HHF: Thousands Journey Home
01/22/2010
Thousands of survivors return to Jérémie, Haiti, seeking shelter, medical care
The Journey Home
Jan. 22, 2010
As survivors pour out of Port au Prince, Haiti, the epicenter of last week's catastrophic earthquake, the long journey to their childhood homes begins. Many individuals - broken, bruised, mourning and sometimes carrying the caskets of loved ones they cannot bear to bury in mass graves - have begun the 108-mile journey on foot through the mountainous regions of the Grand'Anse region.
An overloaded boat arrives in Jérémie shortly after dawn, filled with people fleeing Port-au-Prince.
The Difficult Trip Home
Four days after the disaster, the first group of survivors began arriving home. Those who are fortunate enough to ride - a mix of the shocked and injured - are packed together in trucks for a 14-hour journey. Even in these transport vehicles, accidents and breakdowns on the steep and narrow passes have occurred, further endangering those who have already suffered so much. Still, they are the lucky ones, as others have died while walking.
Haitians who secured passage by sea manage a 100-mile journey by boat to the port of Jérémie. Even that route is perilous, as the thousands waiting for the ferry in Port-au-Prince learned when the wharf further collapsed in Wednesday's 5.9 magnitude aftershock. In their haste to get home, as many as 3,000 have packed themselves into a 600-person capacity craft (to see a CNN video about the journey, click here).
Providing Relief
Those coming to Jérémie are not only from Port-au-Prince, but from other areas affected by the earthquake. Already thousands have made the journey - 4,500 more yesterday alone by boat - and HHF expects tens of thousands more to arrive during the coming weeks. The process of re-integrating these families is a monumental task requiring the cooperation of many local and international organizations, such as Croix Rouge Hatienne and MINUSTAH (UN). Additional assistance is expected from other organizations, but the focus for most continues to be on Port-au-Prince.
Thousands More Expected
Research shows that the largest migration of workers into Port-au-Prince came from the Grand'Anse region. Unable to support their families in an area with no industry, they had been forced to live and work in Port-au-Prince and send money home. Now they are out of work.
"This is heartbreaking," says a somber Dr. Jerry Lowney, president and founder of HHF. "We have been a presence in Haiti for 28 years. We employ 200 Haitians - nurses, doctors, technicians, teachers - in our service to this area. I have known many of them since they were infants."
In Jérémie, the earthquake caused rural houses to crumble. Food is becoming scarce, fuel is running out, and people are afraid to sleep, especially in cement buildings. More than one week after the earthquake, many still don't know the fate of their loved ones. An area with overburdened resources is experiencing an influx of tens of thousands of refugees.
"We need HELP, and a lot of it," states Dr. Lowney. "The most important thing right now is getting food to Jérémie. If relief agencies can get it there, we have the place to store it. We already have secure warehouses in Jérémie and our compounds there are large enough to build more."
Earthquake Refugees Arrive
Jan. 17, 2010
The past 36 hours have brought the start of the expected migration of people from Port-au-Prince to Jérémie, and The Haitian Health Foundation's immediate focus is on addressing their needs. Supplies necessary to aid the influx are scarce, a problem compounded by the collapse of banking and the absence of currency. However, partnerships with such agencies as AmeriCares, Cross International and the Red Cross are being forged to bridge the gaps in the area's needs.
Homecomings
Dr. Bette Gebrian, HHF's director of public health, reports that people seeking the refuge with their families and in homes in the Grand'Anse began arriving yesterday, with more than 2,000 having arrived by early Sunday. About 1,500 came by boat from Port-au-Prince, with the remainder having traveled the difficult overland route.
Buses and trucks that arrived yesterday were greeted by loved ones, Croix Rouge Hatienne (Red Cross of Haiti), MINUSTAH (United Nations) and local Scouts. HHF personnel were on hand with partner organizations to address the injured, transferring those with the most severe injuries to the public hospital and helping to treat others with less severe conditions. Although HHF does not operate a trauma center, it has committed its support to treating injuries not requiring hospitalization, offering its pharmacy, X-ray, sonogram, and other medical services and supplies.
Overland travelers described the difficult trip: one truck teeming with people broke down, and another was involved in an accident, causing passengers to pack together in whatever other vehicles they encountered. The injured traveled alongside the uninjured, and stories abound of Haitians caring for their own. Those fortunate enough to ride described passing many people who had undertaken the route on foot, a journey that will take about 6 days. Among those walking westward, some were seen carrying the caskets of family members.
Just the Beginning
The Grand'Anse Department Director of Croix Rouge pointed out that a large percentage of the people in Port-au-Prince migrated from southwest Haiti, and arrivals thus far are just a fraction of those expected to return. Many are coming with severe injuries, broken bones, and burns. HHF is a member of the partnership of organizations that will welcome them back and help to provide for their needs in food, shelter and health care.
