Post-Earthquake School Days in Haiti

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One Year Later: Haiti’s Devastating Earthquake Leaves Permanent Scars

Asma Yousef, media relations representative for Islamic Relief USA, is in Haiti for the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the island nation. She is blogging and tweeting about her trip and IR USA’s work in Haiti.

I awoke at 6:00 a.m. today to the sound of street noises of children rushing to catch their school buses. In retrospect, I needed to have an early start in anticipation of Haiti’s notoriously unpredictable traffic jams. Our agenda included visiting three camps set up by Islamic Relief in Port-au-Prince: Parc Saint Clair, Acra Nord and Yasin Camps. The people we met were incredible, and their stories eye opening.

The first to greet us at every camp are the children. While some are very shy and try to avoid eye contact, others eagerly want us to take photos of them. In Haiti, while the population speaks Haitian Creole, communicating in French can go a long way; I found out mine needed a serious refresher course.

Nothing Worse Can Happen
At the Acra Nord camp, a Haitian girl held her schoolbook while sitting in front of a tent that housed her mother, father and four siblings. Through an interpreter, I found out that even though she normally attends school, this week she was staying at home with her family. Baffled as to why she was not going to school this week, but unable to get answers, I decided to move on to visit other families in the camp.

As we walked away, my translator turned around and explained, “Asma, because this week marks the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, her parents, like others, are afraid it will happen again, and therefore, they want her to stay with them.” It occurred to me that as an outsider it is difficult to understand the level of sheer trauma and distress experienced by Haitians on that fateful day.

On January 12, 2010, homes were leveled, loved ones lost forever and families uprooted and relegated to the realm of “transitional” where uncertainties are endless. They did not know when they would get a home, job or food. The earthquake was a national tragedy felt by everyone in this country. Many Haitians we met had a blank look on their faces. They seemed unfazed by the presence of NGOs and foreigners, especially this week in their country. At times, they seem indifferent, as if nothing worse could possibly happen to them.

At Parc Saint Clair, we encountered Alexander, who had lost his left leg during the earthquake. He was holding his 4-month-old baby and proudly showing us his newly acquired prosthetic leg. A painter by profession, Alexander is hoping to save enough money to buy supplies to paint so he can generate income for his family.

When medical or water distributions take place at the camp, Alexander told me he is often late getting to the truck, so he has to rely on help from his neighbors to get his family’s share. Despite the fact that he currently has no job and lives on help offered by others, Alexander expressed a sense of gratitude certain to humble anyone. “It could have been worse,” he said. “Other people are living in worse conditions than me. I do not worry about what tomorrow will bring me. It is all in the hands of God.”

Struggling, Working to Make Ends Meet

Inhabitants at the camps are happy they have a roof for their families, but due to laws enacted by the Haitian government prohibiting the distribution of food items by any NGO, many camp inhabitants have had to fend for themselves. The law was enacted when in the aftermath of the earthquake, a mass influx of people from outside the capital sought to take advantage of food rations distributed by relief agencies to the camps. This influx caused the camps to overflow and created chaos and disarray. In addition, the law was intended to encourage camp inhabitants to seek work opportunities as means of generating income for their families.

As a result, many are struggling to make ends meet. They are not, however, incapable. They will find something to do and sell. A Haitian woman packs and sells coal for cooking at the entrance of the camp. She sells a bag of her coal for 100 goods (equivalent to $2.50), which is sufficient to cook a single meal for a family. Another was selling grapefruits, peeled and ready to eat, to workers waiting to ride a pickup truck. A group of men was taking apart an old wrecked car to mold its metal as a cooking surface. And judging by the number of customers, business was pretty good for a man selling lotto tickets.

As the end of day approaches, vendors pick up what remains of their merchandise, carrying everything on their heads and head back home. Whether it is a basket full of produce, a ladder or a bucket full of cold soda, they find the strength to hoist it on their heads. And they find a way to survive another day.

-- Asma Yousef

Read more from Asma in Haiti here. And see a photo gallery from her first day in Haiti here. To help the people of Haiti, donate now.

