Fordham Law Disaster Relief Network

Haiti, the Land of the Living

2011-03-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Haitian people are in my opinion the most resilient people on this earth. Despite their continued state of instability being idle is not an option for the typical Haitian. Most people think that the Haitians are just lying around in their tents doing nothing, however that is quite the contrary. Every morning the people will get up at the crack of dawn to set up shop, whether under the rubble or outside their tents. Every day you will find people selling whatever they can to survive and you will find children leaving the camps to go to school. Despite living amongst heaps of trash and rubble, they maintain a sense of normalcy. The Haitians have refused to let their country become the land of the dead.

They say whenever you visit your motherland; it always involves some sort of self-discovery. For me, I learned that my resilient nature is innate. There have been times where I wanted to give up because situations seemed hopeless, but something inside of me would never let me. I often refer to myself as a cockroach, because we all know that you can never exterminate a cockroach. In fact (well according to Wikipedia) even if there were to be a nuclear explosion, the cockroach would survive. (I know weird analogy). The point I am trying to make is that my resilience is a character trait that stems from my Haitian roots and that no matter what I can never give up.

One year later, the tent cities are still up. Many people are facing evictions from these camps and the government is doing nothing to stop it. There are not enough paying jobs. Cholera has become endemic, and the prison system is a mess to say the least. Yet even in the midst of their problems, the spirit of the Haitian people will not be broken. Cholera will not break them, being evicted will not discourage them, and their lack of access to water will not destroy them. Why? Because they are Haitian. The situation may seem hopeless, but Haiti is truly the land of the living.

I believe in Haiti’s future. There is still hope, and this year’s trip affirmed this. Aside from learning that HST (Haitian Standard Time) is strictly enforced throughout the country, I believe each group member learned a valuable lesson. I believe that all of them were able to walk away knowing that there is hope for Haiti. The team has done some amazing work and our findings have given our group new meaning. I feel more dedicated to our work than ever before. It is sad that this will be my last year on the project, but I am confident that the group will never forget what we did in Haiti, and that they will continue to work for a better Haiti.

Ayiti Pap Kraze! (Haiti will never be destroyed)

The Tet Kale T-Shirt mediation by Mediator “Nitz”

2011-03-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Tet Kale t-shirts. Tet Kale hats, wristbands, bandanas. High in demand and low in supply, the Fordham Law students argued like 5 year olds over who got to keep the 1 “Tet Kale” campaign t-shirt of Presidential candidate Mickey Martelly that we scored from his Dominican Republic supporters. Yes, it may seem ridiculous but we saw the Haitians sport these t-shirts since we arrived and we were told we could only get the “Bald Head” campaign slogan shirt if we knew a campaign insider.

So what was the only fair way to decide who got it? Domino’s of course. The Haitians are legendary “Do’s” players and it only seemed logical. As we waited during our layover at the Santo Domingo airport lounge each armed with a Presidente (Dominican beer), Nitz decided it was time for one of her wise and subtle lessons. She gathered information from the students about what this t-shirt personally represented to each of them and why they wanted to keep it. Dean Escalera ingeniously turned this childish dilemma into a practical and hands-on legal learning experience on mediation skills and techniques. Only half way through her intervention did we realize her intent and the steps she took to conduct an amicable mediation with help from a student who played co-mediator.

It turns out that the terms we agreed on were simple. One student who felt strongly about having the authentic and original t-shirt will make copies of the t-shirt in NY and distribute them to the others who don’t mind if the t-shirt is a copy since they instead want to use it for display and sentimental purposes focused on the meaning rather than authenticity. The agreement includes the condition that certain students research where and how much replicas can be produced (with a price ceiling agreed upon). Deadlines were set and if the conditions are not met on our own the mediator will get involved by a certain date.

Dean Escalera taught us that in mediations it is important to gather information from all sides and hear each side’s story before commencing the mediation. She taught us to identify the common interests that both sides share, the opposing interests of each side, and the non-opposing but non-mutual interests. With this knowledge, the mediator guides the parties to compromise on the directly opposing interests while identifying the interests that each party can retain without losing the ultimate individual goal. This mediation experience showed me that often times opposing parties have more interests in common or not in opposition than originally manifested and the parties are closer to reaching an agreement than it may appear.

Speaking for the Cholera team who worked with Dean Escalera on our project, I think we learned as much from her as we did from the Haitians this week. Not only was she able to provide us with wisdom, experience, and life lessons, but she was able to subtly and nonchalantly direct us in the right direction when we needed it during interviews or de-briefings. She provided the perfect balance as a supervisor; she allowed us to have complete independence and responsibility for our Cholera project but gave us positive and constructive advice to enhance this learning experience not only for our work in Haiti but for our future legal careers.

While we are all leaving this trip with a new and cultivated appreciation of an array of Haitian legal, political, and social issues, Dean Escalera intertwined legal lessons in mediating, interviewing, negotiating, presenting, writing, collaborating, and Haitian Constitutional law as she never failed to bring the Haitian Constitution with us to the interviews and group meetings.

Ironically, during our last meal together we spoke about first impressions. Although last year as a 1L I did not know Dean Escalera or other Fordham Deans well, I admit that I was skeptical about having one of them come with us to Haiti last year to sleep in a tent for a week without a reliable shower, toilet, or source of water.

But from her insistence on calling her “Nitz” instead of Dean Nitza Escalera or even Nitza to her week long experience in a tent in Haiti a month after the January 2010 Earthquake to her complete domination in “Do’s” to her relaxed attitude towards HST (Haitian Standard Time) and reckless Haitian driving and finally to her enthusiasm in always joining us for a necessary morning coffee or evening Presidente beer, I think I speak for all Fordham DRN members and DRN alumni when I say we couldn’t have done this without you Nitz and we are grateful for the integral and irreplaceable role that you play on our trips.

Incremental Change for Haiti

2011-03-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

When I got home last night, someone asked me if Haiti was better now. It was a hard question to answer. There are always new problems popping up, even if some progress has been made in addressing older problems. In some ways it's better, in others it's worse, and some things are exactly the same--like the presidential palace caved and collapsed, just like it was when I saw it in in March 2010.

It is difficult to think as I sit at my kitchen table in my apartment back in New York that just yesterday I was in Port au Prince. The only thing that really remains the same between my week there and my life back here is that I still took my malaria pill this morning. As I sip my coffee, I reflect on what a productive experience the entire trip was. This is not because we solved Haiti's problems in six days. That wasn't the point. What we did do was move closer to an understanding of what steps need to be taken from the perspective of different ministries of government, UN orgs, grassroots NGOs, and most importantly from the perspective of the people surviving in the IDP (internally displaced person) tent cities. These institutional players must coordinate their efforts instead of working against each other--wasting limited money, time, energy for these institutional actors and costing lives in the camps.

We engaged representatives of these institutions in our interviews, pressing them in the questions to find out: what they outlined their role in the camps to be, why they were not acting to stop the forced evictions, whether they were implicitly facilitating the forced evictions, and what they felt would be the right solution to the problem. Sometimes mayors were forcing IDPs out of camps on public land and other times the same threatening of and actually enforcing a forcible removal concerned private land, in many cases involving the Catholic church as the private landowner.

We left Haiti, and forced evictions are of course still happening. They continue to happen, despite the Inter American Commission on Human Rights granting a petition for precautionary measures declaring a moratorium on forced evictions. Individuals are forced to live fear of the day when the incessant verbal threats of violent and forcible removal will be realized. We were however encouraged by the story told by one of the ministries that the individual leaders from an IDP camp brought forward a copy of this petition when the landowner tried to evict them. The presentation of the petition lead to opening a negotiation between the landowner facilitated by the ministry and other international actors. IDP camp leadership asserted their rights and somebody listened. Small scale encouragement shows that the work can make a change. It is just that this change needs to happen in not just one case, but every case.

What we can do, is collect our documented findings and move closer toward working to develop solutions and submit recommendations to suggest more coordination and institutional changes based on what each actor's mandate actually is. We can work to find a better solution to minimize the problems and decrease the number of cases of forcible eviction. We can make progress in addressing this old problem, while acknowledging that new problems will surface in the future.

Haiti's problems will not be solved over night, but they will be bit by bit.

The Making of a Beautiful Time in Haiti with Forced Evictions Team

2011-03-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

When we were still stateside before we left, we began to develop a spreadsheet of different organizations which began with not one phone number or e-mail address. How were we going to arrange the meetings? Who would take us seriously enough to sit down with a group of "blans" (as Haitians refer to non Haitians) to speak about intensely controversial issues facing their country? I was uncertain and unsure, and contemplated my worst nightmare that after all of our work of planning and reading materials and learning that we wouldn't be able to arrange to meet with anyone. Bit by bit we began to add in contact information from speaking with people that we knew working on the ground, other student groups that had done similar work in Port au Prince, and a good amount of googling. After reaching out to all of our contacts, when we departed JFK on Sunday, we still had just two standing interviews scheduled.