The boat carrying the 1,500 returning Grand'Anse residents was met by an orderly debarkation that included UN security personnel and local police, screening offloading passengers for potential security risks. There were at least 10 pregnant women among the passengers who were assessed. One was reported to be in labor and was immediately transported to the hospital; three others were brought to HHF's Center of Hope Maternal Waiting Home for assessment. Other passengers, most of whom left Port-au-Prince with only the clothes on their backs, were given clothing, juice, protein bars and soap. Potable water was supplied by HHF's 4,000 gallon water truck, which Cross International provided two years ago.
In less than 5 hours, trucks and private vehicles were on their way to drop off the exhausted travelers in all corners of the Grand'Anse. Those waiting in Jérémie were able to stay in a schoolyard in tents.
The Need Continues
Many more trucks and buses were anticipated to arrive this week, which will require more supplies. The lack of fuel has reportedly kept the boat anchored, unable to make the return trip to Port-au-Prince. Like other organizations, HHF is currently unable to purchase diesel. Unfortunately, it is also not uncommon for prices of the unavailable commodities to quadruple when they finally do become available.
With more than 2,000 people having returned to Jérémie in the first day, it is clear that HHF's resources will be severely strained over the coming months and beyond. We thank you for your generosity during this period. Children - orphaned or not - will become a part of HHF's comprehensive children's health programs. Expectant mothers will be monitored and treated as indicated by their conditions. The injured will require both short and long-term care. All may become recipients of HHF's services in feeding programs, education, housing or other initiatives. Bette Gebrian says, "We are heartened by the generosity of HHF's legions of supporters, who have sent donations from all over the United States to help their struggling neighbors."
Preparing for Refugees
Jan. 13, 2010
Thank you so much for your concern for the people of Haiti. We at the Haitian Health Foundation still don’t have much to report on the earthquake – communication is difficult because the phones aren’t working. I’ve been in touch with Bette Gebrian, our director of public health, and Sister Maryann Berard, who are safe. The clinic also appears fine. Jérémie, where the Haitian Health Foundation’s main facilities are located, is about 100 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake – however, they DID feel it – the ground shook for about 20 seconds and there were aftershocks throughout the night. Reports are still coming in – but we do know that buildings have been reported as damaged or destroyed, and it’s certain that the rickety housing of the poor has suffered – flimsy even in good weather
However, we are just hoping that there are no injuries or deaths. We are trying to contact all of our staff and volunteers in Haiti – some of whom are in Port-au-Prince. Nearly all have relatives and friends in the capital, so they are all very worried. Sister Maryann writes that she has spoken to one employee after another "who has someone either dead or missing in PAP [Port-au-Prince]. It is emotionally draining for people. Many people want to try to go to PAP to look for the missing children or relatives but there is no boat and there is no road. Their inability to respond to their closest family members is another type of very real suffering."
We expect the arrival of refugees, as news sources report that "people are fleeing to the hills." We also anticipate that those from the area who survived in Port-au-Prince will be returning to Jérémie to escape the chaos, which will further strain our operations.
We will we assessing injuries and damage, but it will take a while – we care for 225,000 people in more than 100 rural villages – some as far away as 18 hours by foot. Communication is very difficult to the most rural areas.
The Haitian Health Foundation also had a container in Port au Prince that was being prepared for the arduous overland trip to Jérémie, a route that runs directly through the epicenter of the quake. At present, we don't know the fate of these vital supplies – food, medical, and operational equipment – nor the viability of continued shipments across southern Haiti at the present time.
Given the homes already known lost, the break in our supply lines and the need to establish new avenues to deliver critical food and supplies, and the expected influx of people from Port-au-Prince, it is a certainty that our resources will be strained over the next few months.
Haitian Health Foundation's Work
The Haitian Heath Foundation HHF is mobilizing resources to continue to care for victims of the earthquake, support the people in some of Haiti’s remote regions, as well as to prepare for the anticipated arrival of displaced people from Port-au-Prince. The organization is accepting monetary donations. Dr. Bette Gebrian, HHF's director of public health, was the recipient of the 2008 Best Practices in Global Health Award. The Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) has been working in Haiti since 1982. Working in the most remote areas of the western end of Haiti, HHF provides health services to more than 100 rural mountain villages. Its main clinic, Klinik Pep Bondye-a, in Jérémie is an outpatient clinic and residence that serves 350 to 400 patients a day.
E. Marilyn Lowney is executive director of the Haitian Health Foundation.
Marilyn,
What do you need most right now for the children? I’m glad to know you are ok you are one of the first people I thought of after this earthquake and your families you service there. May the Goddess bless you and all you do there.
— Sher Lofgren on 2010-01-19