Haiti - Blog

30 January 2010

The past week has been one of action, courage and delivery for the Islamic Relief team in Haiti. Last Friday we became one of the first aid agencies on the ground to set up an organised camp for internally displaced people. This marked a dramatic shift from all the meeting, planning and strategising that has been taking place until now. Islamic Relief has given 100 homeless families a temporary tent home in Delmas, Port-au-Prince, and I cannot begin to convey what this means to them.

But the process has been far from easy. As the Islamic Relief order of 1,000 family size tents was not due to arrive for at least another five days, we were fortunate to source 100 tents from a Qatari search and rescue team. We booked two trucks from Handicap International and headed to the airport, and after a few hours of waiting the tents were released. However they weighed 75kg each, and there was just the truck driver and myself to unload all 100 pieces. It would have taken us many hours had it not been for the 20 American soldiers who agreed to help, and the job was done in less than half an hour.

Security here in Port-au-Prince has been an issue for aid workers and many have had to use armed escorts when delivering aid. We decided not to and I had the feeling that by the end of the day we would either achieve something amazing or expose ourselves to real danger. In setting up an organised camp we were not only attempting to do something that had not been done until now but we chose to do it differently. Rather than alienating people with a large security presence we chose to talk to them and ask them to work with us.

We invited the local mayor of Delmas municipality to accompany us to the site where we were hoping to set up the camp and had a meeting with local residents. The site was once a sports field but was now being used as makeshift camp by around 1,000 homeless people. We met with the residents, asked if they would listen to what we had to say and gave them a chance to express their concerns. The delays in aid getting through have caused real frustration and anger amongst the local population and occasionally this has led to ugly scenes of attacks on aid convoys and chaotic aid distributions. Therefore sitting with local people and asking them to listen to us was incredibly important, and an achievement in itself.

Islamic Relief’s Head of Mission, Moustafa Osman, told the camp residents exactly what we could provide to them and by when, and asked if they would like us to provide this help. Food, water and shelter are the most pressing needs of people here, and all the camp residents agreed to let Islamic Relief begin its work. However Moustafa also warned that fighting amongst residents was the one thing that would jeopardise the operation and fortunately they took note of this.

Over the next few days we managed to set up 90 tents without any major problems. We divided the site into 7x8 metre plots in five rows, leaving significant space between the rows. However the camp residents were currently living on much smaller plots that would not accommodate Islamic Relief’s 4x4 metre family size tents and this led to some disagreements amongst neighbours over 'ownership' of the plots. Fortunately we were able to resolve these and negotiate our way, tent by tent, although there were instances where things could have gotten quite out of hand.

When people lose their home and almost all their possessions, the little they have left can become very valuable. The small space that Haitian families have come to occupy since the day of the earthquake is all they have left and they have become very attached to it. It is no wonder that tensions are often high, and so to help diffuse them we ended each day by inviting residents to play football with the Islamic Relief team. This seemed to work wonders in improving relationships between us all, and took away some of the stresses of working more than 12 hours a day putting up tents and negotiating difficulties.

By the middle of the week, 900 people who lost their homes in the earthquake were now living in temporary shelter, and many of them thanked us for providing them with a ‘maison’ or ‘house’ in French. The tents are far from proper homes for these people but by referring to them as ‘houses’ it made me realise how important this space was to them. For the first time since the earthquake they were seeing some real progress in their situation, and it was helping them to turn a new leaf and drawn a line under what happened. A degree of hope seemed to be returning; hope that things will improve and that there are people who care about them.

Having set up the 90 tents we had a meeting with the residents and Moustafa asked if they were happy with what we had provided them. They all broke out into applause. The smiles on their faces where amazing and suddenly all the long hours and hard labour in high temperatures seemed insignificant in comparison to what we had achieved.

Back at the UN base where we were staying, many aid workers approached us and praised Islamic Relief for leading the way; and for moving decisively from discussion to action. The spirit of cooperation amongst those working here is very encouraging and we certainly could not have achieved what we did without the help and support of others.

