Stalled Recovery in Haiti

More than six months since the tiny Caribbean nation of Haiti was devastated by the massive earthquake, chaos and merely little signs of recovery characterize the efforts to rebuild Haiti.   

If the data released by the office of former US Pres. Bill Clinton is to be believed, the slow flow of aid must be the reason.  After the earthquake, the total of aid that donors pledged amounted to USD10 billion.  Of this amount, around USD2.5 billion is expected to be made available by the end of the current year.  However, until June 30, merely 10 per cent of the USD2.5 billion has so far been made available. 

If we are to believe Lawrence Cannon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, then we think that the reconstruction of Haiti is a long-term task.  Hence, that the recovery is not that swift and immediate is understandably part of the natural or normal design of rehabilitation.  What is important, accordingly, is that donors have so far started to honor their pledges, and contributions are actually flowing to the multi-donor Haiti Reconstruction Fund.

As always in other – if not all – countries in the world, the current national government is also being blamed.  According to the report, for example, of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the government of Haitian Pres. Rene Preval has lost the sense of urgency to re-imagine Haiti and the commitment to prevent a return to the dysfunctional and unsustainable ways of life past.

The non-governmental organizations are also being blamed.  They are observed to be unwilling to align and coordinate their operations with the priorities of the government of Haiti.

The blaming game goes on, while the Haitians are still living in camps and some 1.5 million of them are yet to be brought back into a long-term living arrangement that they want and need.