally emerge from Haiti’s recovery process?

The plan for Haiti’s future must include and be guided by the vision of those who are living the reality of life after the quake, those who will carry it forward: Haitians. They have articulated this vision already, many times, before and after hurricanes, political upheavals and the earthquake. Decentralization.

For decades, centuries even, Haiti’s finances and politics have been centralized in one capital city, leading to a severe inequality in the distribution of resources and ultimately causing the gross overpopulation of the capital, as the hope for access to resources and work lured millions to migrate there. Aid from the international community has reinforced this imbalance between distribution of the population and distribution of development projects, investment, infrastructure and other resources. Consider, for example, that although the agricultural sector is the source of livelihood for the majority of Haitians, only 3-4% of the national budget is allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture[1].

Well before the earthquake, living conditions for the majority of Port au Prince residents had been steadily deteriorating due to the fact that the city was built to accommodate a population of a few hundred thousand, not the nearly three million that reside there.

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[1] Camille Chalmers, PAPDA in MCC’s “Disaster to Decentralization: Haiti’s long term recovery.”

This population concentration created the conditions for more than 230,000 people to die unnecessarily during and in the aftermath of the earthquake.   This fact is arguably one of the gravest indicators for the need to decentralize. Finances, politics, education and health care cannot continue to be concentrated in only this one urban area.  Haitians are calling, as they have in the past, for a new Haiti, a Haiti that is more than just the Republic of Port-au-Prince. While there are more than two million people living in Port-au-Prince, the other eight million live outside the capital, mainly in rural areas.

Will the country be rebuilt to what it once was, or will a better Haiti be founded on the ruins left by the earthquake?

Millions of lives and billions of dollars hang in the balance of this unanswered question. Not one more life needs to be lost and not one cent needs to be spent to keep Haiti in its current position —  at the bottom — in terms of standard of living, access to health care, education, food security and other key indicators. The competing development and recovery plans for Haiti -  that of the international community (where the majority of financial resource is held) vs. that of the Haitian people – must  come together in one unified plan.  The  international community must listen to the Haitian people about how they envision the focus of the recovery through decentralization; after all, they have repeated over and over this vision and plan for Haiti.

Concrete and realistic steps to decentralize governance, investment, infrastructure, production and development have been articulated in strategies from international economists, the Haitian government, the International Monetary Fund, the Haitian Constitution and most recently in the blueprint for investment in Haiti’s future: the Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti.
On the six-month anniversary of the earthquake, the international community must step back and look at the answer Haitians have known for many years. Decentralization is the key to unlocking Haiti’s potential to produce enough food for everyone to eat, to create jobs to keep the youth in the provinces and to sustain and grow livelihoods outside of the capital. In addition to these long-term solutions, decentralization is also the answer to the short-term crisis, the goal of the transition. In other words, investing in the development of the Haiti that is outside of Port-au-Prince and locating a vast array of development projects as well as cash for work in rural areas gives the incentive necessary for the internally-displaced people (IDPs) of the most heavily earthquake-damaged areas to leave the tent cities and return to their families outside of Port-au-Prince. Without immediate, concrete action, Port-au-Prince will become a city of slums, not just a city with slums, and Haiti will forever be a fragile state in need of assistance.

II. Centralized Haiti: The Republic of Port-au-Prince

As much as the quake was natural and unexpected, the extensive destruction it created, particularly in the capital, was precipitated by the historic centralization of finance, commerce and politics in Port-au-Prince, and the lack of investment in the countryside. Decades of neglect have turned huge swaths of Haiti’s agricultural land, at one time some of the richest and most fertile in the world, into desolate areas that produce partial harvests at best; as a result many rural people migrated to the cities in search of work.

The centralization actually began under the colonial regime, when the French set up a capital city at the port of Cap-Francois, now the city of Cap-Haitien. After the Haitian revolution, though, eleven regional centers were created in an effort to develop urban areas outside of the capital, and to increase the capacity of rural areas. This system functioned, albeit imperfectly, and represented a long period of a somewhat decentralized economy.  The U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915-1934 changed this system of eleven regional centers to one centralized capital of politics and commerce, a change that brought widespread poverty to Haiti for the first time.[2]

Pre-earthquake Haiti suffered from a deep inequality in the distribution of schools and health care facilities, in addition to the centralization of government and markets in Port-au-Prince. The only international airport and the most important seaport are in the capital, as well as nearly all of the universities. Rural areas have primary schools at best; all secondary schools are located in urban areas. Although assembly factories have long been touted as key to Haiti’s development, only two free trade zones exist, and the majority of Haiti’s factories are also in Port-au-Prince.

All of these factors contributed to the heavy concentration of people in the capital city and its large metropolitan area. Aerial views of Port-au-Prince are almost completely devoid of green and filled with the gray of concrete block buildings. In fact, there was hardly an open space in the city before the quake, and densely packed poor neighborhoods known as bidonvil climbed the steep hillsides all around the city.

Many have pointed out that there were too many people living in Port-au-Prince, and that victims died because of their anarchic building practices.   That is only one small piece of the story, though. It does not explain or even consider why so many people were so desperate that they had to migrate to and live in an unsafe shantytown in Port au Prince in the first place. The fundamental cause of population concentration in Port-au-Prince, however, was the decades-old policy of devaluing agriculture and the refusal to invest in rural areas. The result: conditions that precipitated the extremely high loss of life. In addition, lack of investment in infrastructure and ports outside of the capital posed serious challenges to the emergency response after the earthquake. Haiti’s one international runway and the damaged wharf in the Bay of Port-au-Prince slowed the delivery of aid and human resources, and resulted in many preventable deaths.

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[2] Georges Werleigh interview with the author, January 12, 2003. Quoted in “Let Haiti Live: Unjust U.S. Policies Towards Its Oldest Neighbor”, eds. M. Miles & E. Charles

III. The Immediate Need: IDPs at Six Months

“Plans for moving the displaced population out of tent cities and into more durable shelter, not to mention permanent housing, remain in early draft form.”

- “Haiti at a Crossroads” U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, June 2010

The biggest obstacle to moving people out of the unhealthy, inhumane and dangerous spontaneous communities that sprang up in the aftermath of the earthquake is the question of where to relocate these internally displaced people (IDPs). Due to the confusion that has been created by the outrageous idea that somehow property rights – the ability to lay claim to a piece of land and have the sole ability to exploit and profit from said land – are on par with the right to survive, Haitians have been left to suffer in tent cities that don’t even deserve to be called camps. The Haitian government is not invoking eminent domain to make land available to families that are living in the parks, streets, and medians of Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.

The tent cities are so overcrowded that they do not meet international standards for camps; only one temporary settlement in the country meets those standards at the present time. OCHA has stated that it is not actually possible – nor is it desirable – to bring the camps up to the standards. In reality these are new slums. Every open space, every park and yard, is now occupied by people with nowhere to go. There is no protection for the population living in camps and an epidemic of gang rape has been sweeping through the Port-au-Prince camps for months.

The aid community has intentionally left the inhabitants of camps without access to better basic services. It is a strategy underway right now to avoid luring people back from the countryside with the promise of services in the camps. But there is something perversely blame-the-victim about implying that people would prefer to live in these dangerous, violent slums in the midst of the rubble of Port-au-Prince.

In reality, people are staying because there is nowhere else for them to go. Without investment in the countryside, rural areas have been on a steady decline. Of the 600,000 survivors who left the capital after the earthquake, many have returned because the provincial areas are not able to absorb more people. However the fact is that people would leave, and want to leave, the terrible conditions in the Port-au-Prince camps. No one would choose to live with such indignity, in squalor, with no protection.