(Kelly Starcevich, David Ragonetti, Diana Schaffner, at Le Plaza hotel recapping notes from the day)

A man rolled open the sliding iron gate spray painted with a #3 for the address on it. With my level of kreyol meager at best at this point of the trip, I blurted out the name of our Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) contact hoping the man opening the gate had any idea who she was. He did. The eight of us wound around the side of the house that was the headquarters, passing by a gathering of men on the front porch spouting off to each other in heated conversation-- I knew it had to be about Haitian politics. Elections are Sunday. We gathered in a circle to chat about the project with IJDH and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). We were there to help, but our contacts in Haiti lived and breathed the issues every day. I was humbled by our inexperience and wondered what the value of my speculation on issues I was only beginning to understand really were. But then, the conversation took off.

(David Ragonetti, Kelly Starcevich, Diana Schaffner, strategizing over lunch at C-Jean hotel)

The top Haitian lawyer running the grassroots org we were working with sat down and joined our conversation, running back and forth between the front porch's heated political chanting and our discussion. Maybe people were really interested in hearing what we had to say. The next thing I knew, we were were throwing questions at him and pressing him with follow-up questions to really get him to explain his analysis. Our understandings began to deepen with every word that came out of his mouth explaining the complexities of the issues and the problems of the institutional players from NGOs to UN orgs to government actors.

(Kelly Starcevich, Diana Schaffner, David Ragonetti, after morning meeting to plan for the day's interviews)

I gained more in this one hour of conversation with him than I had in the eight months of planning for the trip. Our work took on new meaning to me. I truly felt his energy for the rights of the IDPs in a way I had not been able to before. I had read article after blog after tweet after story of people being evicted from the tent cities, but those descriptions paled in comparison to hearing the way that this man described the problems. As I struggle to articulate in writing here the impact it really made, all I can say is that it shifted something in my perspective that made the suffering and the struggle come alive for me. This conversation laid the groundwork for the next days’ interviewing with a revived confidence and energy for our work the carried over each day.

(Kelly Starcevich, David Ragonetti, Laura Raymond, Diana Schaffner, outside of UN log base)

Each morning I squeezed into a car with Diana Schaffner & David Ragonetti of Fordham DRN and Laura Raymond & Vince Warren of the Center for Constitutional Rights, guided by the finest driver, impromptu kreyol teacher, political commentator, and translator I could have ever asked for, Junior. I came to know and love the my group and develop a closeness in part by the endless hours spent in the car sweating and practicing kreyol as we went from interview to interview, in part by our common passion for the work that we did, and in part by the interplay of personalities of the group that added to the bonding experience overall. I could not have picked a better group of four to travel around with day by day. Our work blossomed from our humble planning in New York to a feeling by the end of the week that what we had started was only begun and that we only needed more time to set up the next set of interviews that we wanted to have. I'm encouraged that our work will continue here and the connections that we made among each other will continue long after the trip's end.

Examples of Port-au-Prince Political Graffiti

2011-03-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

"ONG + MINUSTAH = KOLERA” – NGO + MINUSTAH brought kolera
"Aba Preval” – Down with (President) Preval
"Nou Bouke” – We’re tired
"Ban’m Mannam” – Bring mom (Maginat)
"Solidarite” – Solidarity
"Bon Retour Duvalier” – Welcome back Duvalier
"Aristid viv” – Aristide forever
“Mulet = KOLERA” – Mulet is the head of MINUSTAH
“Preval + Jude = KOLERA” – Preval is the current president and Jude is his son-in-law and was a candidate for president in the November election
“ONG = VOLE” – NGOs are thieves
“Preval avi”/ “Preval viv” – Preval forever

Tet Kalé or Maman Manigat? I Didn't Know I Had A Choice

2011-03-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday March 20, 2011, the Haitian people will elect their new president. Who are the candidates? Apparently Sweet Micky A.K.A. President Tet Kalé (the bald headed president) and Madame Manigat A.K.A. Maman Manigat. Although I characterize myself as Haitian, when I am in Haiti, I am considered an American and therefore I do not have voting rights. However, I have come to find out that this is not true.

The group stayed one of Haiti's most popular hotels. The presidential candidates held their press conferences there, so it quickly became the hot spot for journalists and election watchers from around the world. On a particular night, I was approached by a man who I have dubbed “El Creepo”. After hours of staking out our table, he came over and asked me in creole, who are you going to vote for? Tet Kalé? I told the man that I am an American and that I could not vote in Haiti’s election. That is when he offered me voting rights. El Creepo told me that he could make a way for me to vote. I started to think that this was a joke, but then I remembered that I was in Haiti and that anything was possible. I told El Creepo that even if I could, I would not vote in this election. This was a big mistake. (Rule number one; never get a Haitian started on politics). El Creepo went on this political/ philosophical/ social/ legal/ historical / whatever else he could throw in, in hopes of convincing me to not only vote, but to vote for Maman Manigat. He told me “to abstain from voting was like making a choice, and that it was about making the better choice”. Although that may be somewhat true, is it really a choice when both of the candidates are (for a lack of a better word) not up to par? I definitely understand that Tet Kalé is a vulgar man whose lyrics are very degrading to women. But what about the socialist/ elitist? That doesn’t even make sense. El Creepo summarized his speech with this last thought. I should vote because she is a woman and I am a woman. Then he asked me if we could hang out sometime and “reprimanded” me for not asking him for his name.

I found it very interesting that whenever we asked someone the question "who would you vote for?" The answer was nine times out of ten, “I have no idea if I will even vote”. The Presidential candidates are on opposites ends of the spectrum. I had an interesting conversation with an important individual who shall remain nameless. He told me that according to the polls, “Micky has already won. The young of this country have rallied behind him and they believe that he will bring change.” As a candidate who has no training in law or politics, I am not sure how he will do as the President of Haiti. Micky is what you would call a popular candidate. He makes promises that are so far fetched; it is hard to believe that people actually believe him. Some of his promises include: providing food to everyone at noon each day, providing every child with a laptop, and the best one of all, providing every child with the opportunity to participate in e-learning with teachers in Miami. I personally think that we should work on getting stable electricity first and maybe work on, I don’t know, providing access to clean water to the 70% of the population who currently is without access.

Then there is Maman Manigat “Grandma” who is a socialist but not a socialist, who is part of the elite but has ideas that can be perceived as socialist. If your not confused, then God bless you. There is a reservation towards voting for her because people are afraid that she will be the same as all the past presidents and that she will not bring forth any real change. She is 70 years old and although that may not be an issue for some, her ideas are just as old as she is.

All we can do now is pray for Haiti. El Creepo was right about one thing, this is a very important election, and only God knows what will happen to this country.

Being in Haiti during the election season was definitely a learning experience. I learned that if you’re not a citizen of the country you can still vote. You can always be sure that someone will give you voting rights.

Visting Barbancourt II

2011-03-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

View of truck from the Spanish Red Cross bringing water

On Wednesday, the Housing Rights Team accompanied an IJDH representative to an IDP camp located on private land. It was our first visit to such a camp and an incredible opportunity to speak directly with those most affected by the threat of forced eviction. We spent time talking to the camp committee about conditions in Barbancourt II and the residents’ interactions with the landlord. It was an eye-opening experience.

The camp is home to 310 families who have lived in Barbancourt II since last year’s 12 January earthquake. The site is an industrial park that houses a warehouse. Camp residents have been pushed to a small corner of the property so that the landlord may continue to operate his business. Shelters made of tarps (many with the USAID logo), salvaged wood, and corrugated metal stand so close they’re nearly touching, but camp residents have stayed because they have nowhere else to go.

Speaking with camp committee members and camp residents, we heard of a series of increasingly violent interactions with the property owner. The most violent occurred in November 2010, when the landlord came to the property with a group of armed men. Recently, the landlord told residents that they have until three days after the elections (on Sunday, March 20, 2011) to leave the camp.

The stagnant pool contains human and other waste

A stagnant, fetid pool of wastewater several feet deep lies at the back of the property and exacerbates the already poor conditions. Tents abut the edges of this pool and during the rainy season the water raises to touch the edges of tents. Those living closest to the pool have developed skin rashes and complain of the multitude of mosquitoes bred in the water.

Residents have repeatedly asked the landlord to drain the pool, but to no avail. Taking matters into their own hands, residents tried to drill a small hole in one of the property walls to drain the water. However, the owner of the adjacent land is a friend of the landlord and threatened to shoot camp residents if they continued their efforts. Camp committee members believe that the landlord has allowed the pool to form as another means of forcing residents off his property.

