Who in the name of God is in charge?
The Irish Daily Star
02/02/10
THE easiest way to describe
the international response to humanitarian disasters is to imagine
a giant octopus flaying about without a head. Because the tentacles
are in constant motion there is a perception that things are being
done; but a closer look reveals what we are seeing is movement not
meaningful action.
On the ground in Haiti the pace of activity is frantic, but as usual
it has been impossible to keep pace with the problems. The power
of nature to destroy always seems to surprise us but in many ways
the ability of man to compound a disastrous situation is even more
shocking.
According to President Rene Preval 20,000 commercial premises and
225,000 homes have been completely destroyed, that’s not taking
account of the hospitals, schools, roads and the broader damage
to the country’s infrastructure. The quake struck with the
force of a hammer to a glass.
We know that there is a dire emergency; we also know that despite
the outstanding efforts of aid agencies on the ground – GOAL
is feeding 15,000 people and every other NGO on the scene is working
around the clock – but the truth is, all of our efforts combined
would still not be nearly enough such is the level of need.
Massive disasters demand massive global responses. The world needs
an emergency rapid response force ready to be dispatched when catastrophe
strikes. We are facing the third week since the quake, the world’s
media is already packing up and moving on to the next big story;
the worry is that Haiti’s nightmare will soon be forgotten.
The chaotic scenes from the country continue; starving people fight
to be fed, the camps are dangerously overcrowded and there is shamefully
no over-arching chain of command with authority to take control.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that
between 900,000 and 1.1 million people are in acute need of emergency
shelter, most of them in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
"We cannot come up with tents for up
to 700,000 people - we simply do not have them at hand," explained
a UN spokesman. Providing shelter for the hundreds of thousands
of Haitians displaced is one of the biggest challenges for the aid
community. Providing security for aid, and sanitation in the camps
to contain the spread of disease, is also becoming critical.
On the ground the situation is quite pathetic;
Haitians continue to take shelter huddled under sheets, blankets
and curtains, often in unsanitary conditions. Bad as this is, the
situation is certain to get much worse with the rainy season due
to start in April. This will be followed by the hurricane season;
so we are losing the unequal race against time to arrange proper
accommodation.
An immediate priority will be to assist the
thousands living in ramshackle settlements until there are enough
tents on the ground. "Tents are a three-five month option in
the midst of the dry season. But emergency and transitional shelter
solutions to last at least two years need to be found before the
heavy rains arrive in a few months," said Vincent Houver, IOM
chief in Haiti.
In many devastated areas heavy equipment
is still needed to bulldoze the ground so more camps can be set
up. Surveyors and engineers are desperately needed to ensure camps
have adequate drainage and sanitary conditions, but who is to provide
them?
As is always the case, it is the women and children who are hit
hardest. At least 10,000 pregnant women affected by the disaster
will give birth in the next month. Around 1,500 will face life-threatening
complications during their deliveries, which will be more dangerous
than usual because of the lack of health facilities and clean water.
Once more the burning question is; who is to take responsibility?
The country’s inadequate health service has been practically
wiped out.
The Irish people, like other nations, have opened up their hearts
to help the people of Haiti in there hour of most desperate need.
I would implore our Government to channel this wave of compassion,
and to drive a global campaign to get the UN to fill the leadership
vacuum that is exacting such a toll on the world’s impoverished.
The world has no structure or entity to which it can entrust the
handling of a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe. Yet when there
is a security issue, or a strategic interest is threatened; there
is no delay in organizing a fully-equipped UN mission. Once more
it would appear that when the lives of the poor are on the line
the appetite for international action is never matched by a meaningful
global intervention that could potentially save millions of lives.
Despite the massive casualty figures and the horrendous tolls taken
by disasters both man-made and natural, the “global community”
refuses to learn the lessons. For 32 years visiting heart-wrenching
scenes on behalf of GOAL, I have found myself asking the same question:
“Who in the name of God is in charge?”
The people of Haiti deserve an answer.
- John O'Shea
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