Haitians would leave Port-au-Prince if there were jobs and services in the other parts of the country. Ideally, the Government of Haiti would resolve the land policy issues and begin making land available to survivors in Port-au-Prince. However, it is very likely that this obstacle will continue to prevent the Government from relocating people. If the right investments are made now, the people will go where they have opportunities, and they will stay where they see a future for their families.

IV. The Answer: Concretizing Decentralization

“In the longer term, the Government needs to consider more permanent solutions to the problems that plague Port-au-Prince including land scarcity, over-crowding, and an unsustainable strain on services. In particular, this means seriously considering the concept of ‘decentralization,’ and whether to invest significant resources into developing alternate economic centers away from Port-au-Prince.”

“There is an agreed upon development framework for Haiti rebuilding [Action Plan for National Recovery and Development in Haiti]. The Government of Haiti, donors, and NGOs now need to come together and determine specific details of this plan in order to begin implementing key priorities.”

- “Haiti at a Crossroads” report by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, June 2010

Decentralization is the short-term immediate solution to the terrible living conditions of Haiti’s IDPs, and at the same time it is the long-awaited manifestation of the majority of the population’s deepest desire and dream for their future: it is a long-term strategy to redistribute resources and bring the Haitian people out of desperate poverty.

The first concrete step in the realization of decentralization is recognition by all the actors involved in Haiti’s recovery that there is a plan already on the table. If each actor then played its proper role, the process of decentralization could commence.

Key Actors and Their Roles:

1. The Government of Haiti has created the Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti contingent to the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) that was conducted by national and international experts and was open to NGO and civil society participations. The Action Plan integrated a number of strategies already articulated in the Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (the DSNCRP) written in November 2007 with the intent of “making a quantitative lead forward” between 2008 and 2010. The DSNCRP itself drew from the Statement of General Policy ratified by the Parliament in June 2006 as a follow up to the Interim Cooperation Framework adopted in 2004-2005.

Now that the Action Plan exists, it is critical for the Government of Haiti to take action to begin the decentralization of its own administration, by following the steps laid out in the Action Plan, which is summarized below.

2. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) is co-chaired by Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton and is tasked with the coordination, planning and execution of development projects, including the review and approval of projects. Although it was slow in getting stated, the IHRC is now in place and should move immediately to fund the Government of Haiti’s Action Plan.

3. Non-governmental organizations and international charities have already received over one billion dollars in donations to help Haiti, but the vast majority of this money has not yet been put into action. Now is the time for NGOs to coordinate with the Government of Haiti’s Action Plan and to undertake complementary and supportive projects throughout the country. For the past several months the NGO community has claimed there is no clear plan, and many of the charities and NGOs that are currently sitting on millions of dollars in donations are devising their own ten-year plans for the reconstruction of Haiti. However it is the national Haitian plan that must be prioritized.

4. The international community, especially donor institutions and governments, must meet their pledges for the response in Haiti. Many have waited for the IHRC to be ready to coordinate and supervise the distribution of aid. Now that it has been established and is ready to function, there is no excuse for pledges to remain unfulfilled.

5. The most important actors in the future of Haiti, the Haitian people who make up the civil society, must organize themselves and advocate for their rights and for their vision of the future of Haiti. It has been over twenty years since the Haitian Constitution was revised to reflect the desire of Haitians and the utter necessity for decentralization in order to establish a strong economy and better standards of living for all Haitians.  In addition to advocating for their vision and getting their needs heard and met, Haitian civil society – including all community-based, grassroots oriented organizations as well as NGOs – must be vigilant monitors of their government, the IHRC and the NGOs in the country to ensure that they are honest stewards of funds entrusted to them, and that they carry out the Action Plan with integrity.

Concrete Steps to Decentralize:

Several strategic plans and critiques already exist including the 1987 Constitution, the November 2007 Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, the December 2008 report by Oxford Economist Paul Collier for the UN, the March 2010 Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti based on the earthquake Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s “Haiti At A Crossroads” report, released in June 2010.

The following four themes are all addressed in the Action Plan, and most are also treated in at least one of the pre-existing plans/reports. There is no better time to launch these efforts than immediately. Hundreds of thousands of survivors already left Port-au-Prince and other earthquake-affected areas and returned to the countryside. One example of the window of opportunity is the number of educated individuals who have returned to the countryside, and the larger number of children in rural areas in need of schools. Building more schools now takes advantage of potential teachers and creates incentives for families to remain in the countryside, while at the same time beginning to fill a gap in access to education, an endemic problem.

Here is a summary of the concrete strategies to solve Haiti’s biggest challenges via decentralization:

1. Infrastructure:

• The Collier report encouraged focusing “infrastructure provision on breaking bottlenecks in the economy.” He specifically talked about building better “feeder roads to potentially productive areas” improving “access to inputs as well as access to markets for outputs.” In order to maximize the profitability of mango exportation, one of Collier’s key recommendations to strengthen Haiti’s economy, he stated: “the export of mangoes requires better road networks in mango-growing areas.”

• The DSNCRP also laid out plans for more balanced national road network that could encourage regional development to reach its potential in hopes of “re-establishing balance by fostering the emergence of big regional metropolises” and “guaranteeing consistent connections throughout the country.” It also called for strengthening the capacity of international seaports in the provinces, and developing “a road network to improve regional integration with the Dominican Republic.”

• The Action Plan is very specific about roads and ports, stating that: “a proper road network is essential.” There are 500km of roads that need to be finished, and the Plan calls the road construction “a precondition for effective decentralization and devolution, including that of the state.” The Action Plan also states that the international air traffic into Haiti “will be spread over three major airports located close to major cities: Cap Haitien, Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes” effectively ending the capital’s monopoly on international air travel. Sea ports are also included in the Action Plan’s strategy: “other port infrastructure will be rehabilitated or constructed to enable the industrialization of other areas of the country to split the job opportunities in the territory and promote the creation of clusters and sub-regional poles for development.”

2. Basic services

• The DSNCRP includes some of the richest strategies to decentralize basic services. In terms of education, it calls for at least one public school through grade six in each of Haiti’s 565 communal sections. This would “reduce the disparities between geographical departments and between urban and rural areas in the distribution of available schools.” For health care, the plan calls for the restoration of referral hospitals at the departmental level, the rehabilitation and construction of health centers, and the rehabilitation of specialized hospitals throughout the country.

• The Collier report recommends that electricity be made available in regions outside of Port-au-Prince to power what he calls factory “islands” like the free trade zone in Ouanaminthe. Unlike Port-au-Prince based factories, this trade zone in the northeast buys its electricity from across the border in the Dominican Republic and therefore enjoys stable and reliable power. Although it is arguable whether or not industrialization based on assembly for export is a desirable form of development for Haiti, it is clearly on the agenda of the international community and Haitian Government, and if Collier’s strategy is implemented, industry would be developed in pockets of the country where employment, roads, and energy infrastructure are badly needed, and would bring these advantages to various regions.

• The Action Plan also includes a strategy for expanding the delivery of electricity in the “developing zones and sub-zones of the country, particularly in the main towns of departments and districts” and specifically calls for the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the Artibonite, the construction of a power substation in Tabarre, and the “development of different local distribution networks of electric power to fuel growth sectors”. To expand the availability of health care, the Action Plan urges the” construction of eight referral hospitals in the administrative centers of the departments at an average cost of $30 million USD each.” Related to health is waste management, and the Action Plan speaks of waste removal from ten major urban areas.