For now, water is brought into Barbancourt II by the Spanish Red Cross, which also provided the camp’s latrines. However, the Red Cross has told the camp committee members that the contract to purchase water for the camp has run out and that they will soon have to organize a way to purchase water. With the rainy season looming on the horizon, camp residents face an imminent end to their water supply and increased threats of eviction.

The camp committee meeting tent

Yet, even in the face of these problems camp residents are anything but passive ‘victims of circumstance.’ They have organized themselves and selected a camp committee to represent their needs and views to humanitarian organizations and the Haitian government. At their own initiative, the camp committee contacted both the Ministry of the Interior and IJDH to seek assistance in negotiations with the landlord to delay eviction. The unity and resilience of camp residents was inspiring. Hopefully, the information we collected during our time in Haiti can help CCR and IJDH to better equip residents in their fight against eviction.

"Negotiating" an Eviction

2011-03-16T06:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had a long meeting about how to realistically protect IDPs in the face of imminent eviction. The Housing Rights Team was lucky enough to get some concrete numbers and a much better sense of the scale of the problem. We heard about two communes with a total of 327 camps, of which 85 are directly at risk of eviction. The at-risk camps have a population of up to 20,000 inhabitants. This only covers two communes in Port-au-Prince (PAP), but begins to give a sense of the scale of the problem.

Affected communities can have anywhere from a single day to three months notice of a pending eviction. The methods of 'eviction' range from monetary coercion for leaving the land to the violent ejection of families and the burning of their shelters. Currently, up to a third of the IDP population is living in large camps. As smaller camps are closed more and more IDPs move to these larger camps. Without a comprehensive relocation strategy these large camps have the potential to become permanent unofficial settlements.

Some international organizations (IO) are trying to mediate negotiations between landlords and IDPs, but negotiations don't always occur. When they do, the goal of these 'negotiations' is really to delay the eviction to give IDPs and IOs/NGOs time to find other housing solutions. The problem is, there are few, if any, other solutions.

While there's a need to balance the rights of landlords to their private property, there's also a need to recognize and protect the rights of IDPs to adequate housing. Humanitarian organizations are gradually phasing out of the camps and services like water and sanitation provision will not last forever. The question is, what is going to happen to the IDPs when the IOs and NGOs leave

Tet Kale

2011-03-16T05:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning the hotel was a hub of activity. The housing rights team was waiting for our car, when a group of journalists came rushing out of the hotel. Presidential candidate Mickey Martelly got into a big SUV as supporters shouted "Tet Kale, Tet Kale," ("bald head, bald head") Martelly's campaign slogan. Traffic was delayed and we were late for our first meeting. On the up side, we did get free bracelets and mini-Martelly calendars.

2011-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

The "quarantine" tent for those prisoners suspected or diagnosed with Cholera

2011-03-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Washing our hands and feet in the chlorine basin on our way out of the prison...

2011-03-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Lake Glo Gayes

With the expected return of Aristide this week, the only thing Haiti is expecting is the unexpected

2011-03-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Our visit to the Prison in Hinche yesterday was unlike anything I have ever experienced. In fact, the 3-4 hour drive each way was an experience in itself. Hinche was supposedly “2.5” hours from Port-au-Prince and we planned to leave at 9 a.m. Of course, 9am means 10am in HST (Haitian Standard Time). And invariably there would be at least three –four stops: to fill up the air in the tires, to pick up an unexpected guide, and to stop at Digicel to buy a new cell phone since the first one we bought did not work. Expect the unexpected. Although we got lost several times, I am happy our drivers were Haitian men who were not embarrassed to stop and ask for directions to the prison at least 10 times. If we had been with stubborn American men who refuse to ask for directions we could have been in the Dominican Republic now instead of back in Port-au-Prince.

The scenery throughout the ride was stunning. The panoramic view scanned rolling hills and palm trees against a sapphire lake called “Glo Gayes” that was dotted with uninhabited islands. The actual ride reminded me of the many hours I spent in a tro-tro this summer in Ghana. Most of the roads were unpaved with rubble and piles of garbage lining the edges. Probably unaware of the negative environmental impact, trash piles were being burned by villages to remove the garbage. This is something that I sadly have found common among Third World countries. Women carried bowls of water or items to sell on their heads with an impressive ease that I could never imitate. Our driver used the horn even more than Ghanian taxi drives, simply to warn people that we were coming around the bend or just to be friendly. Traffic in the Port-au-Prince suburbs was also reminiscent of the hours I spent in the tro-tro in Ghana. Cars, trucks, vans, tap-tap’s (the Haitian bus service), scooters, bikes and individuals were moving in every direction on every street causing intense gridlock. One truck even attempted to cross the narrow road we were driving on in a diagonal fashion, creating a throng of Haitians that needed to direct the truck in the dark through the surrounding cars to unlock the mess. Expect the unexpected. Oddly enough, this scene gave me a sense of community and willingness to help each other that I don’t often see in New York. This ride really made me realize that I can never predict what will happen next in Haiti.

When we finally arrived at the Hinche Prison we were welcomed by the Prison officials. Our interview focused on preventative measures taken by the prison to prevent or contain the outbreak of cholera. After the interview the official took us for a tour of the prison. The entire prison compound was approximately 30 meters by 20 meters. The prison had just three cells for 163 people, with the largest cell holding almost 90 prisoners. Each cell was meant to hold 20 people. We also got to see the white tent in the middle of the prison compound where the Cholera symptomatic prisoners are quarantined. Interestingly enough, we learned in later interviews today that prisoners actually started to pretend that they had cholera or that they were still sick when they in fact had been cured. We certainly were not expecting to hear this. This was because the quarantine tent is separated from the prison cells. It is more spacious and the sick prisoners are fed well to help regain their health. We now understand --why wouldn’t the prisoners want to be there instead of in the overcrowded cells? Moreover, some of the prisons were giving the quarantined prisoners nutritional biscuits that were of value to the prisoners; not only were they better than any of the food the prisoners received in the cells, but they could be sold for a better space in the cell or for another advantage in the underground prison hierarchy.

Talk about expecting the unexpected, the interaction between the prison official and the prisoners appeared friendly to say the least. When he led us to the cells, he gave the prisoners a “pound” through the gate and they immediately were silenced. The prisoners called him “Papa,” and they told us he was very good to them. Unfortunately though, the minors were in the same cell with the adults, a violation of human rights law that raises a concern of vulnerability. The minors are susceptible to being taken advantage of by the elders, either mentally, physically or sexually. Furthermore, when we asked the prison official about HIV/AIDS education to the prisoners he became uncomfortable. Ritha told us that men having sex with men is very “taboo” in Haiti. Thus, the prisoners are not educated about using condoms or even about sharing needles, something very concerning given the extremely close proximity of the inmates.

When we left the prison, we were asked to clean our hands and the bottom of our shoes with water treated with Chlorine. This was a procedure that international aid organizations had educated the prison officials in Hinche about to prevent the spread of Cholera in the prison. It was nice to see that at least the Hinche prison was carrying out and following these procedures dutifully.

The official then brought us to the new prison being built next door which would likely not be done until phase two is completed in 5 months. This prison will be a significant advancement from the current one. The new prison has 190 cells for men, each cell holding up to only 8 prisoners. Across the courtyard, there will be enough cells for up to 300 additional women and minors. The new prison also will have flushing toilets in each cell, a vocational center for rehabilitation and to teach the prisoners trades and skills, and a medical center. Although phase two is supposed to be finished in 5 months, it will be dependent on the upcoming elections. I have finally learned to expect the unexpected. I do hope the new prison will be completed within the year though.

Today our meeting with the Red Cross was extremely informative and eye-opening. We spoke with a doctor and other relief workers that are focused on the Cholera outbreak in the 18 prisons throughout Haiti. They were an exceptional part of the relief effort in containing, curing, and preventing the further spread of Cholera in Haiti. Of the 6,000 people in Haitian prisons, 665 people were diagnosed with Cholera and 64 died. This means the case-fatality rate was 9.4%, a relatively low number given the unsanitary conditions of the prisons and the lack of prison resources, oversight, and knowledge about Cholera here in Haiti.

