Devastated by Four Brutal Hurricanes, Haiti Targeted for Relief Efforts, Long-Term Help

Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and Associated Press


The numbers from the USAID paint a grim picture of devastation for the Caribbean island of Haiti, hit four times this year by hurricanes that further crippled communities already torn apart by years of food shortages and disease.

More than 330 people are dead, and another 50 are missing. About 11,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and another 35,000 are damaged following the most recent assault earlier this month by Hurricane Ike. Meanwhile more than 800,000 Haitians impacted by the storm seek food, clean water clothes and shelter.

Aid is beginning to flow to the island from the United States and other countries, relief organizations and individuals. And throughout Florida, Haitian relief organizations and radio stations are sponsoring drives to help thousands who once again are dealing with catastrophe following.

Through his organization Yele Haiti, Grammy Award-winning, Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean has established a Haiti Storm Relief Fund to provide food, water, purification tablets, tents, blankets, medical supplies, hygiene kits as well as funds to a number of non-profit organizations working on the ground to respond to the emergency.
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"My country is facing a serious catastrophe at the moment, and we urgently require assistance,” Jean said in a prepared statement. “But the long-term catastrophe is that we have less than 2 percent tree cover, and without restoring our forests, we will always be susceptible to mudslides and flash floods from storms and hurricanes."

Jean traveled to Haiti over the weekend with actor Matt Damon to help distribute food. Damon and Haitian-born singer Jean are encouraging more people to help the United Nations raise more than $100 million for the thousands left in dire circumstances by four devastating tropical storms and hurricanes.

The two stars arrived in the town of Cabaret, where hundreds of Haitians mobbed their SUV, raised their hands in the air and yelled, "Wyclef!" repeatedly, unsettling security guards.

Cabaret, north of the Haitian capital, had 60 residents die in flash floods, and hundreds were left homeless as Hurricane Ike grazed Haiti last week.

Jean's Yele Haiti charity is helping the World Food Program and the Organization of American States-affiliated Pan American Development Foundation distribute food to 3,000 families. The convoy visited a school shelter Sunday to hand out cooking oil and bags of beans.

Proud and tumultuous Gonaives is where Haiti declared independence from France in 1804 as the world's first black republic. Bloody 1985 protests led to the downfall of the father-son Duvalier dictatorship, and in 2004, a deadly march fomented the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Fears that unrest is simmering here has led U.N. officials to distribute food at night under Argentine soldiers' guard. Haitian officials have discussed building new settlements for vulnerable residents above the current city.

Once emergency aid started arriving four days after the storm, the U.N. agencies began ratcheting up food distributions to reach as many as 12,000 people a day. More than 120,000 people are in shelters in the Artibonite region, which includes Gonaives, desperate for water and food, the Haitian government reported.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a south Florida Democrat whose district includes a large Haitian immigrant population, led a group of lawmakers to the storm-ravaged island over the weekend to discuss relief with Haitian leaders.

“The unthinkable horror that happened in New Orleans is happening now in Haiti, but the recovery resources are all but nonexistent there. Our federal government must do more to help our neighbors,” Meek said in a statement provided to BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“Haiti is in a critical state. The food riots there earlier this year will pale in comparison to the turmoil Haiti could undergo in the coming weeks if fresh water, medical supplies, food and shelter are not provided to the Haitian people immediately,” Meek said. “President Preval has called this disaster Haiti's Hurricane Katrina, but for the fact that Haiti has been hit by four hurricanes in a span of weeks.”

Meek said conditions in Haiti are complicated by the fact that seven bridges in the country need repairing, so it’s difficult for humanitarian aid to get into the country. He and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus are calling on Congress to provide $300 million in emergency aid to Haiti.

Eric Yankwitt, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida lawyer and leader of that state’s Congress on Racial Equality, is one of many people working in south Florida to collect food and goods and ship them to Haiti.

“We’re sending food, bottled water and clothing and canned goods. We always need more, and we need more people to help pack what is collected so that it can be shipped,” Yankwitt told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“We have to be careful with canned goods because a lot of the Haitian people don’t trust the health benefits of canned goods, although that is the best way to ship goods at this time,” Yankwitt said.

Beyond this crisis, Yankwitt said his organization is working to help impact the island and Haitian-Americans long term.

“We have several events that help bring the community together and showcase the culture of Haiti,” he said. Those events include south Florida churches and other community organizations.

“The people of Haiti need our help,” he said. “Once others learn about the Haitian culture and get to know the people, they will be more willing to help. We help our neighbors.”