In the coming days we hope to set up more tents as soon as they arrive, including another 15 in the camp where some families are still waiting to be given their ‘maison.’ Amongst those still waiting is Briere Abraham, a headteacher whose school collapsed in the earthquake. Briere told me that although he managed to escape, his wife was not so fortunate. She was 25 years old, and also a teacher at the school. She was killed instantly when the school building collapsed. Briere managed to get her body out from under the rubble but has not been able to give her a proper burial because he has no money.

Briere lost his house and all his belongings in the earthquake and is now living in the makeshift camp with his three year-old son, Wawa. He told me that Wawa is suffering from fever because their makeshift tent provides no protection from the elements.

Although Briere has not yet received a tent from Islamic Relief he went out of his way to help us in the negotiations when we were organising the camp. He repeatedly expressed his thanks to Islamic Relief for coming to the aid of the Haitian people in their hour of need. As I left Briere I prayed that our donors who have been very generous so far will continue to dig deep in their pockets and donate to the Islamic Relief and DEC Haiti appeals, so that we can extend our support to Briere, Wawa and thousands of other homeless families in Port-au-Prince.

24 January 2010

So much has been happening these last three days that there has not been a moment to write or reflect. Our relief work has really taken off and we are reaching people with desperately need food, water and shelter.

On Thursday the Islamic Relief team worked with local volunteers to distribute food to 2,500 people in the Canape Vert and Cite Soleil areas of Port-au-Prince. Packs of rice, beans, sugar and oil were distributed to families, ensuring they have enough food for the next two weeks.

One of those who received a food parcel from Islamic Relief food was Mohamamed Marwan, the imam of the Tawheed Mosque in Port-au-prince. When the earthquake struck, Imam Mohammad was on the second floor of a five-storey building. It was just after the asr afternoon prayer and the building began to sway from left to right. Suddenly it collapsed and he was pinned to the ground, trapped under the rubble. For a few moments there was silence, and he thought he was dead. Then he began to cough from the dust that filled the air, and he knew he was still alive.

Imam Mohammad could not feel any of his limbs, which were trapped under the rubble. He could not shout for help because the dust had filled his mouth and nose. Then, after a few minutes he could feel his hands and feet, and slowly began to move them. He managed to free his right hand, and then his left. He pulled himself out from under the debris and managed to free himself. He was covered in white dust but then noticed blood on his shirt and discovered that there was a big wound on his back and chest.

Imam Mohammed said that it was a miracle that he was still alive. He said it was as if he’d been given a new life. Now he faced the daunting task of rebuilding his life from scratch. The Islamic Relief food parcel was the first proper food he and his family had eaten since the day of the earthquake. It was the first help he had received and it gave him hope that after surviving the earthquake, he could also face the difficult days ahead.

19 January 2010

Yesterday I met Joanne, and I will never forget what she told me. Joanne is a chef by profession and she moved to Haiti from the US three months ago. I met her at a makeshift camp in Port-au-Prince, where many displaced, homeless people have gathered to seek refuge. In her arms was a newborn baby and as soon as she saw the Islamic Relief team she approached us hastily and asked if we had any clean water. She needed to add clean water to the baby’s formula milk but could not find any. I asked her the baby’s name and she said she did not know. The baby’s mother had died before she could give her child a name.

Joanne told me the baby boy was born the day before the earthquake. Both mother and baby were found alive but the mother died later from her injuries. Before dying, she asked Joanne to look after her baby. Now Joanne was desperate to feed the baby but did not know where she could find clean water. I will never forget the look of desperation in her eyes. As a father of two young boys, I could feel her pain and anguish.

Although we did not have any clean water to distribute yesterday, the Islamic Relief team went back to the camp today with two huge water tankers. Joanne and 200 families were given clean water, many of them for the first time in a week. With the water system in Port-au-Prince damaged by the earthquake, people have been forced to drink dirty, contaminated water. This water is extremely dangerous as it can lead to many diseases, with babies and young children particularly at risk. Islamic Relief is also planning to install around 40 water tanks in the city, and water tankers will go around twice a day to fill each tank. A single water tanker costs $100 (£65) here, and provides water to over 100 people.