One thing in our meeting today stands out in my mind in particular – I certainly did not expect to learn this. When we questioned the prison official yesterday at Hinche about the measures implemented to clean and disinfect the cells, we were told that the prisoners brought their mattresses out into the courtyard to bake in the sun which would kill the bacteria. We must have all looked at the official incredulously because he repeated his answer again. We still hadn’t learned to expect the unexpected and after the interview, we all discussed how shocked we were at this “ridiculous” old wives tale. Did the prison officials really believe the sun could kill bacteria? During our interview with the Red Cross today, they told us it was at times difficult to educate Haitian people about how Cholera was spread and how to prevent it because some people believe that it is spread by God. Others believe that the voodoo priests here in Haiti cursed them with Cholera. I decided this was a perfect time to also mention the sun-bathing mattress cure-all and ask the Red Cross how they respond to these beliefs without being insensitive. The Red Cross leaders looked at me and smiled. I thought I must have asked an important question until they told me that it actually was a very effective preventative measure to put the mattresses in the sun because the UV rays have the ability to kill certain bacteria if they are first washed off properly. I think our entire Cholera Team felt pretty embarrassed that we were so sure this technique was ridiculous and that we questioned the prison official’s response. Ritha then learned that her Haitian grandmother’s remedy to add lemon to water to as a purification technique, something that she had dismissed as a myth for her entire life, was also useful because the lemon acid kills certain bacteria in the water. Western medicine has made me forget that sometimes the best remedies are those seemingly silly things my grandmothers taught me as kids. How many times do I have to be reminded that I should not expect or judge things here in Haiti?

We have so much more in store for us this week – visits to other prisons, meetings with other government officials, and of course the possible return of Aristide on Thursday that could affect the Presidential elections scheduled for this Sunday. Last year one of the Haitian Pastor’s we worked with said that as we grow and succeed in our legal and political careers he hoped Haiti will forever hold a special place in our hearts. I knew this would be true from the moment he said it, but the work and experiences I have had thus far on this trip have certainly solidified those feelings. I also will always remember to come to Haiti with an open mind and expect the unexpected

Haiti One Year Later

2011-03-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

As I arrived at the Toussaint L’ouverture airport, I was greeted by hagglers, digicel, voila and people wanting a dollar. This was not shocking to me. In fact after our trip to Haiti last year, nothing in Haiti shocks me anymore. The poverty does not shock me, the presence of the international community does not shock me and the fact that Haiti still looks the same after the earthquake does not shock me. As I rode down the streets of Port au Prince, I saw the same broken buildings, the same tent cities and the same piles of rubble. Sadly nothing has changed…

This year DRN has decided to take a more legal approach. We are partnering with an amazing organization and will be assisting them with two projects. The first is dealing with forced evictions in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, and the second is a Cholera prisons litigation. I am on the Cholera team and our main job is to research prisoner’s access to sanitation as well as investigate the overall conditions in the prisons.

Today the team visited a prison in Hinche. Hinche is located about 3 hours outside of Port au Prince. We met with one of the prison officials to discuss the conditions in the prison. We wanted to find out how the prisons have responded to the Cholera outbreak, what measures they have taken to prevent the spread, what the process was once someone is identified as having Cholera etc. The conditions in this prison were deplorable. There were 163 people in this prison and there were only three holding cells. They had a tent in the middle of the courtyard for inmates that had Cholera.

The prison official was very candid about what was going on in he prisons and shared his views on what needed to be changed. This particular prison official seemed to really care about he inmates. In fact one of the inmates stated that he has been like a father to him. The prison official discussed how he took the initiative to set up a commission to identify and prevent Cholera in his prison. Due to his efforts, there have only been four known incidences of Cholera as opposed to the other prisons that had 50 to 60 people die from Cholera.

This was only the first day and we have done so much. I look forward to the next few days. This week is supposed to get better with the possible return of Aristide so stay tuned.

Haiti Love

Ayiti Cherie

2011-03-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ayiti Cherie,

Today is our second day in Haiti and it has been an extremely humbling experience. I had the opportunity to visit the town of Hinche that I once lived in as a child. In my younger days I resided there with my grandmother. It is amazing to me how I transitioned from here, to poverty in the United States, to the military, to the one of the finest law schools in our country. Todays trip across the island of Haiti helped me further realize that I need to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. There are so many people that let chances pass them by, but I refuse to not capitalize on every opportunity that comes forth. I am sure that there is individuals on this island that wish they had the chances I had, so for them I will will continue to excel.

What stood out to me the most in todays trip was the interactions between the inspector a.k.a. warden of the prison, and the actual prisoners. They referred to him as “papa” acknowledging him as their paternal figure. It appeared that he treated them well. The prisoners spoke on how well they were treated given the circumstances. I thought it was funny how a cage filled past capacity with potential murderers acknowledged a soft spoken man as father. I assume that he treated them well; he showed us the pictures of how the prison looked prior to him taking command and how it was now, and there was a significant difference.

I wish Haiti the best and I look forward to what adventure awaits us tomorrow.

Overview of DRN's 2011 Trip to Haiti

2011-03-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

DRN Haiti arrived in Port-au-Prince yesterday to begin a five day fact-finding trip. This year, the group is split into two teams. Kelly, Diana, and David are working with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) to map the institutions involved in addressing forced evictions of internally displaced persons (IDP) from tent camps. Concurrently, Ritha, Shara, Stanley, Alana, and Dean Escalera are assisting our partner, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), with a project on cholera in the prisons. Both teams will conduct fact-finding interviews with Haitian government officials, international organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Additionally, both teams have site visits planned. The first group will, hopefully, visit IDP camps threatened with eviction, while the second group will travel to Haitian prisons outside of Port-au-Prince that have confirmed cases of cholera. At the end of our time in Haiti, each group will then consolidate its research into a report for use in advocacy efforts. Check back here for daily updates on our work in Haiti!

On the Ground in Haiti (Reflections on Sunday 3/13 - Day One)

2011-03-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

We made it. On the ground in PaP. "Fuck Babylon!" are the first discernable words I hear from outside the airport fence. (basic translation: Fuck the police). Clearly there are some underlying tensions here, but so far, I like everyone I meet.

Ritha's contact waited for us with his truck. He wasted no time voicing his views "You know the saying, hell is paved with good intentions?--Haiti." Don't misunderstand, this man loves Haiti like no other. He could be in the States with his son, a recent law school grad, but the pull of home will never subside. This just comes from years of back and forth, building, destroying and rebuilding. It's an understandable sentiment.

I was surprised by some of his views. He likes Sweet Mickey, but questions the usefulness of the elections post-quake. He advocates an interim council to rebuild key aspects of the nation, and developing "university town"...build hospital and university and let the rest grow organically. I suppose it's better than relocating IDPs in the desert with no food and no job.

In the evening we sat by the shade of backyard trees, meeting with our partners in IJDH. The news is that Airistide will come back Thursday. It may complicate things but it's worth it to be here. The suggestion for our focus is to gather information on Government and NGO roles in and getting their responses on IDPs/tent camps. In particular, our main area of concern is forced evictions of IDPs with no adequate alternative for housing.

We were also able to get a candid sit down with an impassioned Haitian attorney, though he darted between our conversation and the hooting and hollering of a sizeable debate in the front of the lot -- either to quiet them or partake in the excitement, I can't be sure. He shed light on his primary concern and our third main focus: the need to involve the Haitian government, to hold them responsible, for deliberations on the housing issues here. Despite NGO efforts here, successful coordinated efforts are going to require government involvement at some level.

Fortunately we have an upcoming meeting with the CCCM "cluster" of NGOs who we can direct these inquiries to, and meetings lined up with other orgs and Haitian Ministries later in the week.

Between the pending elections, the rumors of Airistide's return, and the upcoming meetings, this is a hell of a week to be in Haiti. Glad to be here. Cheers.

NOLA Winter Break Trip

2011-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

While driving around Mid City and the Ninth Ward in New Orleans this winter break, I was somewhat surprised to see how many homes still had inspection markings from over 5 years ago. I was more surprised, however, to find that many of these marked homes had not only been rebuilt inside, but were currently occupied. The owners had chosen to leave the markings so they could memorialize the devastation of Hurricane Katrina while the rebuilding effort around them remains unfinished. The people of New Orleans will not rest until the city has been restored, and Fordham DRN returns every year to help them with that process.

Inspection markings found on many of the homes devastated by Katrina

I spent the week with a small group working on a home in Mid City. Our delightfully unique and informative "project manager" Jim informed us that this particular type of house is common in the New Orleans area and is called a "Shotgun House." They are so named, we were told, because a person could stand in the very back room of the house and use a shotgun to shoot an intruder in the front (imagine a railroad apartment with taller ceilings and a more colorful name). We spent several days mudding, painting, climbing ladders, building walls, and quizzing Jim about New Orleans culture. The manual labor was taxing, but incredibly rewarding. After only 4 days, the mark we left was undeniable: what began as a gutted, uninhabitable house was beginning to look like a home.

In front of our Shotgun House!

New Orleans is a city full of life, despite the unbelievable tragedies that it has endured in the last few years. Everyone we met during the week was selflessly devoted to rebuilding the city and returning it to its former glory. This devotion, however, would mean nothing without the continued efforts of volunteers. Many thanks to Phoenix of New Orleans for fostering this volunteerism and to Fordham DRN for making this trip possible.