Photo Gallery: Life Goes On in Haiti

One year after the earthquake, life goes on in Haiti. Click here to read about Islamic Relief USA's trip to Haiti this week, and click here to read Media Relations Representative Asma Yousef's post about her first day in Haiti.

Life Goes On in Haiti, but at What Price?

Asma Yousef, media relations representative for Islamic Relief USA, is in Haiti for the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the island nation. She will be blogging and tweeting about her trip and IR USA’s work in Haiti.

As I arrived in Haiti, the airport was teeming with staff from the NGO community in preparation for the one-year anniversary of a devastating 7.0 earthquake that struck the island nation in January 2010.

As my Islamic Relief USA colleague and I headed to our hotel, we drove through the narrow streets of Port-au-Prince. One of the first things that struck me was the abundance of tents and makeshift temporary shelters all over town. The vast quantity of them is so overwhelming. Haiti’s poor don’t just live in isolated urban or rural areas. Poverty is everywhere here.

Life is hectic in Haiti. Everywhere you go there are posters for candidates running for public offices, remnants of the now-postponed national elections. The walls of buildings are covered with graffiti of campaign slogans supporting one candidate or denouncing another. The hustle and bustle of pedestrians going about their business is never ending; street vendors are selling everything imaginable, soliciting customers to their tables or arguing with neighboring vendors.

It is an undeniable lesson that life goes on. Despite the chaos and destruction, Haitians are trying to make the best of their lives today. They are constantly on the move. Workers are waiting for, riding, or disembarking from the local transport called the “tap tap.” Sometimes there are more passengers than this modest mode of transportation can handle, but apparently, nobody seemed to be bothered. My local guide pointed to big white buses in the downtown area and said, “These are called the Obama buses because they were sent to us from America after Obama became president.”

I was also struck by the sight of homes that collapsed during the earthquake but were never rebuilt. They stood suspended in time as a reminder of what happened here a year ago. Some of these were either completely abandoned or inhabited by displaced families who have claimed the ruins as their makeshift shelter.

After driving around for an hour, I finally saw a traffic light. On streets designed to fit two cars, often four cars were seen trying to squeeze by. Sometimes, drivers had to take turns passing because half of the road had either collapsed or was blocked by rubble.

Later, we went to a medical camp run by Doctors Without Borders to get some medicine for a Haiti-based staff member. An emergency appendectomy had to be performed on him at this makeshift hospital on New Year’s Day because no doctor was on call at the main hospital.

With the passing of my first day in Haiti, I’ve come to realize that this is sadly part of everyday life for the majority of Haitians.

— Asma Yousef

IR USA Staff Members Travel to Haiti for Earthquake’s One-Year Anniversary

One year ago, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the island nation of Haiti and nearly destroyed its capital city of Port-au-Prince. The January 2010 quake claimed more than 200,000 lives, according to the Haitian government, and left nearly two million people homeless.

In the days immediately following the earthquake, Islamic Relief launched a fundraising appeal and coordinated an aid shipment with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The shipment contained $293,000-worth of food, water, filtration systems and medical supplies. As one of the first responders on the ground, Islamic Relief staff began distributing food and water in the wake of the disaster and also opened one of the first makeshift camps to house displaced people.

But now, a year later, despite ongoing international support, an estimated 1.3 million Haitians are still clustered in makeshift camps and relying on foreign aid for survival. This week, Islamic Relief USA has sent two staff members to Haiti to assess the situation, conduct case studies, and visit IR programs. IR USA will also be launching a new $1.5 million initiative to rehabilitate a school and build 400 transitional shelters. Finally, the organization will be starting a Cholera Prevention and Control project to address the current cholera epidemic.

In the coming days, check back with our blog to read posts from IR USA’s Media Relations Coordinator, Asma Yousef, and Karim Amin, IR USA’s programs coordinator. They will also be tweeting and providing updates on our Facebook fan page about the trip and Islamic Relief USA’s work in Haiti. Amin was part of IR USA’s emergency response team post-earthquake last January.

Find out how you can help the people of Haiti -- because they need our help now more than ever.

