Monday, August 09, 2010

7 months after the earthquake and the pain and suffering continue

Delmas 60
Delmas 60,
originally uploaded by melindayiti.
Yes it is 7 months after the quake.

Yes Haiti's government, infrastructure, and custom's office are all nightmares to deal with.

Yes there are plenty of dangers.

And Yes, undoubtedly the Haitian people need to be freed from the NGOs that fight amongst themselves, hoard resources, and may have a vested interest in keeping the people poor and in need.

But fours yeses do not equal a single Know: as in we know they need help and to say no would be and is wrong.   As pictures like these from Melidayiti and stories like the one from Mark Schuller  remind us all to not forget Haiti and why I believe it should remain BonaResponds' top priority for the upcoming semester.


From the Schuller piece:
"For example, in Bobin, a camp where 2775 people live, in a ravine outside of Petion-Ville, there is only one latrine. Words don't do justice to the odor. Some residents prefer to use plastic bags. In addition, there is no access to treated drinking water. A single PVC pipe that had cracked offers some people a couple of buckets whenever the government turns on the tap for paying clients. Many people use the rainwater in the trash-filled ravine. Residents mentioned that NGOs had talked about installing a water system but up to now, almost seven months after the earthquake, it's still not here"
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