Muslims Still In Haiti: Tough To Leave The Devastated
Place
28 March 2010
By Ilyas Hasan
Choudry
Lets' say for seven days in a row, you wake up to see
dire situation around you. When you woke up the eighth
day, you are going to take an airplane to a place,
almost like paradise on this earth, as compared to the
everyday anguish of the past seven days. But instead
of feeling happy to leave the devastated place, you
have this extreme lingering sadness inside; telling
that you should not leave. May be there is a way to
delay your departure and that you can stay for few
more weeks or may be months or even years, to see this
torturous place come out of the ruins.
This is what I felt on Sunday, March 15th, 2010, when
I went through a long queue for more than two hours to
aboard American Airlines Flight
1908 from
Port-au-Prince to
Miami
International Airport. I did not want to leave
my fellow Haitian human-beings in desperate situation,
while I had to begin my journey back to luxurious life
in USA. For the past seven days, I had to take cold
showers early in the morning (first time after 1987);
sharing one bathroom with six other persons, when on
few days suddenly realizing that I was the last of the
six and that there is very little water left for me;
got to eat rice & beans and for a change of menu, I
used to eat beans & rice the next day; fridge not
laden with food and Coke / Pepsi as electricity was
unpredictable and not strong enough for the fridge to
work. If it was not for immediate responsibility of my
own family in Houston and to earn a living for them, I
would have preferred to stay back in
Haiti, as so much is needed to be done there,
while we live in heaven on earth called USA.
World came out in a big way to respond to Haitian
crisis after the devastating earthquake of January
12th, 2010. Everyone has tried their best in the
manner they know to assist. But to be really honest,
the world has failed the Haitian people. I feel the
hype created about safety and security situation was
not appropriate. I drove & walked on the streets of
Haiti during these seven days, the Haitians that I
have seen on the whole are very nice hardworking
people and not threatening (especially after what they
had gone through). Provision of safety and security
are important things, but the way this fear of
insecurity was created and blown out of proportion, it
hampered the overall response and made several
agencies and NGOs to confine their services to few
thousands, the lucky ones who could reach the
so-called safe compounds, while real masses were
neglected.
Still there have been individuals and non-governmental
organizations, working independently or together with
the resources of international agencies like UNO,
UNICEF, etc. who have tried their best to provide food
and health services at grassroots levels in an
amicable manner. I am part of one of them called
"Helping Hand For Relief & Development (HHRD)". Visit
www.HHRD.Org for more details.
With the help of donors from USA, Canada, United
Kingdom,
Pakistan and elsewhere, HHRD has provided food
and healthcare services at rotational clinics in
various communities within Port-au-Prince (like Nazon,
Canapever, Leogane, Ave Lamartinier, Masjid Taweed,
Masjid Ya-Sin, Masjid AL-Fatiha, Masjid Allahu Akbar,
etc). Between
January
26 and March 19, 2010, HHRD in all have
organized 55 clinics, taking care of more than 11,000
Haitians, with the voluntary help of doctors from USA,
Turkey,
Bangladesh and of course Haiti (paid and
volunteer). After March 19, 2010, HHRD will work on
establishing some permanent clinics. Much more
donations are needed by HHRD to implement these near
and long term projects.
I was in Haiti from March 7 till 14, 2010 and was
appalled to see that two months have passed, but no
real effort has been done by the world community. Near
me, what was expected of the Governments of the world
was to bring necessary heavy machinery and equipment
into Port-au-Prince to remove the rubble. Two months
have passed and despite traveling east-&-west and
north-&south of Port-au-Prince, the number of heavy
machinery that I could see was about six (6). One can
go to Centerville (Downtown) Port-au-Prince and see
several five to eight story buildings leaning on one
side and can fall down onto the pubic anytime. There
is rubble all over the place. All the work that one
can see on the rubble is that people cutting the steel
and securing it for any future reconstruction work.
When Tsunami 2004-2005 & later on last year Earthquake
2009 came in
Indonesia and Earthquake 2005 came in Pakistan,
the action was swifter in removing debris and
rebuilding efforts started within one month or so. But
not in Haiti, where more than two months have passed
and genuine work to remove the rubble is far from
sight. Question is not why work was swiftly done in
Indonesia and Pakistan: Query is why not in Haiti: I
have no idea why??
I was most impressed to see the resilience of common
Haitians, who despite the world almost ignoring them,
are coming out every day in the morning, to earn their
living.
Marketplace is full of people, doing small
little businesses to survive and few seen begging.
Their high spirits need to be saluted.
Many small NGOs like HHRD are doing their little roles
at grassroots level as per their capacities, but they
usually get no or little attention of the media, and
as such are unable to reach out to larger audiences
and people to bring more and more assistance to the
common masses.
Like the next immediate need for Haitians is proper
shelter with rainy season coming in April 2010. HHRD
has come up with an unique idea of taking Youth during
their
Spring Break from USA, to work on a Shelter
Home Village project, where 100 wooden small homes are
being constructed in another devastated area called
Leogane, Haiti (35 miles west of Downtown
Port-au-Prince along Leogane Highway). These Shelter
homes will hopefully sustain the rainy season and
provide safe haven for three to five years. HHRD
contacts in the field for this and other projects are
Shahid Hayat
1-347-400-1899 and Saqib
Ateeque
1-609-575-7474.
For general public and/or organizations to participate
in this &
other projects as volunteers and generous donors,
details can be found
at www.HHRD.Org & www.MuslimsForHaiti .Org
As I write these lines, after a long time, we can see
a reassuring response from the world, when our very
own former US Presidents
George W. Bush and
Bill
Clinton are seen standing with
President
Rene Preval in front of the earthquake damaged
Haitian Presidential Palace. They are reassuring the
shattered Haitians that world has not forgotten them
10 weeks after the deadliest earthquake of modern
times. The still crushed Haitian Presidential Palace
with no work
being done on it in the past ten weeks, clearly show
that world has not done the real work of rebuilding
the Haitians'. Hopefully these words of the former
Presidents will bring a different response in the
right direction towards true recuperation &
reconstruction efforts and not merely handouts.
Otherwise the human spirit is very strong. Long-term
micro financing initiatives, physical rehabilitation,
and reconstruction of infrastructure work is needed:
Not merely a box of food here and there. Haitian
people together with the non-governmental entities,
including HHRD will continue to exert efforts and
rebuild a new Haiti soon, providing common human
beings worldwide with an opportunity to serve their
fellow Haitians and indeed all this will be possible
through the Grace of God.
* ILyas Hasan Choudry is a writer for various weekly
community publications like
The
Muslim Observer, Pakistan Chronicle & Pakistan
Journal and member of executive council of HHRD: Visit
www.MuslimsForHaiti .Org or call
832-275-0786
©
EsinIslam.Com
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