3. Political and governance

• Haiti’s 1987 Constitution is the best source of concrete steps to decentralize governance. Recently, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti released a comprehensive report on political participation and elections that includes a thorough explanation of one of the key measures described in the Constitution to decentralize decision-making:

“The ASEC system is a large pyramid structure, designed to decentralize democracy by ensuring that those in power are involved in politics at the very local level, where it is hard for centralized money to penetrate.  ASECS (Assemblés des Sections Communales) are the foundation of the pyramid structure.  Haiti is divided into 10 Departments, each Department is divided into municipalities (or communes), and each municipality is split into communal sections.  Each communal section elects a Sectional Assembly (or ASEC).  The ASECS play an advisory role to the CASECS, which administer local government.  The ASECS also look over the CASECS’ shoulders, to make sure they are spending the money well.

“Each ASEC sends a representative to the Municipal Assembly.  The Municipal Assembly plays a similar watchdog/advisor role at the municipal level.  The mayor is supposed to report to it on the use of municipal resources, and cannot sell state lands in the commune without the Assembly’s approval.  The Municipal Assembly is also responsible for drawing up the list of nominees for judges in the peace courts in the Department.

“Each Municipal Assembly sends a representative to the Departmental Assembly.  The Departmental Assembly selects the members of the Departmental Council, which administers the Department.   Departmental Assemblies plays a similar watchdog/advisor role at the Departmental level, and the Departmental Council reports to it.  The Departmental Assembly is also responsible for drawing up the list of nominees for judges in the trial courts and appeals courts in the Department.  Each Departmental Assembly sends a representative to the Interdepartmental Assembly.  The Interdepartmental Assembly helps the executive branch and is involved in policy planning.  The Assembly is entitled to attend and vote at Ministerial Council meetings that deal with issues within its domain.”

• The DSNCRP emphasizes territorial development for economic growth and security, stating: “political and economic decentralization should be synchronized.” It describes six major reform programs to modernize the State including the “effective launching of the decentralization process” as defined in the 1987 Constitution. Concretely, this means the establishment of the three levels of territorial governments (the Collectivités Territoriales) who influence the executive, the judiciary and the electoral system (as described above). The legal framework for decentralization is the Charter for Territorial Government, because “territorial development entails decentralization.” The specific strategic lines of action:
  • Reorganization of the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation
  • Finalization of the law on territorial improvement and local development
  • Decentralization of the MPCE to the arrondissement level
  • Preparation of the new national master plan for territorial improvement and development
  • Preparation of local master plans for territorial development and improvement in the arrondissements
  • Revision of the way the national territory is subdivided
  • Introduction of operational planning instruments
  • Reorganization of the public investment program into a national component and local component
  • Structuring of development stakeholders
  • Supervision of territorial governments in the area of development planning
  • Promotion of territorial development.

• The Action Plan also includes specific steps to create “a Unitary State which is strong, acts as a guarantor of the general interest and is highly devolved and decentralized.” The Plan outlines measures costing $175 million for a twelve-month period including these objectives:
  • Within 5 years, reduce the proportion of State functionaries in administration to 20% and bring that of decentralized services to 80%
  • Completion of administrative centers in departments and districts, encouraging government officers to settle in the provinces by providing beneficiary incentives and housing help and also by offering career development advantages.
  • Within 5 years, regional development centers have local services provided by their municipality, including water, sewers, solid waste, and maintenance of municipal roads. 50% within 5 years, the entire population within 10 years.
  • Training and recruitment of executives (at least 3 senior executives per municipality) and building offices with technical equipment in regional development centers.

• In their report, “Haiti At A Crossroads”, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee encouraged a de-consolidation of decision-making power, specifically encouraging President Preval to “empower his lieutenants to make key development decisions about where to permanently house displaced citizens, where to allocate resources, and how to prioritize rebuilding.”

4. Agriculture and national production

• The Action Plan contains the best instructions for “boosting domestic production” by investing in rural areas outside of the urban centers. First it explains: “agriculture, livestock and fisheries, together constitute one of the primary forces of economic revitalization and recovery of regional and local economies.” Five programs are targeted for implementation:

1. Funding for purchase of distribution of fertilizer, seeds, plowing equipment, tractors, tools, and fishing equipment at reasonable prices to increase productivity.
2. Funding for digging hill lakes and construction of irrigation networks to improve water management and increase agricultural productivity.
3. Finance the construction of rural roads to open up farming zones.
4. Finance the recapitalization of agricultural enterprise with access to credit for farmers, financing the development of small and medium enterprises that increase the value added to production, limit the losses incurred during transformation of products and increase incomes of farmers.
5. Finance the improvement of conditions for slaughter and preservation of meat, to guarantee quality and increase profitability.

V. Conclusion: Six Months and Sixty Years

“There must be a strategy that is centered on the needs of the people. That’s what is most important. There must be an economic strategy that is focused on the international market and an economic strategy based on how the state can support the most dynamic players in the economy.

“The most dynamic actors, up until the present, are within the peasant sector. Despite the fact that 50% of the population works in the agricultural sector, despite the fact that it produces about half the food consumed in the country, it is a sector that has been completely neglected, with very little investment by the state.”

- Camille Chalmers, PAPDA, MCC’s “Disaster to Decentralization: Haiti’s long term recovery.” June 8, 2010

“A strategy that can take the society beyond recovery to economic security.”

- Haiti: From National Catastrophe to Economic Security, A Report for the Secretary General of the United Nations, by Paul Collier, December 2008

Many of the agencies engaged in post-earthquake rebuilding are facing a fundamental question, whether they realize it or not. Will the millions of dollars earmarked for Haiti today be used to build a better Haiti, or will the international community simply restore Haiti to where it was before the earthquake, unchallenged in its title of “poorest country in the Western Hemisphere”?
The Government of Haiti’s Action Plan outlines concrete steps that can have both immediate and long-term impact on the living conditions of the majority of Haitians. The real solution is a decentralized Haiti and the de-concentration of the population in Port-au-Prince. It is a solution for today, six months after the earthquake that shattered Haiti’s capital city. It is also a solution for sixty years from now, for a hundred years from now, because it creates the means necessary for resources to be redistributed in Haiti. It creates the circumstances Haitians need so they all can access basic services and employment, no matter the region of the country in which they reside.

It seems unlikely, unfortunately, that the Government of Haiti will solve the land policy issues that are currently preventing it from creating viable options for survivors currently living in tent cities. Even with pressure and/or support from the international community, those with a vested interest in private property continue to have more access and capacity to pressure the government. Decentralization can and will ameliorate the situation of people living in the inhuman living conditions  in the camps, which is an urgent and absolute need. If IDPs cannot be given land or permanent homes, decentralization promises that they do not have to remain in Port au Prince for survival.  Projects outlined in decentralization plans are exactly what are needed to reverse the problem of overpopulation in Port au Prince; they offer all Haitians hope for jobs, health care and education outside of Port au Prince. These plans are accomplishable, and they provide truly Haitian answers to Haiti’s longest standing challenge: pulling the majority of the population out of poverty that is misery.

