Settlements

Port-au-Prince is now a city where most people are sleeping outside at night (estimates put it at 80 percent of the residents). I drove back to our camp just after dark a couple of nights ago, rushing to meet our own night-time curfew. At street corner after corner, people had blocked access to their blocks by placing stones in the way. They didn't want vehicles rushing blindly in and injuring sleeping families. I looked up these blocks and saw winding ribbons of re-created bedrooms, demarcated with bedsheets and string, as far as my eyes could see in the dark. So many homes were destroyed or severely weakened, and the fear of aftershocks remains palpable.

Informal settlements have popped up wherever open space allows. ARC is working in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince, which is especially congested and limited in open areas. I've visited several settlements, and Haitians talk about wanting to stay connected to their neighborhoods, their homes, and any family and friends who remain alive. We've started a partnership with a small community-based organization called AES, Aimer Egal Servir (To Love = To Serve). Soon after the earthquake, they quickly identified settlements that they could help with resources from within their own community. We are working together to train leaders in the settlements to organize their sites and return to a more normal daily existence -- dedicated spaces for sleeping, cooking, hygiene, praying, children playing, and trash collection.

These are the seeds of recovery that, planted now, will build Haitians' self-confidence and enable them to take back control of their lives, rebuilding communities that reflect their values and vision of the future. It takes time and patience, which are precious commodities in the rush of goods and people arriving in the name of genuine caring throughout the world. But we must avoid further tragedy, on top of today's intense suffering, by stripping Haitians of their rightful role in decision making and recovery, today and into the future.