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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
'No one has come to help': Desperate Haitians rush aid convoys after quake
by AFP Staff Writers
Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Aug 21, 2021

Quake-hit Haiti's PM vows elections 'soon as possible'
Washington (AFP) Aug 20, 2021 - Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry pledged Friday to organize elections as soon as possible despite the devastation of last week's earthquake, in a nation still reeling from its president's assassination.

Henry acknowledged that the international community views with concern the Caribbean country's "chronic" political instability, including the killing of president Jovenel Moise in July.

"I am committed to doing everything in my power to put my country back on the rails of a functioning democracy with the organization as soon as possible of free and transparent elections," he told the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Last week, before a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and killed nearly 2,200 people, the provisional electoral authorities had said that the first round of the presidential elections, initially scheduled for September, would be held on November 7.

Delayed legislative elections and a constitutional referendum that Moise supported, postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, are set for the same day.

Moise, who was gunned down in his home, had been ruling by decree after the 2018 legislative elections were postponed, and disputes arose over whether his term should end in February 2021 or 2022.

His slaying shook a country already battling poverty, spiraling gang violence and Covid-19.

Survivors of Haiti's devastating earthquake looted an aid convoy Friday as the impoverished Caribbean nation scrambled to roll out a relief effort haunted by the chaotic response to past natural disasters.

The mobbing of relief supplies and tumultuous handouts underscored the desperation in the wake of last week's powerful tremor, which killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed or damaged over 130,000 homes.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake robbed tens of thousands of Haitians of everything they owned in a matter of seconds, with the hunt for necessities like clean water and food now a daily struggle for many.

And while humanitarian convoys have begun distributing aid, the quantities have been insufficient and those tasked with delivering supplies often lack logistical expertise.

Chaotic scenes were captured by an AFP photographer Friday in Les Cayes, one of the hardest-hit cities, as bags of rice were handed out to clamoring crowds.

Looters were able to storm one of two supply trucks before law enforcement intervened, according to the photographer, with the remaining goods haphazardly handed out at the local police station.

Desperate Haitians have had to rely on the generosity of their neighbors and relatives, many of whom have little to spare.

"I have a friend who came from (the capital) Port-au-Prince to bring me water and food and I shared that with my neighbors. He also gave me some clothes," said Marcel Francois, a father of two who was dragged from the rubble in the wake of the quake after three hours buried under concrete.

From the ruins of his house on the road connecting Les Cayes to the airport, he now has a front-row seat to the recovery effort.

"I see a lot of authorities marching, processions of officials with their sirens and big cars from NGOs. Aid trucks also pass, but there has been nothing arriving for me," the 30-year-old said.

- 'No one has come to help us' -

Even before last week's powerful earthquake, Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries, was wracked by mounting Covid-19 cases and a political crisis that culminated last month with the assassination of president Jovenel Moise.

The nation is also still reeling from the 2010 earthquake that rattled the capital and killed over 200,000.

More than 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless by that disaster, and scores of survivors spent years living in tents contending with a deadly cholera epidemic, despite billions of dollars in foreign donations and pledged aid.

In an echo of that earlier tragedy, officials have tried to once again buoy optimism with promises to "build back better".

"We have seen an incredible moment of unity in the response to the earthquake, so we believe that this can be turned into an opportunity to rebuild towards the better," UN deputy chief Amina Mohammed said Friday after a 24-hour visit.

But the lofty promises ring hollow to victims of the latest crisis to plague Haiti.

Though humanitarian workers have warned against repeating the mistakes that hampered the 2010 response, tent cities are already appearing across vacant lots in urban centers.

And while Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has promised to organise elections as soon as possible, ordinary Haitians are anxious to start receiving aid.

"We live a miserable life," Wilford Roosvelte, a survivor of the earthquake, told AFP from a football stadium full of tents.

"The ground is flooded because of the rain. This is where people sleep. No one from the authorities has come to help us."


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes


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