Reports Cited:

Haiti: From National Catastrophe to Economic Security, A Report for the Secretary General of the United Nations, by Paul Collier, Department of Economics at Oxford University, December 27, 2008. Read it here: www.focal.ca/pdf/haiticollier.pd

The International Community Should Pressure the Haitian Government For Prompt And Fair Elections, The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, June 30, 2010. Read the full report here: http://ijdh.org/archives/13140

Plan D’Action Pour Le Relèvement et Le Développement National, English translation: Action Plan for the Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti, Government of the Republic of Haiti, March 2010. Read the plan in English here: researchforhaiti.typepad.com/files/pdna_english-1.pdf

National Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, DSNCRP, prepared by the International Monetary Fund, March 2008. Read the English translation here: http://bit.ly/cyZpIU

Haiti At A Crossroads, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, June 2010. Report available here: http://wwww.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-86Q5C4?OpenDocument

Disaster to Decentralization: Haiti’s long term recovery, film by the Mennonite Central Committee, June 8, 2010. See the film here: http://mcc.org/stories/videos/disaster-decentralization

The first major example of the Preval Government and international community’s reconstruction: Camp Koray (Corail)

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Reported by Etant Dupain

(read Kreyol version here) Refuse the climb to Morne Cabrit (named Goat Mountain for its steep slopes), turn left and drive for ten minutes if you have a good car – walk for fifty minutes if you have good feet. Turn again, and enter the second road on the right. You are in Koray.

There are no lights; the road is not paved. There is only dust and ancient forsaken grass growing in this area.

It is here that the Haitian government and the United Nations, along with the American Embassy and their NGO acolytes, decided to construct a humiliating village to put the victims who lost their homes during the earthquake.

The most significant thing about Koray is that the people are from the spontaneous camp at the Petion ville Golf Club. According to the American Embassy, the people living in that camp were in danger because it was a geographically vulnerable area, although no such case was ever reported before the presence of the victims there.

In the area of Koray there are no trees. After four in the afternoon, the mosquitos reign. Around this sizeable camp, which will be receiving internally displaced people from more than five other camps in Petion ville and Delmas, are deforested mountains that the victims have as a mural to look at during the day. One doesn’t have to ask how this plain, filled with little tents, is affected by rainfall.

Imagine that you are on a plain without trees, with nothing but dirt and deforested mountains surrounding you, and you hear that there will be more than five hours of rainfall…

The second place to ask this question is at the American Embassy, which promised in 1986 to deliver seven million trees to help combat erosion in Haiti. Ask them also: why there is “danger” just below the residence of the Ambassador, who is the neighbor of the Petion ville Golf Club, and the real reason that people are being displaced from their camps.

The victims have been displaced to an area without trees, without water, mixed with dust and burning sun, and a wind that declares war against the people, tearing up tents that wouldn’t hold up for two months even without wind.

The matter requires reflection. If there is wind strong enough to detach a tent, a raging sun and no trees to give people shade, even the dust could make a little peace and recognize that it is an inhabitable place. But, this isn’t the reality. It is people who aren’t in need of a bathroom and aren’t thirsty for water who can’t see these problems.

Much of the local press, like Radio Metropole, have praised this camp as a good example for the forced displacement of more than one million three hundred thousand people who do not have any place whatsoever to live. Perhaps this is because Dessalines already gave away all the people’s land, making them always live in the street and without hope.

Joseph Mucioleme, a fifty-five year old man who lost his house on January 12, had left Gonaives in 1983 after losing all his pigs when the U.S. Government and the Governement of the Dictator Jean Claude Duvalier killed the Haitian Creole pigs under the pretext of the African Swine Fever.

Joseph was a refugee in the Petion ville Golf Club with his two children; today he is one of the victims who live in the isolation of camp Koray. In his tent, Joseph has rice and oil he received two days ago, but he has no means to cook the food because he doesn’t have a stove or any of the other ingredients to prepare food.

Hunger in the desert is like running from the rain and falling in the river, according to Joseph. The most grave aspects of Joseph’s case is that all of his family are in Port-au-Prince, and it was in the lower part of the city where he could find work hauling loads to buy food for himself and his children. Now he is dispensable – condemned to this high desert until he is deported the same humiliating way.

It costs 100 gourdes, or $2.90 U.S. dollars, to take public transportation back and forth from the city. If Joseph had a radio, he could have heard about the arriving NGOs and all the money they received in his name, while he is obligated to spend the rest of his life in the desert camp unless he finds the money to return home.

None of this is surprising. The government, the United Nations and the Haitian elite – the bourgeois class – have had time to make the false assertion that 70% of all that the country has lost was lost from the holdings of the bourgeois. That is to say, they have had the time to decide how they will redistribute the new debt they call funds for reconstruction.

Don’t allow the personal interests of the bourgeois and the acolytes of the Preval government to lead us to forget the Haitian heritage of the Konbit, the concept we practice of working together.

The international community and the government are not intelligent because they are playing with fire when you consider the numbers of victims searching for a peaceful way out of the crisis who have been patient as they encounter problem after problem. This is a provocation by the international community and the government by not taking on their responsibilities.

Don’t criticize me if I finish without mentioning that Koray has no school, health center, public market or good road. Not only do they not have these things, but there isn’t even any sign that these things will be provided. At the moment you are reading this there are people being coerced to live in a cemetery in a desert.

Dessalines said: If Haiti is paradise it must be paradise for all Haitians, the same as if it is hell it must be hell for all Haitians.

Charlemagne Peralte: long live just war.

Update on Forced Evictions from International Action Ties

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Dear friends,

Please see update below on the continued bulldozing of shelter-homes that we have previously reported in Delmas 75 and the continued threat of eviction in Delmas 95. No option for relocation has been given in either case.

To follow will be a report of an eviction being attempted in Croix des Bouquets, Lyceé Jean Jacques. Last night, a tent was burned and police declared the camp must be cleared by Monday. Representatives of a NGO working in the camp and the OCHA Protection Cluster lead responded.

The situation in Saint Louis Gonzague continues to be tense and the camp committees and camp residents continue to await a just and viable option for their relocation.

As we have called for in our document “Towards a More Just Response”, there has been a three-week moratorium on evictions announced by Head of the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Edmond Mulet. However, as shown by the threats of eviction last night, there are very few ways to ensure that forced evictions do not continue. MINUSTAH officials continue to work towards a single, clear and public government position that meets international standards and is practically workable, but it is reportedly difficult, including for the government officials involved.

Keep your eyes out for a petition on this issue to be released soon.

In solidarity,
International Action Ties

Photos of Carradeux (new): http://picasaweb.google.com/IATAyiti/41910CampCarradeux#
Photos previously sent, now with captions: http://picasaweb.google.com/IATAyiti/Haiti2010CommunityCampRelocationProcess#

Our running list of news on Camp Evictions and Relocations: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AUo-rP4Wu-aaZGc5Yjl0azNfMTNkcjdkemNndA&hl=en

UPDATE

Saturday 4-17-10
6:54am The IAT mobilization team arrived at the site of the community camp, The Methodiste de Frere in the Centre Pedagogique Rural Protestant, Ecole Normale de Freres, to find the community living at the Methodiste de Frere school and church still intact.  Upon arrival, the mobilization team met with an Al Jazeera reporter and a freelance cameraman to document and report on the potential forced eviction from the grounds. The team toured the camp, talking and sharing information with the many families that in the unrest following the earthquakes of January 12th fled to this location and made it their temporary home. The camp community was quiet and peaceful, and was of the cleanest that the team has visited, especially in the face of a forced eviction. The mobilization team also took a tour of the school grounds, this time of the entire campus and school with a member of the community committee.

