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NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > PORT-AU-PRINCE VASTLY IMPROVED AFTER QUAKE SHAKES THINGS UP IN HAITI
PORT-AU-PRINCE VASTLY IMPROVED AFTER QUAKE SHAKES THINGS UP IN HAITI
January 13 2010
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – Life has never been easy in Haiti. Born from a slave colony; dominated by the Spanish and later the French; subject to a massive invasion by U.S. forces; beset by the totalitarian regimes of the Duvalier family; and through all of that
standing as one of the poorest countries in the world. Now, just two years after a series of hurricanes swept through the country, a massive earthquake has hit the heavily populated capital, killing hundreds of thousands, destroying scores of buildings, and furthering the misery of the people.
Of course, things can only get better from here. Even as foreign aid continues to flood into the country and officials in the capital struggle to grapple with the devastation, the gold lining is already starting to become apparent. With much of the capital flattened, including the presidential palace, and beyond the piles and piles of body a new beam of sunlight is breaking through in ways it hasn’t in years. Already city planners are starting to see new possibilities for the city that had been so beset by ramshackle homes and collapsing buildings. While it will take much time to clear the debris from the streets, the freshly cleared land will finally allow for fresh developments the city has long needed.
“The devastation is incredible here, unimaginable really. Every building you see is collapsed or in the process of collapsing. There are bodies piled under tarps by the side of the road. The injured have no place to go and are waiting, covered in blood, for help that simply isn’t available. It’s as if hell erupted when the ground shook,” said Scrape TV Caribbean correspondent Feliz Capres. “It’s impossible to fully articulate the suffering we are seeing here and the massive chore that awaits emergency personnel throughout the city. This is of course made all the worse by the almost utter lack of infrastructure in place in the best of times in the country. It’s disaster on a level few people can imagine, truly.”
Because of the lack of the even the most basic elements of survival present in the country during boom times it’s believed that the death toll will rise dramatically in the coming days.
“I’ve been to Haiti many times and I can tell you that even before the quake it really was a rough place. There’s a reason these buildings fell down so readily, they were poorly constructed and barely maintained. Most of them looked like they were about to collapse even before the quake hit so it makes sense that they just spilled all over the street,” continued Capres. “Once we wade through all these injuries
and rotting bodies, there will be an incredible opportunity here to totally revamp the city in ways that simply wouldn’t have happened before. There just wasn’t the political or financial will before this because the buildings were still standing, they were good enough. Now, not so much and that will provide them with the need to completely redo the city.”
Home to almost three million people, at least before the quake, the capital has long been the centre of what little culture and government the country possesses.
“Obviously the first priority is taking care of the people here but it’s never too soon to 
start thinking about the future. The real difficultly is going to be changing the mindset of the people who will likely just want to rebuild with the rubble which would be the worst thing to do. What needs to happen is a clearing of these sites and new and solid buildings put in their place,” continued Capres. “Of course that will mean higher real estate prices and rental rates which means that a lot of people who lived in the city previously will not be able to return, but for those who can afford to stay things will be much better than they have ever been. A win for every one really.”
The Haitian government will be setting up a fund to help finance the rebuilding of the city.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
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