Story posted Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Haiti's Plight Overwhelming
By MAUREEN PEKOSH Contributing Columnist
Haiti is a country that few people gave much thought to until it began dominating the headlines recently. That is a sad comment on the international conscience because there are a lot of sorry statistics that define Haiti.
There are approximately 9.8 million people living in Haiti. They have an average life expectancy of 61 years. Fifty-five percent of the population lives below the international poverty line. This means, according to 2005 statistics, they lived on $1.25 a day or less. The average annual income is $240. Almost half the population is undernourished. Given our recent economic downturn, we are uneasy with an unemployment rate exceeding 10%. Unemployment in Haiti is closer to 80%. Less than half the population can read and write. Over half the population is under age 18. The rate of premature death for children under age five is alarmingly high. Many children die from dehydration, diarrhea, or malnutrition. There are few paved roads, insufficient clean drinking water, and the natural forests are quickly being depleted because of a lack of energy sources. Because of the increase in HIV/AIDS, tourism has dropped and the main source of income for Haiti is foreign assistance. This was the picture before the devastating earthquake and its countless aftershocks devastated an already devastated country.
A local group of healthcare providers and volunteers traveled to Haiti in an attempt to help reverse some of those alarming statistics pre-earthquake. They were part of a ministry that has taken little steps to make a big difference in a small area of Haiti relatively close to Port au Prince. The organization has built a road in and out of the town so people who mainly live by agriculture can sell more of what they are able to grow. They have built concrete houses to replace the grass huts. They have brought medicine and vitamins to help the residents deal with their worms, scabies, parasites, high blood pressure, and diabetes. They bring glasses, peanut butter, and much needed medicines. People walk for days to come to the clinic and receive basic care, education, even surgery. These local volunteers were going to help, in whatever way they could, people living in a little corner of the world that is largely forgotten. Then the earthquake hit.
I cannot even pretend to imagine what it must have been like. I know it is too painful for these brave volunteers to relive at this time. With time, prayer, and patience, they may one day be able to deal with what they saw and what they could and couldn't do for the victims of this earthquake who desperately turned to them for help. They didn't come prepared to deal with children crushed by falling buildings. They didn't come expecting to see people missing body parts but thankful to be alive. They didn't expect to hear the music from a funeral in the background while they were trying to help save lives. They didn't expect to be breaking brooms and tearing scrubs to create makeshift splints. They didn't expect to suddenly be faced with the utter hopelessness countless Haitians faced when they lost what little they owned, or worse those they loved. They didn't expect to be making news; they just wanted to make a difference in a few people's lives.
People have opened their pocketbooks for Haiti. Doctors are flocking to Haiti to provide much needed medical attention. Individuals are racing to do what the local volunteers have been doing for years, filling a gaping need. Sadly, it took an earthquake of unprecedented strength to awaken this sense of service in most of us.
Currently there may be an excess of doctors on hand given the limited resources in Haiti. Hopefully this will not discourage other physicians from traveling to Haiti in the future as these broken people will need a lot of time and attention to fully heal. I have been solicited to make a donation to the needy in Haiti numerous times in various manners in the past week, at church, at soccer, and on-line to name the few that come to mind. But already news headlines have moved on to a plane crash, upcoming elections, and failed celebrity relationships. The people of Haiti will need to be topmost in our minds for longer than their story holds news appeal.
The earthquake has highlighted a country where the living conditions have been unacceptable for a long time. Because of the magnitude of the poverty, illiteracy, and, malnutrition, the need has always been overwhelming. It just wasn't on that many people's radar screens until the recent earthquake put it there.
I will never be able to rationalize why so many people had to be hurt and killed from this disaster. Yet perhaps because of the scope of the destruction, people will finally take responsibility for giving the people of Haiti the kind of attention and help they have always needed and deserved. People in Haiti aren't worried about health care reform; they are worried about getting basic health care. They are not worried about wearing the latest styles; they are just concerned with having clothes to wear. People in Haiti are not faced with a decision of what to make for dinner tonight; they are faced with is there enough food to ensure my family will eat tonight?
Maybe because of this earthquake and the attention it has brought to the plight of the everyday life of the predominant number of Haitian residents, infrastructure will be built that will not just make earthquake aid possible, but that will be a true investment in Haiti's future. Perhaps now that international attention is focused on Haiti, much needed and long awaited changes will finally be made.
The United States has started building much-needed infrastructure in Haiti. Aid can come into the country because the airport runway and control tower have been made functional. Yet most of the capital sounds like it is still lying in ruins. There is still no final count of how many people died because of this earthquake. People were sleeping in the streets for fear of their damaged and unstable houses falling around their heads with yet another aftershock. They were also sleeping in the streets because they had nowhere else to sleep. At least it is warm in Haiti.
The local group of volunteers who traveled to Haiti is proof that change can be made to improve life in Haiti. The task is surely daunting given the destruction and death brought by the earthquake. But now that we are all sympathetic to their plight, let's not give them back what they had; let's work together to give them what they really should have had all along.
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