New PayPal Link

2011-02-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your continuing support. If you would like to make a donation to DRN through PayPal, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/http-tinyurl-com-donatehaiti
Any and all donations are much appreciated.

Haiti Round-table Discussion

2011-02-14T17:01:00.001-08:00

On Friday, February 11, 2011, the Fordham Law Disaster Relief Network hosted a round-table discussion for New York City-area law schools that have legal projects in Haiti. Law schools represented included Cardozo, Columbia, CUNY, NYU, and Seton Hall. Additional participants included Annie Gell, from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti ("IJDH"), and Professor Tracy McGaugh of Touro Law Center and "You.Me.We." Fordham Law School was represented by the DRN executive board, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Nitza Escalera, Assistant Dean of the Public Interest Resource Center Tom Schoenherr, and Professor Olivier Sylvain. Also in attendance were Kristin Blomquist (FLS 2012) who worked with IJDH, Jocy Brooks (FLS 2012) who will work with IJDH, and Sarah Borsody (FLS 2011) from the Fordham Immigration Advocacy Program.

The round-table aimed to provide a forum through which these groups could collaborate in their work and assess their future goals and challenges. If you are interested in learning more about the outcome of the discussion or getting involved in future collaboration, please email DRN at fordhamdrn@gmail.com.

Only ONE Month till Haiti 2011

2011-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

http://tinyurl.com/http-tinyurl-com-donatehaiti

We're only one month away now from our spring break trip to Haiti this year !

Thank you to everybody that has been donating so far, and to those of you who haven't had the chance yet please support us at the link above in this final month of preparation for the trip.

7 Fordham Law students along with Dean of Student Affairs, Nitza Escalera will be traveling to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to conduct a legal fact-finding mission for the impending cholera litigation to be brought in Haitian courts. Our work will directly address the spread of the cholera epidemic to the prisons and the role that the government has played failing to provide adequate sanitation and health services in the prisons.

Mack McClendon's Revival of the Lower 9th

2011-02-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

Last year, a crew from the New Orleans trip spent each day doing odd jobs around the Lower 9th Ward. These tasks were less about their physical impact, and more about building connections with the people living in the neighborhood. On the Tuesday of that week, we were brought to an abandoned auto body shop that was being rebuilt as a community center. The man behind the project was Mack McClendon (left). We spent the day cleaning up the warehouse and listening to Mack's stories of the Lower 9th before, during, and after the floods. Rather than attempting to retell his story, I'll let Mack do it for me. Recently he was a guest at The Moth, a nonprofit group dedicated to the art of storytelling. You can access his story, entitled "What Can You Do?" here.

Enjoy.

PayPal Donations to DRN

2011-01-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much to all of those who came out to support DRN for last night's successful event - Renewal and Rebirth: A Fundraister for Haiti. If you were unable to make the event but would still like to make a contribution, we would greatly appreciate your support. No donation is too small and any support will be truly appreciated.

Please visit the following paypal site if you would like to donate:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=C8UZ76TZ6PCCE&lc=US&item_name=Disaster%20Relief%20Network%20%28DRN%29&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

"Renewal and Rebirth: A Fundraiser for Haiti"

2011-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

In commemoration of the one-year anniversary of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, Fordham Law School’s Disaster Relief Network (“DRN”) will host “Renewal and Rebirth: A Fundraiser for Haiti” on Thursday, January 20, 2011 from 6:30pm–10:00pm, in the Lowenstein Building of Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus. Proceeds will benefit the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (“IJDH”) and the Disaster Relief Network.

A year after the earthquake, survivors continue to live in tents, the cholera epidemic remains unchecked, and donors have failed to honor post-earthquake promises. IJDH has taken a leading role in advocating for a human rights-based approach to earthquake response. With a long-term focus on sustainable change in Haiti, IJDH partners with grassroots groups to develop an effective human rights advocacy program. Current IJDH projects cover topics including gender-based violence in internally displaced persons (“IDP”) camps and issues relating to IDP land rights and forced evictions.

The event will feature speakers, including Rodneyse Bichotte State Committeewoman for the 42^nd District in Brooklyn, comedian “Haitian V,” and representatives of other organizations that aim to promote a sustainable recovery effort in Haiti. Additionally, the Vassar Haiti Project (“VHP”) will be selling Haitian paintings, handicrafts, and other artwork to benefit VHP’s school and medical clinic in Chermaitre village in the mountains of northwestern Haiti.

DRN is a public interest student group formed in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with a mission to serve populations affected by natural disasters. In March 2010, fourteen DRN members traveled to Haiti to run a weeklong camp for children—who were not in school because schools remained closed—in Cabaret, Haiti. DRN remains committed to assisting the survivors of the 2010 earthquake and is proud to support IJDH’s efforts to promote a human rights based approach to earthquake recovery.

Tickets to “Renewal and Rebirth,” which can be purchased at the door, are $10 for students and $15 for non-students. Donations can be made via checks payable to Fordham University School of Law (designate “Disaster Relief Network” in the memo line) at,140 West 62nd Street, Room 08, New York, NY 10023.

For questions, please contact Ritha Pierre (ritha.pierre@gmail.com, 718-344-7662) or Diana Schaffner (schaffnerdiana@gmail.com, 571-228-2283). For additional information on DRN’s Haiti Project please see: http://fordhamdrn.blogspot.com or http://twitter.com/FordhamDRN.

2010-04-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Video of Haiti trip

All video and audio content was captured as part of the Fordham Law School Disaster Relief Network's Spring 2010 Trip to Cabaret, Haiti, which took place from March 15 - March 21, 2010. This school contest entry documents the student group's journey from New York through the Dominican Republic, and through recently devastated Port Au Prince, to reach out to children affected by the disaster. The students were accompanied by medical and other representatives from the non-profit organization Voices For Haiti, who partnered with the Disaster Relief Network in making the trip possible.

full screen available at http://vimeo.com/10591338

2010-04-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

report back session at fordham law

The Gift of Water...

2010-03-29T09:27:00.001-07:00

Fe'm cardeau yon ti gout dlo. This is what I heard every single day for the last week. Please give me a gift of water... It's crazy how water is seen as a gift to some....

Last week I along with 15 other people took a journey to my motherland, Haiti. I would first like to say that I couldn't have gone with a better group of people. I think this is an experience that will bond us forever.

Before we arrived in Haiti we spent the night in the Dominican Republic. The experience there was great. The next morning we took a bus ride into Haiti and as we approached the border, it was like we entered into a whole new world... It's crazy to me that this is literally one island. We crossed no bridge, we just crossed a check point and boom we were in Haiti.

Going down the bumpy dirt road I saw faces of impoverished people bathing in the same water they clean and cook with. Ironically enough the picturesque view of mountains and ocean were beautiful, but the sight of people living in these conditions were heart wrenching.

As we approached Port-au-Prince it didn't seem all that bad. I knew it was a poor country, the television had prepared me for the shacks and the tent cities.... So I thought. We didn't spend long in PAP that day. It was only a pit stop to where we would actually be working. A town called Cabaret.

Upon arriving in Cabaret, it still didn't feel real. We unloaded the bus, ate and then began to pitch our tents. Unlike other mission groups, we did not get the luxury of sleeping in doors on a bed. We slept in tents outside on the rocks. If I had to make one complaint about this trip it would be about the rocks. Granted I am lucky to even have a tent to sleep in, but those rocks deprived me of sleep lol. But I digress...

Many of us had the outhouse experience on the first day. They had built a bathroom for us, that seemingly flushed, we had a shower that gave one strand of water. I'm sure most of us would have rather bathed in a bucket and used the bushes which many of us ended up doing any ways. Even with these amenities I believe we had the real outdoor experience.

The first day of camp was really a test run. No one knew what to expect, but we made it happen. The first day we received 110 kids. In the morning we had icebreakers where we would gather the children together. The icebreakers were basically a sing a long session. The children loved Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. The last few days we had talent shoes in the morning where the children would come up and sing or rap. We then divide the kids into different groups where they had a choice of arts and crafts, sports, English and Spanish language and games. Although we had planned to cater about 100 kids I don't think any of us took into account the water crisis.

The first day we had only enough water for one water break. Mind you these water baggies were only about 5 ounces (if that). We also realized that we had to give these kids with 2 meals a day. We were told that these children would come to us already fed, that was definitely not the case. The next day we provided breakfast (which was bread and butter with some juice) and lunch was usually spaghetti and ketchup or rice and beans.

Even with these improvements, providing enough water was still a challenge. We gave them 2 water breaks over a 7 hour period. 2 baggies per child per day is not enough water. I May have drunk 2 bottles a day and I still felt dehydrated at times. Every half hour a child was asking me to give them the "gift" of water. All I could do is say I'm sorry but there is no water... I think the reason I deprived myself of water was because I could not sit there and hydrate myself while knowing these kids are dying of thirst.

