Earthquake in Haiti

 

The earthquake in Haiti on January 12th brought devastation to the capital, Port-au-Prince, that would be difficult to comprehend had its images not been flashed across the world. But the full scale of the problems now facing the country are not simply the result of this natural disaster. They are the consequence of 200 years of poverty, violence and environmental degradation.

When the earthquake hit, Haiti was already a barely functioning state. Years of conflict, corruption and brutal dictatorship had produced a semi-lawless nation, without a functioning infrastructure and with a population living in relentless and crippling poverty. It is the poorest, least developed country in the western hemisphere, with a human development index just above that of Sudan. Its once lush hills have been stripped bare through deforestation and the environmental damage has led to an exodus of the rural population to the slums of the Cite de Soleil - a no-go area ruled by armed gangs of young men.

Barely able to cope under normal circumstances, it was inevitable that this disaster would leave Haiti paralysed, its population stripped of its very last possessions.

What is desperately needed now is a massive coordinated relief effort to find and support survivors. People who were already living on the edge will now need all the basics of life provided for them. All of this will be costly. War Child is not an emergency organization but we would urge our supporters to give generously to those trusted organizations who are working so hard to stabilize the situation.

However, the emergency phase will end but the effort must not. This will not be the last natural disaster that Haiti will face - its geographical location guarantees that. If we are to avoid a repeat of the terrible scenes of the past few days, it is essential that the uprising of support we are currently seeing is turned into a long-term commitment to help rebuild Haiti. We need a sustained effort to replace the despair and violence of the past with a functioning and prosperous state.

It will be during this long rebuilding process - when the media have moved on to the next crisis - that the experience of agencies such as War Child will be required. We will be reassessing our planned engagement in Haiti - focusing on child rights and education - in the coming weeks and months. But whatever needs we identify, whatever work we must do, your support then will be just as essential as it is now, when the eyes of the world are trained on Port-au-Prince.