The early recovery in Haiti

Citation

Ritchie, L. (2010), "The early recovery in Haiti", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2010.07319dab.003

The early recovery in Haiti

Article Type: News items From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 19, Issue 4

By official declaration, as well as most media accounts, the emergency following the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti is over. For several weeks, the Haitian government and humanitarians have been addressing “early recovery.”

According to the OneResponse web site:

Early recovery in Haiti is a multi-dimensional process that establishes the foundations for longer term reconstruction and development by supporting and generating self-sustaining processes for post-crisis recovery, planning and financing.

Whatever you call it, the situation in Haiti is a tragedy. More than a million people are displaced. Hundreds of thousands are without adequate shelter as the hurricane season looms. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are struggling to provide food, water, and other services to survivors. Health issues – particularly for those living in camps or tent cities – are a growing concern. Almost four months after the quake, mental health matters are also demanding attention.

The list of earthquake-related concerns in Haiti is long, represented in part by the nine clusters established by the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee in 2005: protection; camp coordination, and management; water sanitation and hygiene; health; emergency shelter; nutrition; emergency telecommunications; logistics; and early recovery.

These are in addition to the clusters specific to post-earthquake Haiti: agriculture; Dominican Republic response to Haiti; education; and protection. Add to this, the necessity of addressing these topics in culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable way. It makes for a daunting task for even the most seasoned NGO personnel.

Thankfully, the research with which I am involved is more focused – on issues regarding decision making and implementation of temporary housing in Haiti.

I have travelled to Haiti three times since the earthquake, spending a total of about six weeks there. Most recently, we received word that the Natural Hazards Center has been awarded a National Science Foundation Grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID). This will allow us to continue our efforts to understand how people on the ground in Haiti are dealing with the complexity of the post-earthquake housing situation and to address critical gaps in our knowledge of post-disaster housing.

After dozens of meetings, my initial observations concur with a number of findings from the limited previous studies on the temporary housing phase of disaster recovery. Among these are limited pre-planning efforts, ad hoc decision making, the challenge of providing housing following urban disasters, and the influence of pre-disaster inequities on post-disaster housing.

While in Haiti, particularly as I visited various camps, I have been in a position to witness challenges associated with post-disaster housing circumstances that are culturally inappropriate or that are disruptive to prior social arrangements. I have also observed situations in which culture and prior social networks are being examined as housing options are considered. That there are common housing-related themes should not overshadow the fact that Haiti is a country with distinct regional characteristics. My experiences in populous Port-au-Prince have been different from those in Jacmel, with a pre-earthquake population of 49,000. I liken the differences between these two locations to that of New York City and a smaller US mid-Western community. It is not just the scale of post-disaster issues that is different, but their nature. These qualities are based on local culture rather than on some homogeneous characterization of an entire nation. Generalizations should be made with caution prior to data collection and interpretation.

The Haitian people I have met are trying to move past the gwo bagay – Creole for the “big thing.” It is a tough thing to do because reminders of the quake are everywhere. Yellow and red markers label hundreds of thousands of unsound homes, schools, and businesses awaiting repair or demolition. Rubble is piled on and along roads. Tent cities are crammed onto every available spot of land, spilling over into the countryside.

I will return to Haiti later in May. I have been extremely fortunate to witness firsthand the efforts of many Haitians to survive, adapt, and move into what the world is calling early recovery following the earthquake.

My concern now is not allowing a slide into complacency. More specifically, I hope that what is intended to be temporary post-disaster housing does not – as has happened in the past in other disaster settings – become permanent. I am anxious to see, as are many Haitians, the extent to which global support, interest, and early recovery activities evolve into long-term, sustainable recovery efforts that foster resilience.

Liesel RitchieNatural Hazards Center, Early Recovery in Haiti