Haiti, Nine Months Later

It’s been nine months since I last stepped onto the island. I still remember the devastation caused by the earthquake, the camps of injured and newly orphaned children, the thousands of tired people standing in endless lines to receive a minimal quantity of aid, the brick and mortar homes reduced to piles of rubble, the lingering smell of corpses that received no burial and the ever-increasing demand for aid that simply could not be met.

The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 killed 200,000 people, injured 300,000, displaced 2.3 million and caused $8 billion in damage. I witnessed the ensuing emergency chaos that shattered the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Walking through the camps, I heard victims’ stories of trials and tribulations; and when I landed in a makeshift hospital myself from dehydration, I heard screams echoing around me. It was a trip I’ll never forget.

Since I left Haiti, Islamic Relief USA has continued to provide support for over 8,000 Haitians through relief and recovery programs focusing on shelter, camp management support and water and sanitation IR USA is also working to ensure that people have access to food and basic needs through cash-for-work programs.

More than 450 people were hired by Islamic Relief to clear 20,000 tons of rubble from destroyed and damaged buildings, allowing more than 100 families to return to their homes. Damaged schools are being provided materials and labor for repair so an estimated 2,500 students can return to school. And over 600 youth are being trained in computer and trade skills through Islamic Relief USA’s vocational training center.

While the initial emergency chaos has waned, Haiti is not recovering from the quake rapidly or smoothly enough. Poor infrastructure, an excessively dense population, a lack of adequate building standards, an unbalanced division of economic activity, and other factors have hindered Haiti’s recovery.

Haiti still needs our help. Now more than ever. Please donate to Islamic Relief USA so we can continue our work there.

--Karim Amin, Domestic Programs Coordinator for Islamic Relief USA

Ramadan 2010: Why Giving is a Gift

Many Muslims look upon the holy month of Ramadan as a time of spiritual growth, oneness with Allah (SWT), and a time to give up bad habits and take on new good habits. It’s a time when whatever good deed we perform, each prayer we do, each time we give back, and each time we remember Allah, we will insh’Allah gain 70 times the amount of reward for it.

We are encouraged to give in Ramadan. Give zakah and give wherever we can. Volunteer, donate to a good cause, help someone -- because giving is a gift. Being able to give back to those in need is a gift for us, for through our giving we can insha’Allah obtain spiritual reward.

Upon reflecting on these principles of Ramadan, we at Islamic Relief USA felt that the theme of “Giving is a Gift” was fitting for this year. We’ve seen great suffering and need in disasters like the Haiti earthquake, the continuing Gaza crisis, and the Pakistan floods, and we’ve seen the great need for help here in the United States through our Day of Dignity events. We realize that it is a blessing for us and our donors to be able to raise money, reach out, create programs, and provide help where it is needed most.

The Holy Qur’an says, "Those who give to charity night and day, secretly and publicly, receive their recompense from their Lord; they will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. (2:274)"

The Holy Qur’an, also says, "They ask you (O Muhammad) what they should spend in charity. Say: 'Whatever you spend with a good heart, give it to parents, relatives, orphans, the helpless, and travellers in need. Whatever good you do, God is aware of it.' (2:215 )"

The emphasis on charity and giving in Islam is seen throughout the Qur’an and in hadith. For that matter, charity and helping those in need goes beyond Islam: It is a moral principle shared by many faiths. If you are in the position to give, then please give back. It is a gift to be able to give.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If I had (a mountain of) gold, I would love that, before three days had passed, not a single (coin) thereof remained with me if I found somebody to accept it (as charity), excluding some amount that I would keep for the payment of my debts." - Sahih Al-Bukhari.

We would like to wish you a blessed Ramadan. Please check out our blog during Ramadan to hear more giving stories from people like you. We here at Islamic Relief USA appreciate all you do, and we appreciate your support of our efforts to give back to those in need. Indeed, giving is a gift, and we hope you choose to give and receive that gift.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Four Months Later: Islamic Relief USA in Haiti

Four months after the devestating earthquake in Haiti, Islamic Relief USA went back to the country to revisit the camps and projects set into motion in the days following the disaster. Click through the photos to see Haiti now and what IR USA is doing there. Please click here to donate to Islamic Relief USA.