8:54am The mobilization team contacted Human Rights Officer Mr. Royer to brief him on the situation at the Methodist church and school, as well as get a better understanding on MINUSTAH’s stance and procedures for addressing human rights violations in regard to the IDP relocation process, specifically in regards to the community camp in the Methodiste de Frere in the Centre Pedagogique Rural Protestant, Ecole Normale de Freres. He stated that it was the National Police’s decision to remove people from the camp, based on the charges brought on camp residents by the Pastors for theft and prostitution. If the National Police arrived then, it was stated, the UN Police would accompany them. Mr. Royer stated that according to the president of the camp committee, they will meet with the Mayor of Petionville on Monday (camp committee members affirmed this meeting is to be held on Tuesday) and that she will determine a relocation site for the community members. He said that the only possible human rights abuse we were facing in this camp was the potential excessive use of force by the police against the camp residents during the eviction, leaving us to believe that the eviction of camp-community residents without viable options for their residence was not to be considered a violation of their rights.

9:08am Members of World Vision, who have also attended the camp eviction working group, were contacted and they reported that they also were informed by representatives of the Methodist school and church that they eviction would proceed as scheduled.  It was reported that World Vision tried to negotiate with the Methodist Church leadership but to no avail, and had already reported the potential forced eviction and violation of rights to the Petionville police department.

10:10am The UN Police, stationed at the Petionville Police Station arrived, citing a report of a potential forced evacuation of the camp. They spoke with Pastor Ablami and Pastor Fed, who was said by community members to be the one that had brought the false charges against them. A Pastor Ely, who is also a resident of the camp, was seen leaving in the UN Police car with the officers outside of the gate. The officers, from Chad and Sri Lanka, said that if anyone wanted further information, they could come to the Petionville Police Station. As the UN police were exiting the grounds, the community members approached in order to request information. They were told by a UN police officer from Chad, that they were on private property and could not remain here forever. The community representative calmly responded they had no intentions of remaining on the property but they first need to have an acceptable alternative presented to them, with adequate services to accommodate the needs of the community members.

Afternoon: In an interview with Al Jazeera, Nigel Fisher, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and OCHA Coordinator, stated that the guidelines for IDP rights are just now being established for Haiti’s earthquake victims. “We have been told that certain protections needed to be specified to protect landowners as well as the displaced persons in Haiti but no clear definition has been established by the UN Haiti mission so far.”

Camp Refugee 4-19-10

11:30am The IAT mobilization team received notification from camp community members that CNE bulldozers are present and destroying homes at Camp Refugee. Email notification was immediately sent out to relevant OCHA cluster leads, MINUSTAH Human Rights Officer, NGO members, and others in Port au Prince that might respond.
The team left for Carradeux, Delmas 75, to obtain a better understanding of the situation as well document and record the events taking place. While in route, Monica calls MINUSTAH human rights officer Royer to inform him of the current bulldozers. He said that a team from the Human Rights Section of MINUSTAH would come visit the camp that afternoon.

12:15pm While in route, team members flag down a passing UN vehicle driven by a UN police officer and informed him of the forced removal. He responded that he is unable to assist with the situation and was on his way to work.

12:20pm IAT mobilization team arrived on site and met with committee members. It was confirmed that CNE heavy equipment was moving earth where IDP emergency shelter had been during prior visits to the community camp. The French Red Cross was also on site to make preparations.  Large groups of community members were having yellow bands placed on their wrists for an operation in which Red Cross members stated they were unable to specify details to the community members or to the others on site.  It was reported by the community members present receiving the wrist bands that they did not know why they had been chosen, what they will be receiving with this armband, or how long it will be until the distribution takes place.  Upon further questioning by the community, an independent journalist, and the IAT mobilization team the French Red Cross offered no response as to why they were not allowed to discuss the means of distribution, or the items involved in the distribution.
The CNE bulldozer leveling trucked in earth was documented in photograph, and through video along with images of emergency shelters that had been destroyed in the process.  In addition to the destruction of the IDP shelters, the heavy machinery filled in the trenches that had been dug for the latrines being installed by HAVEN.

12:44pm Representative from HAVEN called to inform us that he had just left a meeting with the Mayor of Delmas, Gael Jean, who reported no knowledge of the forced evictions at Carradeux. Mayor Jean said he would try to visit the camp that afternoon. At the time of the call, the HAVEN reps were on their way to UNHABITAT to discuss this situation.

12:45pm Human Rights Officer Royer reports that a humanitarian team from MINUSTAH will be dispatched to investigate the matter.

1:40pm Two separate journalists called and said they were in route and arrive soon after. Also arriving on site were two advocacy workers for the Mennonite Central Committee.
The IAT mobilization team continued to gather information regarding the sequence of events from numerous community members. People holding luggage full of personal possessions explained that with no prior notification, the removal commenced during the early morning hours of Sunday, 18APR10.
As the heavy machinery continually moved closer to the home of one family on the far southeast corner of the camp, one male from the family stated that he was deciding if he would continue to dismantle his family’s shelter or  plead with the bulldozer operator to not remove his house. He decided to approach the bulldozer operator and make the request. The machine operator agreed and said that he would not impede any further on that day onto the small plot of land that the family was now living on. Also, another operator agreed to postpone the destruction of the home of an elderly blind woman named Rosemarie Sylvesce, three young women, and a three year old boy until at least the following day.

4:00pm The Camp Refugee community committee reported not speaking to or seeing the UN humanitarian team said earlier to be in route, nor did the IAT mobilization team. Mr. Royer was notified of this and of the situation with Ms. Sylvesce and said he was in route to observe the situation himself.

4:27pm IAT mobilization team departs camp.

4:50pm IAT mobilization team comes across approximately 20 Haitian National Police in riot gear outside of Camp Durmonay (Durmonay Centre de Refugee) on Delmas 33 (next to Medicins de Monde clinic). Camp residents reported police presence since the morning and violence against many camp residents by the police, including mistreatment of children. They also said that many camp residents had been arrested since the morning. One woman was arrested while the IAT mobilization team was present observing.
Camp residents explained that the land was privately owned, that they had been there since the earthquake and that the landowner wanted them off his land. They had not been consulted or offered alternative sites to relocate to.

7:50pm We spoke to the Camp Committee Coordinator from Durmonay and he said that people were really afraid of eviction and nobody would be sleeping that night. He also mentioned the police violence against adults and children that had taken place that day.

Towards a More Just Response: Rights of Internally Displaced People in Haiti

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Towards a More Just Response:

A call to action for the immediate suspension of all forced removals of Haiti’s Internally Displaced People;
and the development of independent monitoring and community consultation systems in all voluntary and forced removals from IDP community camps.

The following is a request in response to the expulsions from the encampments of Haiti’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) that have recently occurred. Currently, forced removals of IDPs from Camp Sipot in Delmas 31, Camp Refugee in Caradeux Delmas 75, and the Camp Sylvio Cator Stadium have occurred, as have threats of removal in Camp Methodiste de Freres in Delmas 95, Camp San Louis Gonzague in Delmas 31/33, and Champ de Mars which continue to be reported by numerous sources. The escalating situation has been previously reported to the relevant authorities. The March 24, 2010 OCHA Haiti-Earthquake Situational Report #31 stated that, “the protection cluster is receiving an increasing number of reports detailing tensions between displaced persons located on private land and landowners. Some cases have resulted in forceful evictions from the land.” What was not specified was what action was or would be taken to protect IDP rights.
As stated by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement are based upon existing international humanitarian law and human right instruments. If we are to have an honest discussion, holding true to the fact that human rights are not relative, that these rights inherent in all human existence have been correctly declared universal, we need to reexamine the removal and relocation of the internally displaced persons from the community encampments that have formed as a result of the series of earthquakes in Haiti starting January 12th, 2010.
Like the Under-Secretary-General, we also want to use the Guiding Principles in an ongoing dialogue with Governments, OCHA, and all those whose mandates and activities relate to the needs of the internally displaced in Haiti. More specifically, we would like to engage in an immediate and absolutely necessary dialogue regarding the violation of the rights of Haiti’s internally displaced persons. And this crucial discussion must be, if not simultaneously enacted with, directly followed by actions protecting those rights.