One of the most pressing needs of the people after clean water and food is temporary shelter. Most of the people of Port-au-Prince are spending their nights in the open because their homes have either been destroyed or are too unstable to enter. They are using any materials they can get their hands on to create makeshift tents, like pieces of cloth tied to pieces of plastic.

Madame Emmanuel is one of the people I met living out in the open. She told me that her house had collapsed on top of her, her husband and her niece. Fortunately, the collapsed wall around her left a little gap where she was able to remain safe, but trapped with her husband who is blind. After spending a few hours under the rubble people from the neighbourhood heard her cries and came to their rescue. They had no rescue equipment but used hammers and hacksaws until they got her and her husband out to safety. Unfortunately her niece was not so fortunate. 22-year-old Emily was taking a shower when the earthquake struck and as she went to put on her clothes the walls and ceiling collapsed, and she died instantly.

Over the next few days, Islamic Relief is planning to distribute secure, waterproof, tents to house over 5,000 people. We promised Madame Emmanuel that we would do our best to provide her with temporary shelter as quickly as possible. Each of these family tents costs £300 and will bring much-needed shelter to people who are spending their days and nights without a roof over their heads.

We really are in a race against time to provide the people of Haiti with food, water and shelter. I am witnessing how they suffer every day and I hope our donors will give generously so we can help as many people as possible. People like the Madam Emannuel, who lost everything she had, and the unnamed baby in Joanna’s arms, who has been born into this terrible tragedy.

18 January 2010
As we entered Port-au-Prince the first thing we saw was a long queue of young men. I was told they were trying to apply for jobs at the UN. Then as we continued into the city it seemed as though the whole of Port-au-Prince was out on the streets. I asked Michele, a local who had agreed to guide us, why this was. He said it was because the houses were unstable and people feared they would collapse.

Michele knew all too well how real and tragic this could be. His young brother and two of his cousins died when their house collapsed on them. The school where Michele taught English also collapsed, and many of his students died.

I wondered how many other tragic stories were buried under the rubble that surrounded us. Only the rooftops were visible on entire buildings that had been flattened, no doubt crushing their inhabitants.

Many of those who were fortunate enough to survive have been made homeless. They have either set up shelters near their houses or congregated in open spaces in a kind of a makeshift camp. These people have lost almost everything they had. In Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, people save up all their lives in order to build a house for their families. Rebuilding these homes will be a priority for aid agencies like Islamic Relief once the emergency phase is over.

For now, people are desperate for help to meet their most basic needs. As we evaluated the destruction we noticed the number of people around us started growing rapidly and then suddenly a fight broke out between a young man and woman. They seemed to be fighting over something, and then others began running away with items, seizing the opportunity to loot.

The challenges of working with a community in such desperate need has made the Islamic Relief team even more committed to deliver aid as quickly and effectively as possible. Many international aid agencies here are coordinating their efforts, most of them from the airport which has become a kind of base camp for agencies.

As we set up our tents for the night I spoke to a French rescue worker who told me he had rescued a baby girl today, four days after the earthquake. He found the girl beside her mother, who had been crushed under a pillar. The impact of the collapsing pillar seemed to have thrown the baby away from her mother, and miraculously saved the baby’s life.

This heart-warming story was a welcome contrast to the tragedies I have witnessed in Port-au-Prince today. Tomorrow we hope to finish our needs assessment and start distributing emergency supplies. I know it will be a long day, and it will be a very long time before we can rebuild some of what has been lost here.

15 January 2010
Landed in Santo Domingo. The plane was full of various aid agency workers from USA, Finland, Switzerland and many other countries. The UN is trying to coordinate the different charities efforts from the airport and Islamic Relief has been registered.
The security situation is deteriorating, particularly at night as people are becoming more desperate for their basic needs and there are reports of aid conveys being looted.

I’ve been told that there has been a huge response in UK to the appeal with the DEC, of which Islamic Relief is a member agency, raising millions.  The people of Haiti are in desperate need for food, shelter, medicine and clean water. We are working hard to ensure that we respond as best as we can and we request your prayers and your continuing generous donations.

I haven’t slept for a whole day. I need to sleep. Tomorrow morning we are going to search ways in which we can safely access some of the worst affected areas.