A few bright spots among Haiti’s horrendous devastation

I thought about legions of Haitians today unable to think shampoo or shower, literally dying for a sip of water to drink.

I’m hopeful when you’re reading this; Jean Bertrand Aristide is back in his beloved Haiti. Aristide was elected president of Haiti in the country’s first-ever free and fair election on Dec. 16, 1991. I know because I was there, watching the proceedings as an official international observer.
I watched the jubilation of the Haitian people over Aristide’s landslide victory. Then from afar, I observed the steps the new president took to improve the lives of the poor. Wept when people who disagreed with those steps performed coups to remove him from the office and from the country.

Now in exile in South Africa, Aristide yearns more than ever to be with his people following the earthquake. In a public statement last week he declared, “We feel deeply and profoundly that we should be there, in Haiti, with them, trying our best to prevent death … to share in their suffering, help rebuild the country, moving from misery to poverty with dignity.”

In my opinion everyone will benefit from an infusion of hope when this great leader is allowed to return to his country. If he’s still in South Africa as you read, we need to get busy with phone calls and faxes.

Though it’s true most hospitals and clinics were destroyed or badly damaged, the primary facility of Partners in Health was just out of range of the earthquake. (I’ll tell you more about Partners in Health and its amazing staff in another column.) Able and ready, Partners in Health treated all quake-injured patients received. Still, as we all know, there are far more injuries than one organization can handle on its own.

Of the more than 100 Haitian physicians Partners in Health employs or funds for service in other clinics, many were unable to get to their clinics so, although suffering their own family losses, these doctors nonetheless maintained their dedication by setting up whatever facilities for medical service they could manage in their own neighborhoods.

I’ve felt irritated to hear news reports of violence and looting because that just doesn’t sound like the Haitian people I know and I have previous experience with news reports on Haiti which strayed from the truth. Thus it was reassuring to receive a report Sunday from someone who is there on the ground. David Belle from the United States, and director of a center he founded to teach Haitian youngsters about filmmaking, wrote, “I have been told that much U.S. media coverage paints Haiti as a tinderbox ready to explode. I’m told that lead stories in major media are of looting, violence and chaos. There could be nothing further from the truth.

“I have traveled the entire city daily since my arrival. The extent of damages is absolutely staggering. At every step, at every bend is one horrific tragedy after another; homes, businesses, schools and churches leveled to nothing. Inside every mountain of rubble there are people, most dead at this point. The smell is overwhelming. On every street are people – survivors – who have lost everything they have: homes, parents, children, friends.

“NOT ONCE have we witnessed a single act of aggression or violence. To the contrary, we have witnessed neighbors helping neighbors and friends helping friends and strangers. We’ve seen neighbors digging in rubble with their bare hands to find survivors. We’ve seen traditional healers treating the injured; we’ve seen dignified ceremonies for mass burials and residents patiently waiting under boiling sun with nothing but their few remaining belongings. A crippled city of 2 million awaits help, medicine, food and water. Most haven’t received any.

“Haiti can be proud of its survivors. Their dignity and decency in the face of this tragedy is itself staggering.”

We finally have encouraging news from the What If? Foundation, the feeding program for some of Haiti’s hungriest children founded 10 years ago by Berkeley resident Margaret Trost. Many of you have met Trost on one of her visits to Sonoma to tell us about the beautiful Haitian women who prepared mountains of nutritious food for as many as 1,500 beautiful children a day.

Trost sent daily reports last week of her fruitless efforts to make contact with anyone in Haiti. Finally, on Friday night, she wrote, “Today we were able to confirm through phone and e-mail that our partners in the St. Clare’s community of Port-au-Prince – the food and education team, including the cooks, all survived the earthquake and are uninjured.  We’re so happy, relieved and grateful! Jean-Claudel, one of the education coordinators, e-mailed: ‘I am alive. We are alive. But we are hungry. We need your help. We wait with patience.’”

On Sunday, Lavarice, Meal Program liaison, delivered three truckloads of food and supplies to St. Clare’s and headed back to the Dominican Republic for more. By avoiding the paralyzed airport in Port-au-Prince and with the assistance of a nonprofit known as the Zakat Foundation, Lavarice was able to deliver. Precious lives saved.
Partners in Health: pih.org    What If?: whatiffoundation.org