According to the Guiding Principles, those who are forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence are considered to be internally displaced. These same principles identify rights and guarantees relevant to the protection of persons from forced displacement. Formed as necessities for survival, and as a temporary solution, many of the camps that have formed after January 12th, 2010 are now existing as vibrant and functional communities. If we will accept this same view which has been expressed by nearly all community and camp committee members interviewed, then we should be led to the logical conclusion that Principle 6.1 of the Guiding Principles is not being honored. Those with who have the access to and control of more resources, and the ultimate charge of ensuring human rights (especially in a situation where the govt’s abilities are compromised), are required to assume a greater responsibility to protect the rights of every human to not be arbitrarily displaced from their communities. Included are those who have been specifically designated within these agencies to assume these responsibilities. It is now necessary for these agents to make a formal request, with the appropriate pressures applied, for all forced expulsions of IDP’s from their communities to be suspended, unless an immediate and agreed upon health or safety hazard is present. This is not to say that relocation can not be a viable and possibly a necessary option, most specifically in cases where these safety and health of those affected requires their evacuation. If those in positions of authority wish to avoid further arbitrary interference on the privacy, family, and homes of the IDPs now facing expulsion from their communities, their rights can not be held as relative. Resources should be made available and utilized to prevent further human rights violations from taking place. Included is the very apparent need for the immediate development of a collaborative system for the dispatch of independent monitors and a sustained community consultation to the locations where IDP’s are facing removal from their communities, both voluntary and forced.
In addition to the monitoring of and protection against such violations, we request that the active participation in these forced removals cease immediately by all relevant agents, including, but not exclusively OCHA and the international NGO community. One of the stated specific responsibilities of the OCHA CCCM designated Camp Coordinator is to develop “exit”/transition strategy for camp closures while ensuring that responses are in line with existing policy guidance and technical standards including relevant government, human rights, and legal obligations. Principle 8 states, “displacement shall not be carried out in a manner that violates the rights to life, dignity, liberty, and security of those affected.” Through eyewitness accounts and numerous interviews conducted during community meetings, findings show the dignity of the community members has not been honored, many have had their security compromised, and liberties have been breached. There have been documented reports of violence against the IDPs, loss of property, and near complete blockage of participation and community determination in the process that led to their expulsion. The self-formed community committees in many of the camps are reporting a significant lack of information available regarding the status of their camps. As a result, numerous community members have stated that they live in fear, day to day, not knowing what will become of their family and their home. If the responsibilities of the Camp Coordinator were properly assummed, carried out, and properly monitored and regulated within the UN OCHA system, then the responsibilities involved with the forced expulsions lie within this decision making body, which should be held accountable.

As medical teams leave and food distribution stops, militaries, governments, OCHA, and aid organizations may have moved past the emergency stages of the disaster, but interviews conducted from camp to camp, committee to committee, and shelter to shelter, have shown with consistency that adequate measures have not been taken to guarantee to those to be displaced full information on the reasons and procedures for their displacement. It has been reported that the free and informed consent of those to be displaced has not been sought as the authorities concerned have been instructed to do by Principle 14.3(c). The involvement of those affected in the planning and management of their relocation can only occur after each individual has agreed to the relocation. The same has been previously put forth in a February 19th letter from Human Rights Watch to the UN Security Council on the Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in Haiti which affirmed, “relocations should proceed on a voluntary basis.” We request that if permission has not been given by the Haitian IDPs for transfer or removal, then those with access to the appropriate resources protect the freedom of every internally displaced person to choose his or her residence.

To summarize our immediate calls for action:

• Moratorium on forced removals: We request that the governments, OCHA, NGOs, all those whose mandates and activities relate to the needs of the internally displaced in Haiti, and all those with interest in the protection of international recognized human rights organize and apply the appropriate pressures necessary to suspend the forced removal of the Haitian IDPs from their camp communities until a time when alternative options are presented and agreed upon. This pressure needs to come from the highest offices of the decision making bodies in support of the IDP’s stated intentions. We request these agents make the decisions to defend the rights of the Haitian IDPs, and to do so before the next IDP camp community is forcefully evacuated against their will.

• Independent monitoring system: We request the immediate development of a collaborative system for the dispatch of independent monitors to the locations where IDPs of Haiti are facing removal from their communities, both voluntary and forced. Given the level of efforts and resources expended in order to create and maintain the various means of responding to this disaster, the development of a means of monitoring that integrates into the already functional OCHA regulated and supported systems should be able to occur immediately and with the upmost efficiency.

• Community consultation: The only way to determine a viable and just solution to the complex issues of relocation is to let those relocating determine the most appropriate course of action in conjuction with the Haitian state, the UN mechanisms designated to protect their rights and the NGOs that have taken on the responsibility for assisting with satisfying their basic needs during this extremely difficult period in Haitian history.

Please forward this message to other concerned parties.

Sincerely,
Mark Snyder, Eric Brandfass, Monica Dyer
Interntional Action Ties

Forced IDP Relocations in Haiti

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

View TransAfrica Forum’s Memo on the situation of the forced relocation of Haiti’s Internally Displaced People

Supplies Arrived!

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Haiti Response Coalition staff and volunteers in Haiti are happy to report that the two containers of disaster relief supplies from Sydney, Australia arrived yesterday with nearly 3 tons of supplies that will be distributed.  Thanks to all who helped make this happen!

“The Exodus Foundation based in Sydney, Australia shipped a donation of Disaster Relief Supplies for Haiti just after the quake, in two 40′ containers, 8 weeks ago. Since the seaport and airports of PAP were destroyed, the shipment was sent to Santo Domingo. A colleague, Michael Adams, and I happened to be there this past week to help receive the containers, get them through customs in the DR and Haiti, and on their way to PAP where they will be distributed by the Haiti Response Coalition.” – Sarah Cool

OXFAM Consultation on March 5, 2010

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Tet Ansanm Pou Yon Nouvel Ayiti

‘Let’s Unite ourselves for a New Haiti’, the name of one of the organisations present

Reflections on the reconstruction of Haiti from a meeting of representatives of national NGOs and displaced persons from the camps

Port-au-Prince, 5 March 2010

Introduction from Oxfam, an international NGO in Haiti since 1978:

“Today, Oxfam has invited you to find out what a new Haiti might look like. This is the time to get connected more with the field, with the experience that people have, in an effort to collect ideas. The aim of this conference is not to put together a consensus document, nor one that necessarily reflects the views of Oxfam: it is to be a small microphone for civil society to input into the reconstruction process, and in particular into the Santo Domingo and New York donor meetings later in March.  In conversation, the Prime Minister noted that Haiti already had major problems prior to the Earthquake. Let’s see how we can turn this tragedy into an opportunity to address both immediate and long-term challenges”

Organisations and persons present: CAP, CLES, CLIO, KONPAY HRC-TAYNA, KNFP, MIT, PAPDA, RACPABA, RECOCARNO, SOHADERK, TEARFUND, USCRI, Georges du Saieh Camp – Carrefour Feuilles, Lina du Camp Place Jérémie, Nicolas du Mocejeh camp.

