Monday, July 12, 2010

Lest we forget ...

It's been six months since the horrific events of January 12th.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Merismo Vital carries a bucket full of debris out of a destroyed house in the Fort National neighborhood on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
 

It has been slow going. Only two per cent of the pledges made in March, when the memories were still fresh, have been fulfilled.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Women gather water from a water station at the Corail-Cesselesse camp on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The camp was set up to house people who wanted to move from the much more crowded camp at the golf course in Petionville. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


Shamefully (but sadly not unexpectedly) CARICOM is not amongst those donor countries that have fulfilled their pledge promises. Not a penny of the $8,097,166 promised has been paid out as yet, according to www.refondation.ht, the official site tracking the reconstruction efforts.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: A woman passes by the window of a shack with a view of the destroyed National Palace on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


So, don't forget.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Dump trucks crowd the streets in the Bel-Air on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


Don't forget that miles of roads are still blocked with rubble.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: A boy rides his bicycle past the entrance to the Santo 17 camp on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The planned camp was constructed to house people who wanted to move out of other, more crowded camps that arose in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


Don't forget that 1.5 million people are still homeless.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Esther Paul teaches her students at a school in a tent put up by Plan International on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


But also, don't forget that Haitians are some of the strongest people on the planet. And if any people can survive such a horrific event, it is the Western world's first black republic.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Berthomy Aspilaire gives his son Douby, age 1, a bath outside their tent on Champs de Mars, directly across from the destroyed National Palace, on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)


Ayiti leve. Ayiti kanpe.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - JULY 12: Bony Jeanbatise checks if the wall he is building is level on July 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Six months after an earthquake killed an estimated 230,000 people, many Haitians are struggling to rebuild their lives. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

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