7/13/2010 The News Leader (Editorial): Six months later

Six months later

The News Leader

http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100713/OPINION01/7130316

July 13, 2010

It’s been six months since the earthquake that killed almost 250,000 people in Haiti, wounded many more and affected everyone in the small country in one way or another. Since then, dozens of local organizations have made their way to Haiti or contributed to some of the thousands of groups sending funds.

At least two area groups are actively working on building projects in the country. A group of Episcopal churches and Stuart Hall School continue to raise money for a school project in Cerca La Source in the Central Plateau. A team from Blue Ridge Community College already has sent building materials to rebuild a school in Riviere Froid, not far from the earthquake’s epicenter. Four members of the college’s Students For Free Enterprise team were working in the area Jan. 12 when the earthquake hit, and they narrowly escaped being injured or worse.

What’s remarkable about these projects and many of the dozens more operated by people in the Shenandoah Valley is that these were connections made long before the earthquake. The Valley’s commitment has been as strong to its own people as it has been with Haiti. And that is how it should be, but that’s not the case with countries across the world. Only 10 percent of the money pledged by international donors has been sent to Haiti. And of the $1 billion pledged by the U.S., only $30 million has been sent. Congress is holding up the rest. A report by Disaster Accountability Project blames a lack of transparency by aid organizations for not getting the help where it needs to go in Haiti.

Six months after the earthquake, little has been done to move the nation forward in providing food, shelter and medical care for its people. The oft-cited poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, there was much to be done in that regard before the earthquake, but Haiti’s chronic problems are even more acute.

That’s why it’s even more important for the international community to continue its efforts in making sure monetary pledges come through, keeping a close but fair eye on Haiti’s fragile and too often corrupt government and developing a comprehensive and workable plan to build infrastructure and bring in stable businesses for the people.

Non-government organizations have long been helping to build schools and provide medical care, but the efforts must be coordinated and streamlined so the work is done as efficiently as possible. Projects such as what the Haiti Collaborative is doing show small progress over time in certain villages. What Haiti needs is a comprehensive plan to make larger leaps in less time. With each step forward, natural disasters or political turmoil set the country back even farther.

We owe it to help fix Haiti because it is our neighbor. Since winning their own freedom from slavery, her people created the world’s first independent black nation. But burdened with overwhelming debt, internal corruption and greedy maneuvers from other nations, including the United States, Haiti has struggled to survive from the beginning. But it has survived, albeit barely, and with its people’s strength of character, phenomenal gifts in art and music and a strong work ethic, Haiti has much to offer the rest of us.

We just need to once and for all work together to help her rebuild and thrive.

Opinions expressed in this feature represent the majority opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board, consisting of: Roger Watson, president and publisher; David Fritz, executive editor; Cindy Corell, community conversations editor; and Jim McCloskey, editorial cartoonist.