It Takes Time to Process (by Karen Fyles)

Prior to this trip to Haiti, I viewed many pictures and even first-hand video of the quake devastation. I talked with people who had visited Haiti soon after the tragedy and with a Haitian friend who was here at the time. None of that really prepared me for the magnitude of the situation. Having now spent three days here, I can only say I am still processing. We have spent hours driving through towns and countryside, and the damage goes on and on. Evidence of this catastrophic quake is everywhere. Tent camps dot the landscape. Some are well organized, sporting new tarps and tents, even lights in the evening. Others are put together from what can be found: sticks, sheets and blankets create a makeshift shelter. As the rainy season approaches, I can only imagine the misery of living in a blanket shelter.

In Camp Thor, the wood and sheet metal shelters are going up. Optimism is evident. Young men fill and carry buckets of rock and earth to create the raised floors. The carpenter and workers are busy building. After only a few days, people are moving in. These shelters, the size of a garden shed, are luxurious when compared with those in which people of the camp are currently living.

Food and water are a constant need. Current aid is short term and often intermittent. While aid is allowing people to survive in the short term, one can only wonder at the long term solutions. Haiti’s problems are complex.

Resiliency is evident here. Children keep busy building kites. Schools are not in session. Town centers are lined with stalls of fruit, veggies, grilled chicken, live chickens, ducks and turkeys, shoes, auto parts, newly cut sticks for shelter supports, whatever can be found to sell. Rubble piles line the streets as buildings are dismantled. Teams of workers making $5 a day cart rubble in wheelbarrows. Some rebuilding has begun. Life continues.

Haiti's problems are monumental. I feel conflicted about the role of the global community in providing aid. Haitians undeniably need help and will continue to need support for years to come. What that support looks like depends on your perspective. I feel priviledged to have had the opportunity to see first-hand Haiti's state of affairs. Haitian's are passionate, hospitable people who exhibit a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I am still processing how we can best help.