Every day we received more and more children. I believe the most we received was 175 in one day. Each day it got a little easier. The children warmed up to us and we did what we had to do with what we had. At the end of the day we can say that we made a difference. It wasn't about the food, or the water that we provided to the kids. It was the time spent with them. Several people from the community told me that they were happy with the job we were doing.

We are gone now, and the kids will probably go back to having less than one meal a day, but they will not forget us. They can't forget us. Someone stated that they never saw the kids take to any of the earlier groups the way they took to us. We are the only ones who focused on the children.

I do not say this to brag, but I say this to make a point. For those of you who said that going to Haiti was pointless and that there was nothing you could do, well you were wrong. We were a bunch of law students with practically no medical training or real experience with kids. We went to Haiti because we believed that we could make a difference. I am proud of our group for standing up and taking this risk. Most of the law schools canceled their trip to Haiti and opted to send money instead. I'm not saying that money is not important, but what we did with those kids will last them a lifetime.

The children were poor and they could have asked for anything, but instead they asked for water. Fe'm cadeau yon ti dlo... Give me the gift of water... Water is a basic necessity. It should never be considered a gift. We all donate to these fancy organizations thinking that the money we send will give these basic needs, but I was there and honestly I do not see where your money has gone. The children are still asking for water. They desperately need food. Malnutrition is real over there. Two year olds look like 7 month olds because they are malnourished. I spent the day in the medical clinic, translating and "triaging" and the things I saw I would never thought I would see... All because they are not getting the basic needs.

I know we cannot save the world and our one week trip may have been a tease, but if it did anything at all, it brought awareness. It is one thing to hear about the poverty and watch it on TV but it is another to live and breathe it. To see it face to face. To play with it. To sing with it. It is a different experience. Seeing these children in the dirt, half-dressed, diseased. it is just hard to swallow especially since I have a child myself.

This was definitely an experience to say the least. I hope that all you get an opportunity to experience what we saw. Watching it on TV will not get the job done. Whether it is Haiti or Togo I really don't care, just get out there and make a difference. You will be surprised at the good you can do.

Reflection on Haiti

2010-03-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

I did not cry when I was in Haiti. I almost did but I did not. Now that I am back in the states I want to cry every day. Every time I see the pictures I want to cry. There is a sadness in my heart for Haiti. But my tears will not make the situation better. It will not provide water for the children. It will not provide medicine for the dying. I can’t waste my time shedding tears. I have to think of the next step. What will my next trip entail.

If there is one thing that stood out to me on this trip, it is the disparity between the rich and the poor. Haiti has no middle class. You are either rich or poor, and honestly this is something I cannot understand. It does not sit well with me.

As we drove down the streets of Port-au-Prince looking at the devastation. I thought to myself what are these people still doing here? This city needs to evacuated. Especially since there are still after shocks. People are literally setting up shop right under the rubble and outside their tent cities. In watching this two things came to mind. 1. How are these people making any real money when everyone is selling side by side the same products? 2. I thought about how the government is so crippled that they can’t even provide relief to the people. What I found to be puzzling was that if you drive a little further to petionville you will find exclusive restaurants, hotels and stores filled with rich tourists smoking their cigarettes and enjoying a drink while people are right outside the walls sleeping and begging for money.

Interestingly enough not far from the poverty I was living in rested the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life. Attached to it a gorgeous hotel with a restaurant and bar. For a few dollars men in boats will take you for a ride to see millionaires row…

I don’t get it and I probably never will, but that is why I urge you guys to go and see for yourselves. Many of you think that the Red Cross is taking care of business. Well I don’t see it. Red cross is not going to help Haiti, Mercy Corps is not going to help Haiti, even the UN is not going to help Haiti. I hear America raised millions if not billions of dollars to help Haiti, but I don’t know where the money went. I no longer see those images that were all over the news of people receiving food and water. As a matter of fact I don’t recall seeing anyone from the red cross. I don’t want to discredit these organizations because in reality even if it is just the president and his cabinet receiving the aid its better than nothing right?

I worked in a clinic where I had to dispense my own pain killers as prescription medicine because the clinic did not have it to give. We brought medication to this government operated clinic and unfortunately a lot of the stuff we brought was gone. What I find disgusting is that in the midst of disaster, you will always find those who take it as an opportunity to make money. Apparently pharmaceuticals is a big business in Haiti and because there is such a great demand in Port-au-Prince, many will take to go and sell. This clinic only has one real doctor, one lab tech that does everything and I believe a pharmacist or two along with maybe two nurses. By no stretch of the imagination is this OK. Especially since there is an outbreak of malaria. The doctors are burnt out and there just aren’t that many resources to cater to the needs of the locals.

Many of the patients were children. For some reason every child in the area had red hair which is a sign of malnutrition. Malnutrition leads to a host of other diseases and because their parents were probably also malnourished, many of these children are born with defects. I saw one child that looked like she had something called Turner’s syndrome. Honestly probably the scariest looking child I have ever seen. But what do you do in a situation like this where the people are sick because of food and water deprivation? The mother of this child was pregnant herself. This seemed to be a re-occurring theme throughout the clinic. Parent is sick with child, which leaves the current sick child neglected…

Turner's Syndrome Photo by Hatnim Lee

How do we even attempt to fix this? Is this an education issue? Some of my colleagues would say YES! I agree. Prescribing antibiotics to women in Haiti for vaginal issues is futile. Why because somewhere along the line someone told them that after every menstrual cycle, they must take antibiotics to cleanse. Little do they know this practice is harming them. Stripping their bodies away of the good bacteria and making them immune to the medication itself. The same medication that is suppose to cure them. What about the teachings that certain types of fruit consumed during a certain time of day and season is harmful? Haitians are very superstitious people, and quite frankly the culture maybe killing its people. You have food but you can’t eat it due to an old wives tale?…

So if education is the way how do we go about doing it? Right now the earthquake has crippled the education system. According to my aunt who is a teacher in Haiti, the schools are filled with “refugee’s”. “They are not leaving the site. Some of these people were renting homes or living in the alley, they will not give up their living quarters. In the meantime there is no space to have school. What will happen, we do not know.”

In Cabaret many of the schools are still closed because the teachers are from Port-au-Prince. They cannot leave because they have to handle their business. When it rains the clinic is closed because the medical professionals cannot travel due to the condition of the roads. So it seems even if you wanted to educate it cannot happen because there are all these external issues… For those of you who are in to developing third world countries, you may want take a stab at this puzzle because I really have no clue. What I do know is that something has to be done to protect the future of Haiti.

Dlo? Boul?

2010-03-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

I was a rock star in Cabaret. Although I'd like to think it had something to do with my awesome rendition of the classic "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," or my sweet Latin dance moves, I suspect it had more to do with how exotic looking (read: pale skin, varying from translucent to Lobster Red) and sounding (read: speaking only English or French) I was to the campers. I also realize it had less to do with my arts and crafts prowess and more to do with my ability to provide simple things.

Everyday in camp, little hands would reach up and tap me on the arm. Faces with puppy dog eyes, broad smiles, and small white teeth in various stages of coming in or falling out would look up and ask one of two questions: Dlo? Boul? Water? Ball? A basic necessity of life and a near-necessity of childhood are two things that the children of Cabaret often lack. Although we tried our best to provide plenty of both, it never seemed like enough.

Potable water, sold in plastic pouches of not quite 8 oz., could only be barely enough to quench a child's thirst in the hot Haitian sun or even under the shade of the mango trees, which produced the sweetest mangoes I have ever tasted. Water struck me as something I had never really given a second thought to having. When I went to camp I took a frozen water bottle, but that was just because I preferred cold ice water, not because there was no basic plumbing or an ample number of water fountains on the grounds of the camps I attended. Other times, I brought my own because I wanted iced tea instead of water. I had never seen so many children ask for plain water. I would have asked for soda, juice, or any other sugary drink I desired.

As it was when I was a kid in camp and a counselor was holding a ball in his or her hands, the children of Cabaret wanted to play with it. Except as a camper, I'd want to pick out the best basketball from the rack of 20, the one that was perfectly worn in, the right size, and inflated just right. Or I'd want the soccer ball that was the Size 5, the official size that the pros played with, not the junior sizes 3 or 4. Forget about the balls that were worn, ripped, or in other ways less than perfect.

In Cabaret, it was different. These kids wanted to get their hands on any ball we had and would have entertained themselves for hours with rocks for goal posts until we stopped them to eat lunch or change activities. Pastor Mario of Voices for Haiti told an interesting story that demonstrated the power of a simple ball. The essence of it was that the town had no public park until Voices gave some children in town a ball and the children began playing soccer on a small plot of cleared land so often that they essentially annexed a dirt patch into a public playground. The story ignored the fact that this plot of land is also used as a donkey parking lot, which leads to potentially slippery hazards on the field and a very serious out-of-bounds line that might try to kick you or the ball back in play if you're not careful.