Disclaimer: this document is a series of quotations from the Conference. The views herein are not attributed to specific organisations, nor to Oxfam International.

Theme 1 – The priorities of reconstruction

“Reconstruction is a big word, we need to be to be clear on what we mean by this.  Haiti has not been destroyed: Port au Prince is not Haiti. Three departments have been affected; we have to make this distinction. Haiti has resources, not everything has to come from the outside.

The “re” in “reconstruction” should be left out. The word ‘reconstruction’ implies that we will be rebuilding in the same manner, whereas in fact we should begin on new grounds. What is needed is a new perspective, a new vision of Haiti. The disaster has opened a window of opportunity to start over, for an ‘alternative construction’.

Shouldn’t we also talk about the ‘restoration’ of Haiti? This needs to be about restoring our mentality, values, socio-cultural and linguistic importance. We must change the way we do things and the way we act. Haitian history is unique and loaded, with a legacy that creates  complications even today. A collective, deep, and psychological recovery is needed before a new system can be created.

We must stop considering Haiti as a solely French-speaking country. Predominantly in the countryside, but also in the city, Creole is spoken and French is often not even understood. We must also stop seeing Haiti through a western cultural model. Currently, reconstruction is being considered from a foreign viewpoint, which puts forward the project of modernizing and democratizing the country according to a western model that doesn’t reflect Haiti’s cultural complexity. This new modernity must rest on Haitian traditions and cultural values.

An essential question to put to the actors – who thinks through the reconstruction? With whom and to what ends? There is currently very little room for civil society; the voice and the choices of the Haitian people must have greater visibility.

Decision-making needs to be made truly democratic in order to overcome the existing disconnect between decision-making and Haitian reality. We need to ensure that the Haitian people are included in the debate. This will be a cultural shift, so there is a need for a national awareness campaign to get people to think along the lines of their country and wider community, not just family and friends

The reconstruction process needs to address the issue of social exclusion. Haiti is a country of the excluded: education, classes, and women. Inclusion must be part of the reconstruction effort. We cannot rebuild with 40% of the wealth in the hands of 5% of the population.

Education is a top priority. Rather than just rebuild the same schools (most of them private) should we not instead take this opportunity to extend educational services to the whole population? The failings of the educational system have been one reason for migration overseas. We have to offer an improved, free and universal education system. We also have to move away from the present system where the private sector controls 90% of education. The Government must be responsible for the education system, but is this feasible at the present?

Another immediate priority is housing. We need to rebuild. We may need more than 150,000 qualified workers for building but we don’t have them yet. We must improve training. A great number of Haitians who have received training and experience migrate to the Dominican Republic: these people could be called back.

There is a real problem with the quality of the buildings. So far, as a whole, there have not been any coherent, sustainable plans of development up to now. Many areas were destroyed because people did not abide by the rules for construction. We should take this opportunity to begin training engineers on a large scale, specifically in antisismic construction, using the knowledge and resources available through the aid effort. Local government must also take responsibility in planning and authorising construction.

Why not rebuild the city around biodiversity?

Food security is another major issue. We should be working towards food sovereignty. If food programs look at local products and cooperatives for their contracts, that will give Haitian people the means to become self-reliant, more organized and community-minded. We also need to push for an agricultural reform. We need to develop our rural economy, and tie this in with environmental protection.

Other key areas for reconstruction are healthcare, infrastructure (electricity, water, roads, ports, airports), development of industries and services, and financial institutions/availability of credit.

We need to improve relations with our partners, such as the United States, France and financial institutions. Talk of ‘alternative constructions’, of ‘occupation’, must stop.

It is vital to keep in mind that Haitians do not want aid. They want to be self-reliant. A few days after the earthquake, I lent a thousand gourdes to a person who lives in a camp, two weeks later I found out that he he had opened a small business there with the money I had given to him!”

Theme 2 – Displacement and decentralization

“What is the role of the other urban areas in the new construction? Haiti is like a mother of ten, who has given everything to one child, to the exclusion of the others. Port-au-prince was that child, and now that it is ill, what will the family do? The earthquake has shown to what extent the country must be decentralised.

People died because centralisation forced every one to be in Port au Prince – everything goes via a central authority: there’s no ability for local government to do anything.  All the major universities, to get a passport, or a driving permit, means coming to the capital.  So, when Port-au-Prince collapsed, the state collapsed, and the people with it.

Decentralisation must happen. We have to transfer the means and the competence to local authorities – and the state has to give the means to the collectives.  We have to have a democratic state.  We need to decentralise the state, but also administrative services, industry, investment, international institutions, education, healthcare – all the services provided to the Haitian people.

If the people do not have access to certain services in their localities, they will come to Port au Prince to get them, or to any other cities that offer them.

The day after the earthquake, we took our wounded to a hospital in Saint Marc.  The facility was lacking in terms of structure, but I got the help I needed. If the ten departments had valid health structures in place, we could have avoided a lot of unnecessary deaths.

It is not only the Government and the private sector that will be solely responsible for decentralizing the capital but the investors also. Private investments should also be decentralized.

And beyond decentralisation, what we need to do is rethink the whole Haitian territory, which also includes land ownership and agricultural reform, as well as infrastructure. When we talk about building roads, shouldn’t we also think about coastal trade? There was a network of coastal trade that was demolished by the American army and could be revived. It would relieve the road infrastructure and be a good method of decentralisation.

Building around harbour towns is colonial reasoning. We need to think in terms of the Haitian culture.

We have to take advantage of the opportunity of 600,000 persons having left the city for the countryside. How can we help make it possible for them to stay there? At the same time, we must not confuse decentralization with population displacement. What we saw on the aftermath of January 12 was not what is referred to as decentralization but more of a migration.

The Government must take measures to lower taxes for investors looking to invest in the provinces.

How do we keep professionals from leaving the county? What system can we put in place? We must be able to offer them what it is they seek elsewhere.  The government and the public sector have to create opportunities for the Haitian people here and now.”

Theme 3 – Confidence in the state

“This is the time for the state to relaunch its leadership role.

The state isn’t playing its role – it makes claims that aren’t correct and doesn’t take any action.

The state has to play its role – they have to be in charge.  There must be credible processes for civil society and the population to input into the decision-making processes.

Civil society has to have a role in building the relations between the State and the people, but now there is a rupture between the state and the people – this will change if decision-making becomes more democratic, and if the people are consulted and informed. Civil society does a lot but has little influence, it needs to be able to hold the government accountable.

The state also needs to do what it was created for and provide real services to the population. Services should be in the following sectors: information, education, health, basic infrastructures (aqueducts, sewers, energy, roads, ports, airports) and support to economic development, employment and the environment. If these were provided, the people would begin to trust the state again.

The state has the monopoly on coordination, but they have to be accountable and transparent, which they are not at the moment. If the government wants to earn the trust of the population, transparency is key.

And it’s not just the state; the international community must also be transparent and accountable.

The interventions of NGOs can weaken the state: for example, professionals work with and are engaged by international organisations instead of working for the civil functions.  NGOs should work with the state and they should follow the codes and standards set out by the government.

NGOs must integrate their plans into the national plans – they must ensure they do not overlap and that they are not working contrary to the national development plan.

How can the government regain its leadership while being relegated to spectator status? Most of the international aid for Haiti is channeled through NGOS.

The government can be strengthened by professionalizing the public office. Give qualified individuals the opportunity to build a career in public administration. People should be given jobs not because they are family members or close friends but because they have experience and knowledge.  And there should not be a change of personnel each time a new administration is installed. Civil service jobs need to become sustainable careers, providing continuity and expertise, allowing civil servants to take on an advisory capacity.

