dagblog - Comments for "Haiti's reconstruction lessons are found on the other side of the world"

Edwidge Danticat: A year and

artappraiser — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 04:46:28 +0000

In reply to Haiti's reconstruction lessons are found on the other side of the world

Edwidge Danticat: A year and a day

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/01/17/110117taco_talk_danticat

And this from Marcus Baram, a

we are stardust — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:05:52 +0000

In reply to Haiti's reconstruction lessons are found on the other side of the world

And this from Marcus Baram, a fresh look for those who love to blow sunshine up Bill Clinton'n bottom:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/07/haiti-earthquake-anniversary-little-progress_n_806042.html

Critics question funds raised

artappraiser — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:11:06 +0000

In reply to Haiti's reconstruction lessons are found on the other side of the world

Critics question funds raised for Haiti (2nd of 3 parts)

By Frances Robles, crline, Miami Herald, January 9, 2010

....the absence of construction cranes and stalled progress on major projects such as hospitals and schools has many people wondering: Where did all that money go? The short answer: Keeping people alive.

It went to employing Haitians in short-term low-paying jobs, providing tents and tarps, and supplying food for four months. It paid for amputations, vaccinations of a million people and rubble removal.

But Haitians, watch dog groups and other critics complain that much of the money raised went toward foreigners' salaries, expensive vehicles or sits in the bank waiting for projects to get moving....

International nonprofit organizations spent $1,500 per person last year on tents, shelters, latrines, showers, water and medical services for the 1.5 million people like Siane who lost their homes or left them after the earthquake.

With at least 810,000 people still living in 1,150 ad hoc settlements a year after the devastating quake, Haitian government officials and leading humanitarian organizations say they are burning through donations at a furious pace even with about 60 percent of the $1.3 billion Americans contributed still unspent....

One Year After Earthquake,

artappraiser — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:43:49 +0000

In reply to Haiti's reconstruction lessons are found on the other side of the world

One Year After Earthquake, Haiti Still in Ruins
By Jeff Swicord, from Port-au-Prince, VOA News, January 9, 2011
....the recent first-round of the presidential election is under investigation for fraud.

Only an estimated five percent of the capital’s rubble has been cleared....

The camps are also increasingly dangerous, particularly for women. According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, violence against women and sexual assaults are on the rise.

As we were leaving Jacques Pierre's tent, 20-year-old Manuella Laurent walked up to us. Upset and angry, she said two young men just put a knife to her throat and took the food coupons she was given by an aid organization....

Down with Preval they chant. They march through the streets picking up more protesters block by block....

Former Port-Au-Prince mayor and opposition leader Evans Paul also blames the Preval government and the political process for the lack of progress. We met him in the yard of what was his very large house on top of a hill overlooking the city. The house, now a pile of rubble, was destroyed in the quake. He was trapped in the rubble for 30 minutes before being rescued.

"The first problem is there is a major mismanagement problem. Instead of the government trying to work toward solving the problems the people face, they are consumed with trying to hold on to power," says Paul.....

Others say it is not that simple. ....