- ATD Fourth World

Concerning cholera, none of the families active in our Movement or any of the volunteers were directly concerned, but all of them know neighbors who caught it including some people who died, and others who, luckily for them, were able to make it to the hospital in time. We’ve seen people helping others, in spite of the fear of contagion, helping those who are alone or live far away, to go to a hospital or health-care center.
Everyone is being very careful, and our team participates in campaigns to spread information on how to resist this epidemic. At the Fourth World Home as well as at Pre-School and the Welcome Baby Home, any occasion is good to give information about this disease, such as how to prevent it with simple gestures, such as washing your hands often, and what to do if you have any symptoms. UNICEF distributed soap to families, but it was hard to find centers that supplied chlorine to treat water.

One volunteer told us: “Families say that they can fight off cholera, and that they are much more worried about mounting insecurity in the neighborhood. They are afraid for their children who are hiding or trying to escape…” And election times are always difficult and delicate ones. Those who live in the Grande Ravine neighborhood and would like to vote are afraid that when they leave to go to the Voting Center there will be crimes or violence back at home.

In the heart of all this life, our team is proud to have been able to be part of a meeting in Port au Prince where children of various organisations have song, dansed and plaid theater, for November 20, the International Day of Children’s Rights.

The current situation is forcing the Movement to continue supporting families from Port au Prince. There is solidarity on a daily basis between Haitians themselves. To continue surfing on the international solidarity wave that followed the January 12th earthquake, so that it is not just a small wave of compassion but actually leads into a true reconstruction project, governments of “rich” countries as well as their inhabitants must be questioned on their practices and experiences, while taking into account the lessons learned in Haiti. What do you mean by “emergency” and this roll out of exceptional resources if humanitarian aid still, eleven months after, has not reached the most fragile populations? This enables us to assess the limitations of countries that donated, and these countries must learn from this: they do not know how to do everything, and this action cannot succeed if these countries do not integrate those people concerned into their intervention process. We have heard that the US had promised to donate 35 billion dollars: will this promise be kept? What does the absence of coordination between the 65 donating States mean? What does suspicion and the refusal to work hand in hand with legitimate Haitian authorities mean, even when all that is left of this collapsed State, in every sense of the word, is just a symbol of emerging democracy? We cannot intervene in the name of the population and democracy because we do not respect the dignity of the Haitian people. And experience shows us that this is not only inefficient, but immoral!

Of course a part of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of Haitian leaders who, as in many different countries in the north as well as in the south, should have had a better idea of the reality that their populations live, and should have associated them in the reconstruction process of their town and of their country. This necessity belongs to them, as democracy will only be reconstructed by the entire population, and not just by a chosen few. But would it be really unfair to just have these leaders be accountable for the question, “What happened to the money that was donated?” Things are much more complicated than they seem, and the general public must be completely informed by other means than whistle-blowing that can lead to quick judgments, thus covering up the responsibility of donating countries as well as international organizations.