The following approach has been proposed:

Step 1: Widespread consultation (civil society – national and local associations, economic organizations – NGOs, diasporas, etc.) on the part of the Haitian government.

Step 2: Synthesis of the various propositions and preparation of a development plan with a clear vision, objectives, priorities, roles and responsibilities, required resources and timeframes.

Step 3: Coordination of different actors wishing to participate (Country, UN, NGOs, foundations, etc.) and finalization of the action plan.

Step 4: Dissemination of information to the population, transparency on the part of the state and partners.”

Report from Djaloki Dessables

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

REPORT FROM DJALOKI DESSABLES, Haiti Response Coalition Co-Coordinator in Port-au-Prince

The following is a summary of Djaloki Dessable’s report [given during a March 3rd HRC conference call]  on his experiences on the ground in Haiti since the earthquake, some concerns, activities and hopes for HRC.  The following summary was compiled jointly by  Sarah Cool and Amy Fotta.

REPORT ON HAITI RESPONSE COALITION ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

This is a very exciting time in Haiti.  Djaloki is working with a fantastic team. They are giving their all to their work, investing in their nation and the world at large. They have moved from crisis mode to a steady state of transition.

HRC now has rented two buildings in Port-au-Prince, one for lodging and one for office space, for HRC staff in PAP. They soon will be (if not already) sharing the office space with Telesur.

The structural organization of the HRC team in Haiti, as far as Djaloki can tell, seems to be unique in that it allows for representation at critical levels of information gathering and sharing with UN/OCHA and PDNA as well as within communities of the Haitian people.  This structure helps to allow the Haitian voice to be heard, which is a key philosophy of HRC. It also allows access to international humanitarian aid resources for our partner communities:

** Cluster Representatives: Team members who attend the UN/OCHA and/or PDNA Cluster Meetings.  This is an area of the HRC structure that is still evolving and it is still difficult for HRC to be able to have representation at all Cluster Meetings due to limited human resources. One current limitation to HRC representation at the Cluster Meetings is that the UN/OCHA meetings are primarily held in English and the PDNA meetings are primarily held in French, which limits some of our Kreyol-speaking staff and volunteers to be able to attend and represent HRC at these meetings.  Another concern is that the professionals running these working groups use expert jargon, operate in high circles, are well versed in Western culture and use highly organized processes of communication – which makes the meetings intimidating to those who are not comfortable or well-versed in this style.  Djaloki says that HRC must prepare their partners to participate, and are working on this now.

**Community Animation Team: Currently there are 7 animators, who have worked to help facilitate community organizing and empowerment of the Haitian people in their communities.  The Animation Team has worked on small scale distributions of water, mattresses, tarps, soap, food, etc. They have facilitated the organization of camps, assessment of territory, efficient and equitable distribution of resources, concentrating on communities and their strengths, relationship building, conflict management, empowerment and human dignity.   Hopefully as time goes on, HRC will be able to increase the number of animators to at least 10 – 12 to be able to work with more communities and to be able to provide support and training for community members and leaders as needed.

REPORT ON HRC ACTIVITIES & NEW HAPPENINGS:

• In addition to the activities reported above in the Community Animation Team section, HRC has been approached by GOAL Ireland, an Irish International Humanitarian Agency responding to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, to create a partnership.  GOAL would like to partner with HRC’s Animation Teams to help them work with communities to organize themselves to prepare for the distribution of humanitarian aid.  In other words, HRC Animators would prep and empower communities (as noted above) and then GOAL would distribute aid that they have been contracted to distribute to these communities.  This seems to be a win-win situation because it helps get needed aid to people in an empowering and dignified way.

• Two key psycho-social support groups want to offer programs for Haitians and the relief workers on the ground.  These groups also approached Djaloki and HRC to discuss partnership opportunities as they want to provide their skills and services in dignified and culturally-sensitive ways.  Discussion on this is still evolving.

• HRC also is in conversation with representatives at the Venezuelan Embassy to determine opportunities to partner to help with dignified and equitable distribution of aid.

• Upon reflection, Djaloki also notes his concern about HRC’s Haitian staff and volunteers, as many of them have themselves been affected by the earthquake – have lost homes, family members, belongings.  They, like the communities in which the HRC animation teams are working, need support and access to basic supplies, shelter, food. He sees that it is important to advocate for the needs and to try to work on ways to help support them as well.

• Communication also is an ongoing challenge due to lack of reliable internet and electricity.

Jounen Jèn - Days of Remembrance

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Letters from Port-au-Prince by Sasha Kramer, SOIL

Friday February 12, one month after the earthquake, the first day of Jounen jèn, the days of mourning and remembrance, and we walked through the twisted iron and dusty shards of glass of the shattered National Cathedral. As we crossed through the open door and stared down the length of the cathedral it was as though the world had ended and even the wind had disappeared into the silence of the rubble. Just blocks away, in front of the crumbling palace, thousands of people dressed in white were singing songs of grief and praise, but inside the National Cathedral, on this national day of remembrance there was only the sky and the crumpled flowers from the alter scattered across the floor where so many feet once tread.

As we stepped gingerly through the cement dust, climbing towards where the alter once stood, I remembered the last time that I walked down this aisle, through the sunbeams and the wailing, walking to pay my last respects to Father Gerard Jean Juste in October 2009. This place has always broken my heart. So many voices that once sang in this church have been swallowed by the earthquake and I longed to hear Father Gerry’s voice, but I knew what he would have told me. He would tell me that those of us who survived have to sing louder, to work harder and to love each other more. As we left the cathedral and passed the crowd on Champ de Mars I could hear the crowd of thousands singing their sadness into salvation. I knew that Father Gerry was with them, under the tarp churches, marching through the streets, watering the parks of the city with their tears.

When we got home in the evening on Friday everyone at Matthew 25, where we are staying, gathered to read aloud a prayer for Haiti. Three quarters of the way through the prayer the tears began rolling down my cheeks, I could see the cathedral as they carried Father Gerry’s body down the aisle and the flowers buried in dust that we had walked through earlier. I cried for hours that night for the first time since coming to Port au Prince. Mine were only drops in the lake of tears that flowed through Haiti this weekend as people said goodbye to their loved ones and their lost city.

I end with an excerpt from the prayer that we read on the 12th.

“Raise up your people from the ash heap of destruction and give them strong hearts and hands, shore up their minds and spirits. Help them to bear this new burden”

This week with your donations we were able to provide a week’s worth of food to over 350 families, deliver 24,000 gallons of water to 5 communities, provide medicines to several mobile clinics, give over 4000 water sachets in churches during Jounen jèn and purchase 140 tarps, reaching over 5,000 people in Port au Prince. In Cap Haitien the SOL team provided food and medicines to victims of the earthquake that have been relocated out of the capital. SOIL is still small and though we cannot rebuild the National Cathedral, with your support we can help thousands of families in Port au Prince to bear this new burden.

It is the strength of the Haitian people that has helped me to rise from the ashes of my own fear and sadness, today on this final day of mourning I pray that I can treat the victims of this tragedy as they have treated me, with compassion, respect and dignity. I am so grateful to all of you who have helped to lighten Haiti’s load, this experience has helped us all to remember our humanity.

With love from Port au Prince,
Sasha

Click here for photos of the National Cathedral before and after.

To donate go to: www.oursoil.org and please encourage your friends to join our facebook page or sign up for our online newsletter.

Jacmel Assessments & Progress Report

Monday, February 15th, 2010