Thinking back on a struggling nation — Port-au-Prince, Haiti

In January 12, 2010, an already impoverished Port-au-Prince Haiti, the nation’s capital, was devastated by the effects of a catastrophic earthquake that measured in at a 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale.

In the days following the earthquake Haitian officials were reporting that thousands have been killed - possibly more than 100,000 - although a confirmed death toll has not been established.

While many are sitting and watching, helplessly, as the death toll rises in Port-au-Prince following this devastation, many organizations and agencies are ramping up efforts to collect dollars and supplies to assist the surviving victims that are searching for direction - and some still searching for loved ones.

Locally, Fred Trzcinski from the Tioga United Way has established a special fund to aid the residents in Haiti. According to Trczinski, two of their Member Agencies - the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army - will receive these funds to assist in their efforts.

"Each of these organizations has an international reach and they are currently active in delivering assistance," said Trczinski. He noted that donations may be made by mail or in person to the Tioga United Way office located at 24 State Route 96; Owego, NY 13827. He added that those donating should write the word Haiti on their check memo line.

Trczinski also noted that donors may also choose to donate directly to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army by visiting their websites at www.salvationarmy.org or www.redcross.org.

But the news that has been saturating the nation following the earthquake, and the stories of heartache and devastation being told reminds me of an experience of my own in Port-au-Prince Haiti, and my first-hand account of the devastation that ripped the nation during my own deployment in 1994.

At that time there was civil unrest in the nation, and the military was called in for what was initially an invasion - but soon to become a humanitarian effort.

Serving as a correspondent at that time for the Department of Defense, I was covering the news extensively in Port-au-Prince in 1994, and was able to learn about the nation, the island’s infrastructure, and was witness to the devastation that Hurricane Gordon had on the people who resided there.

My assignment in Port-au-Prince Haiti also led to my first experience of working with people who struggled daily with finding clean water to drink, shelter for themselves and their families, and even the basic need of having food to eat.

Port-au-Prince is a very populated part of the Haitian island, and serves as the nation’s capital. With no apparent infrastructure in place on the island, driving at that time was difficult as there were no traffic signals or lights, and most of the roads that would carry essentials such as food and water were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Gordon and mudslides created by Tropical storms.

Much of the Port-au-Prince population lacked food, shelter and water at that time, with residents using creativity to turn cardboard boxes into shelter for themselves and their families.

While working with a local missionary that was living in Haiti, I was able to visit the few schools that existed in the city of Port-au-Prince, and was shocked when I saw the lack of supplies and materials that educators possessed to work with their students. Most schools merely had four walls and were constructed with dirt floors.

Because of the high prevalence of E. coli bacteria throughout much of the city’s drinking supply, water was scarce, and the residents most typically bathed after a heavy rain in trenches that were dug on the sides of the roads to divert water.

Makeshift slaughter houses were also commonplace on the side of the road where residents would take their goats for slaughter. And with goats being one of the primary sources of meat for most Haitian residents, their feeding of grass and vegetation had depleted much of the mountainsides - resulting in a higher risk for mudslides when heavy rains came through.

But it was also in 1994 that I witnessed the damage and devastation of Hurricane Gordon - a Category 3 hurricane that hit the island of Haiti in November of that year and killed approximately 1,122 people.

Working on a higher elevation above the main road located in Port-au-Prince, I recalled the hurricane, and how I stayed inside our makeshift office in an abandoned warehouse for three days until the hurricane subsided.

When the storm was over I went out to the edge of the compound to look down at the main street, and remember seeing the water that was flowing through the city. The once crowded street where people massed, and livestock wandered looking for something to eat, now looked like a deep flowing river.

Wandering further from the compound I was able to see some of the destruction, and recall how the homes - which were built on bare hillsides and constructed of clay or bricks - had literally slid far from their foundations.

Further down the road, bodies of the deceased were placed on top of each other in boxes, waiting for family members to arrive and claim them.

And although this account was from a catastrophe that was of much lower proportions than the earthquake that rocked the small nation on Jan. 12, it is one that remains etched deep in my memory as I listen to and read about the current struggles taking place in Port-au-Prince.

But one thing I can say is that the residents of Port-au-Prince have spent many years learning to survive, and that they are a resilient nation. Following the hurricane in 1994, I traveled with the Corps of Engineers as they surveyed infrastructure on the island with efforts to rebuild.

I also watched as professionals from prominent universities like Cornell arrived to conduct studies on how to build stability for the nation such as reforestation of vegetation.

And the biggest thing that clearly stands out in my memory is the people of the island. A man named Henry that I met while on the island had a very large family that he struggled to feed. With assistance from members of the U.S. military, I was able to find Henry a small plot of land near the makeshift military base where he could sell wood carvings that he was making of various animal depictions and canes.

A grateful Henry had tears well up in his eyes when he was told the news that he could sell his items near the military base, and was forever grateful for the few dollars he was able to bring in to feed his family. And like Henry, many of the people on the island lived simply, and were very appreciative to receive help in the smallest forms - even if it was a meal.

The people of the island were very much happy, with less. It is hoped that the outpouring of donations that will reach this tiny island will brighten the smiles of this appreciative nation, and will help lighten the burden of the survivors as they begin to recover from this disaster. My personal prayers - for this grateful nation.

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