Update from the Haitian Health Foundation
January 22, 2010 Earthquake Update
As survivors pour out of Port au Prince, Haiti, the epicenter of the catastrophic earthquake, the long journey to their childhood homes begins. Many individuals—broken, bruised, mourning, and sometimes carrying the caskets of loved ones they cannot bear to bury in mass graves—have begun the 108-mile journey on foot through the mountainous regions of the Grand'Anse region. An overloaded boat arrives in Jérémie shortly after dawn, filled with people fleeing Port-au-Prince.
"There is no way to overstate the importance of Port au Prince," asserts a West Hartford, CT, intern with Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) in Jérémie, capital of the Grand'Anse. The graduate student continues, "Everyone—everyone—has friends and relatives in the city.
The Difficult Trip Home
Four days after the disaster, the first group of survivors began arriving home. Those who are fortunate enough to ride—a mix of the shocked and injured—are packed together in trucks for a 14-hour journey. Even in these transport vehicles, accidents and breakdowns on the steep and narrow passes have occurred, further endangering those who have already suffered so much. Still, they are the lucky ones, as others have died while walking.
Haitians who secured passage by sea manage a 100-mile journey by boat to the port of Jérémie. Even that route is perilous, as the thousands waiting for the ferry in Port au Prince learned when the wharf further collapsed in Wednesday's 5.9 magnitude aftershock. In their haste to get home, as many as 3,000 have packed themselves into a 600-person capacity craft.
HHF Providing Relief
The Haitian Health Foundation is helping displaced families with emergency relief, medical care, and food. Those coming to Jérémie are not only from Port au Prince, but from other areas affected by the earthquake. Already thousands have made the journey—4,500 more yesterday alone by boat—and HHF expects tens of thousands more to arrive during the coming weeks. The process of re-integrating these families is a monumental task requiring the cooperation of many local and international organizations, such as Croix Rouge Hatienne and MINUSTAH (UN). Additional assistance is expected from other organizations, but the focus for most continues to be on Port au Prince.
Thousands More Expected
Research shows that the largest migration of workers into Port au Prince came from the Grand'Anse region. Unable to support their families in an area with no industry, they had been forced to live and work in Port au Prince and send money home. Now they are out of work.
"This is heartbreaking," says a somber Dr. Jerry Lowney, president and founder of HHF. "We have been a presence in Haiti for 28 years. We employ 200 Haitians—nurses, doctors, technicians, teachers—in our service to this area. I have known many of them since they were infants."
In Jérémie, the earthquake caused rural houses to crumble. Food is becoming scarce, fuel is running out, and people are afraid to sleep, especially in cement buildings. More than one week after the earthquake, many still don't know the fate of their loved ones. An area with overburdened resources is experiencing an influx of tens of thousands of refugees.
"We need help, and a lot of it," states Dr. Lowney. "The most important thing right now is getting food to Jérémie. If relief agencies can get it there, we have the place to store it. We already have secure warehouses in Jérémie and our compounds there are large enough to build more."