I could go on for a lot longer about how the trip made me realize the privileges I enjoyed growing up and how I took them for granted, but that would draw a much starker distinction between my campers and myself than I truly experienced. As I discussed with another counselor, Frank, one of the most comforting parts of this experience was knowing that no matter where we were and how different Haiti was from Queens or San Francisco, kids are still kids. You still had bullies, tattletales, line-cutters and combinations of all three. There were the bad sports and good sports and the criers and the laughers.

a land of contrasts...

2010-03-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Since the earthquake, the once-burgeoning tourism industry north of Cabaret is now almost non-existent. Although hotels and restaurants remain empty, local fishermen still pop up to offer sightseeing tours to the sporadic diplomat, aid official, or volunteer group that manages to visit the breathtaking beaches.

The main hall in the the Cabaret orphanage was severely damaged by the earthquake.

At the end of the week, the group took a few hours to enjoy the serenity of the nearby seaside and reflect on our trip. Although only an hour and a half from capital, it seemed like we were worlds away from the crowded streets and stark poverty so often used as the sole depiction of the country.

Haiti is not only the poorest country in the western hemisphere, it is also the most unequal. Alongside these descriptions, I would argue that it is also among the friendliest, proudest, and most breathtaking places on the globe.

Making our way through Port-au-Prince, we saw many concrete skeletons of former homes crushed on January 12th and the tent cities that now replace them. These images, however, were seen against a backdrop of swaths of slums, open sewers, crowded markets, and children hawking and begging in the streets. Pockets of opulence- luxurious hotels, boutiques, and guarded supermarkets- stood out intermittently among this poverty. In the countryside, donkeys and ancient pick-up trucks lined the mostly unpaved roads while families worked the mango and banana fields. Not far off, we saw spectacular beaches enclosed by walled-off resorts and occasional vacation homes.

In Cabaret, most of the children we spent time with did not own shoes. Many were not accustomed to eating more than once a day. Some had never held a pencil or pen before.

These conditions are not caused by the January 12th earthquake, but are products of a long history of colonization, slavery, foreign interventions, dictatorships, corruption, greed, racism, and unfair trade practices.

The history also includes remarkable stories of resistance and resilience- most notably the 1804 revolution, the only successful slave-led revolution in the world. This resilience was apparent during our stay in Cabaret. The children eagerly welcomed us into their community, taught us Kreyol songs and jokes, learned English, showed us local farming practices, and engaged us many cultural exchanges. Although the needs in Cabaret are dire- schools are closed, the clinic has only one doctor, the orphanage has been badly damaged- the community has not given up. I hope that we don't either.

-Rob

2010-03-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

portraits in cabaret..

Nadége Nénecy, 9

Handral Jule, 7

Ericka Roberts, 4

Guerda Romulus, 51

Sasia Louis & Branda Beldor, cousins 4

Rosilia Rosier, 85

Sherlanda Jules, 10

Bertiq Pierre Louis, 11

Anelson Previlon, 9

Barthelemy Bensley, 2

Revney Pierre, 6

Miaulken Michel, 13

2010-03-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

faces..

2010-03-23T17:21:00.000-07:00

time to wash..

2010-03-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

the orphanage & schools...

2010-03-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

church..

2010-03-23T10:34:00.001-07:00

these are some stills from the impressive relay races orchestrated by my colleagues on our last day.

2010-03-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

time to eat!

2010-03-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

basketball & soccer...

2010-03-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

games...

RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT*DANCING*JUMP ROPING*DOMINOS*LIMBO*UNOS
They also liked styling hair :D

2010-03-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

some favorites...

admission bracelets

woman on a donkey

house

2010-03-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

"head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!
head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!
eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
KNEES AND TOES!"

2010-03-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

arts & crafts...

Those of us that were responsible for organizing the arts & crafts each day were reluctant to give the children anything that would create any tangible inequalities within the community. All of the kids demonstrated an amazing amount of patience and determination creating things like personalized hats, figurines, necklaces, paper planes, etc....
On an evening stroll through the neighborhood, we were so touched to find that they had decorated a makeshift communal play area using some of the arts & crafts ideas they had learned from camp.
-kristina ceronne

Clinic in Cabaret

2010-03-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Diana, Ritha, and I went to the Cabaret clinic to assist two American doctors, Forrest and Kensia.

Ritha helped the doctors with translations & Diana helped take blood pressure.
This clinic usually has only one doctor but there were two additional doctors from Voices for Haiti volunteering for the week.
There is no anaesthesia so there was lots of loud wailing & crying children.
Many of the patients come with infections that were not taken care of from the beginning so they become much larger problems later. For example, the photo above is of a lady who got a piece of wood stuck in her foot.
She never got it treated so the infection ate into her whole food The nurse had to pour hydrogen peroxide over her open foot.
I had to leave the room after a couple minutes.
-Hatnim

A mother who looked eight-months pregnant, and her baby girl kept me company in the waiting room for most of the day. The mother took turns with her two older daughters holding the baby. At first glance I thought the baby was about a year old, she was actually two. The doctors had trouble diagnosing her for certain, but in the end they thought she likely had a genetic condition.

A boy, age 11 or 12, came into the clinic in the middle of the day with his mother. The day before he was running a 104 fever, and the day we saw him he received the news that his blood test showed he was in the advanced stages of malaria. Kensia saw the boy and afterward his mother came back and told her she was sent from God because if the extra doctor hadn't been there then her son wouldn't have been been seen at the clinic.

Richard, our Voices for Haiti medical liaison, coordinated the doctors' trip to Haiti and the running of the clinic. He also provided us with valuable insight on the functioning of the country's healthcare system.

A young man came in after he was hit by a car while riding his motorbike. The doctors feared he had internal bleeding, but there was no X-ray in Cabaret. The doctors made the staff go on a search to find IV fluid and then ordered an ambulance to take the man to Port-au-Prince for further treatment. To support him the doctors collected $30 to assist the patient in buying medications and treatment.

Women my age (25) made up a large portion of those in the clinic. They came to collect boxes of Monistat that DRN brought, carried tiny babies for vaccines, looked after each other's children, and nagged the harried nurses until older relatives were attended to.

I spent most of the day watching in the waiting room where I helped one of the clinic's two regular nurses and Forrest. With Saskia on my lap, I managed a blood pressure monitor, which gave me the chance to the interact with all the visitors for the day. Vendors came through the doors selling baked goods in plastic wrap, bags of water, and sodas. A morning rush gave way to spurts of activity as emergencies were shuttled into consultation rooms..

After Saskia was seen and diagnosed with an upper respirator infection, she and I waited in line at the pharmacy window for an hour or so. A hunt began for children's cold medicine, but none was found. I asked but there was no other place to get children's cold medicine in town. We wet home with a tired little girl whose cough will just have to work itself out over time

On a table in front of me babies were weighed on a scale that reminded me of fruit vendors. Young and old alike had their temperature taken with the same thermometer- wiped cleaned with an alcohol swab and placed in the underarm. Each patient's information was handwritten by a nurse on a blank sheet of paper in lovely cursive script.

That evening I spoke with Hatnim and Ritha, all three of us tired without having done anything physical all day. We wondered at the ability of the clinic’s one doctor to return everyday to handle the steady stream of patients. The clinic in Cabaret was clean, the facility well cared for, but there were no resources. Forest had to borrow a flashlight from Kristina to examine children’s ears. What is incredible about Cabaret’s clinic is the care that can be managed with the resources available. The nurses and the staff worked with what they had, but I just kept looking around thinking of what could be accomplished with even a little more.

Forest and Kensia were a welcome addition for the doctor, who commutes daily from Port-au-Prince. Friday's rain prevented him from opening the clinic. Because of this, our American doctors lost a day of treating patients, Cabaret's sick were put off until after the weekend, and I was left wondering what would happen during the upcoming rainy season.

-Diana

Rebuild as a Stronger Nation

2010-03-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Like when I visited the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, nothing prepared me for our group's tour of post-earthquake Port-au-Prince. It is quite amazing how thirteen seconds can so drastically change the life of a nation.

Based on the news report I read and the photos I saw, I expected most, if not all, of the city to be flattened. That it wasn't does not mitigate the severity of the damage. What was surreal was the randomness of the devastation; completely collapsed buildings sat next to buildings that were seemingly untouched. The damage was as extensive in wealthy neighborhoods as it was in poor neighborhoods. The presidential palace is completely destroyed. Many other buildings were damaged and are now empty; their precarious position foreshadows damage yet to come.

What was most striking, however, was the vibrancy of the city. Amidst the rubble and the collapsed buildings that have yet to be removed, life proceeded, at least outwardly, as if nothing happened. Markets were set up atop piles of rubble. Thousands of the residents of the city went about their daily business and traffic jams were common. Certainly things are different in the city now: schools remain closed (at least for a few more weeks) and 90% of people live in tents, either because they are homeless or are too frightened to go back inside buildings whose structural integrity has proven weak. But despite these changes, life goes on. What other choice is there?

A Mississippi State official told me that it would take about thirty years to rebuild all that was damaged by Katrina. I do not know how long it will take Haiti to recover from the earthquake. What I do know is that the people of Haiti can rebuild as a stronger nation that can better meet the future needs of the children that we have served this week.

-Matt

The Capital

2010-03-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Passing through Port-au-Prince was unbelievable. We traveled through the most devastated areas of Delmas and Petionville. Many people remained in the city despite the devastation. We saw buildings leaning over on the verge of collapsing and people still walking around and under them. We also saw many Haitians rummaging through the rubble to find recyclable material to sell.
As a Haitian-American, the experience made me think about why was I so lucky to have parents who were able to leave Haiti and build a life in the United States. There is so much poverty and damage in Port-au-Prince. A lot of reconstruction is needed and Haiti must not be forgotten.

- Nadine

Sibling Parents

2010-03-17T21:50:00.001-07:00

Today a child at the orphanage told me within seconds of meeting me that his father died in the earthquake and his mother is very ill. Many of us have encountered this experience over the past few days. Although this reality is overwhelmingly heartbreaking, I have observed positive consequences resulting from profound tragedy and would like to share a few of these moments.

To fill the void of losing their parents, Haitian children have learned to adapt in inspiring ways--they have become each other's parents. This morning I saw an 8 year old boy carrying his crying, sick baby brother. It was early in the morning; breakfast was being served and the children, as usual, were rushing to the food table in an organized chaos. This one little boy was waiting off to the side consoling his brother, resisting what I'm sure was an eager desire to finally eat. He assumed the role of a parent to his little brother and had no doubts that it was more important to be there for him than eat at the moment. The intense loyalty and responsibility these children have for their siblings and each other is admirable and has made a lasting impact on me. When I relieved the boy of his parental "duties," by taking the baby so he could eat and have a few minutes to be a kid again, there was a short and simple moment in which our eyes met. He flashed an unforgettable smile--transcending all language barriers to say thank you--and ran into the swarm of kids to stand his ground in an intense game of kickball.

After breakfast, one of our Voices for Haiti leaders called me over and said a mother of a child at camp wanted to give me something she bought at the market. She handed me a few peanut butter cookies, thanking me for being her daughter's friend. Even in a desperate time when her basic food, water, and shelter needs are all compromised, this selfless woman wanted to give instead of receive. The children have also shown their gratitude by giving us mangos their families sell at the market. These victims have so little, yet their culture and values guide them to share and provide for one another and to express thankfulness and gratitude at all times.

After running soccer camp in the scorching sun all morning, the children were getting thirsty and hungry. I divided those cookies from the market among the soccer kids, but the last piece was hard and unbreakable. There were two children left who had not yet received a piece and the only way to share was for one to bite the piece in half and give the other half to the last child. Since my extensive Creole consists of "what's up" and "I'm burning," (translated as "not much"), I wasn't sure if the boy understood he had to share. Sure enough though, he bit a small piece off and gave the rest to the last kid. It was very possible he had never met this kid before the soccer game today. This was not my first time witnessing a situation like this here and I know it will not be my last. After, I thought of my childhood memories with my brother and friends; I don't think any one of us would have thought to share. In fact, I know we would have been bickering about who got the largest cookie piece. This experience today gave me some perspective to bring back home.

Although these few moments are precious, I can't even begin to describe the overall experience here in a blog post. The Fordham Law DRN group here is one of the most impressive and unique groups of people I have ever worked with, along with the Voices for Haiti volunteers. There are certainly miles upon miles of progress and work needed in the near and long-term future in Haiti, but every journey of a thousands miles requires small steps. We have taken this step here together. In the midst of complete devastation and tragedy, these children still manifest hope through their smiles. In the face of adversity, these children manifest resilience and love. Yesterday, a camper told me that he will never forget me. Before I leave, I will be sure to tell him and the other campers that I will never forget them either. Peace and love. -Shara

Privilege

2010-03-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today was day two of working with the kids. I walked away with a busted lip, a bleeding finger and very sore feet...but I'm ok, thanks for asking.

As sorry as I would like to feel for myself, I can't; because today we met a baby who we were told was two, but looked as big as my 8 month old nephew. We will call him Bengy. Bengy couldn't stop crying and was sensitive to touch. When we inquired about his mother, we were told that she has been too sick and weak to leave the house. Bengy was sick and malnourished. Fortunately, his case was an outlier case, but what was a lot more common were kids who were willing to fight over 4 ounces of water.

We saw over 150 kids come to camp today in hopes of getting a meal of spaghetti and ketchup. I met a kid today who told me that he wants to go to school, but can't because the schools are closed. At the end of each day, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the events of the day, and all I continue to think about is privilege. Our privilege. In 4 days, I will leave this country and get on a plane. I am privileged. I will arrive at jfk airport and pay $40 for a cab ride home. I am privileged. I will walk into my apartment , turn on my lights and have electricity. I am privileged. Most importantly, I will do something a lot of these kids cannot: I will have a hot meal and access to an endless supply of water. What privilege I have! And if you are reading this post, you are privileged too. So as you sit down for your next meal or cup of water remember malnourished Bengy and all the other kids who cannot boast the same privilege as you and I and be thankful for that privileged.

-Dianne Samu

Resourcefulness and Resilience

2010-03-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Our first day of camp, and what a day it was! Language classes, games, basketball, soccer, crafts--paper airplanes and itsy bitsy spider!... We covered them all. Overall, we shared a lot of fun with a lot of amazing kids--and, of course, a few troublemakers! ;)

For Rob and myself, basketball was the name of the game, and I quickly learned how challenging a language barrier can be. Explaining the rules of "knockout" to a group that speaks exclusively Creole is no mean feat! That said, two salient characteristics soon emerged among our campers: resourcefulness and resilience. The few balls we were able to bring spawned countless games of basketball, soccer, and everything else under the sun! In the intervals, between their broken English and my hopeless Creole, many children shared some of the overwhelming trials and tribulations of their young lives. However, while these stories often involved devastating heartbreak, the children never missed a beat. Today was not for mourning: it was a celebration and an opportunity. If nothing else, our camp gave these children a day free from worry and full of fun--in other words, a day of the childhood that so many have missed recently.

In addition, I would be remiss if I did not sing the praises of Voices for Haiti. Our partner, our host, and our keeper, the members of VFH have exceeded all of our wildest expectations with their generosity and organization. Expecting to live this week in the harshest of conditions, we instead arrived to find a clean campground, plenty of space for recreation, and (gasp!) even indoor plumbing. Our meals have been both hearty and delicious, and no two have been alike! Moreover, the VFH staff has attended to our every need with more grace and generosity than I thought possible. In short, they have been a Godsend.

Finally, today brought a profound awareness of--and gratitude for--the bedrock upon which our trip rests: our generous donors. Without your support, our work here would not be possible, and we join the children of Cabaret in thanking you from the bottom of our hearts.

- Jared

Pre-Haiti Thoughts

2010-03-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today marks more than the start of our trip to Haiti; it is two-months from the earthquake now.

It was surreal today walking around the city and just thinking of all the basic necessities that I take for granted every day. I held my bottle of water thinking just how important it would be to someone's life in Haiti to have that bottle. Did I even really need it when I could just walk down the hall to the water fountain?

I want to be prepared, but I wonder more and more what that actually means. As much as I can think about what bug spray would work best and which shoes to bring, these are not the things that I really care about most. I want to prepare for what I will see, who I will meet, and how it will make me feel. So really, these are the things that you can never be fully prepared for. I am prepared in the sense that I realizethat I can never fully be so.

It is this inability to predict what will happen that makes this trip especially exciting. I cannot wait to find out what is to come ahead of us. Haiti, here we come !

2010-03-11T02:08:00.000-08:00

Please check back regularly for updates, news, and photos from Haiti.

2010-03-03T21:28:00.001-08:00

The Fordham Law School Disaster Relief Network (“DRN”) is a public interest student group that was formed in the fall of 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina with a mission of serving populations affected by natural disasters. We have made nine successful trips to the Gulf Coast region, but, because of the catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, we have chosen to focus our immediate efforts on the people of Haiti, and we seek your assistance to make our trip a success.

On March 14, DRN will send a group of fourteen Fordham Law students and the Dean of Student Affairs to Haiti. DRN is partnering with Voices for Haiti ("V4H"- www.voicesforhaiti.org) to run a week-long day camp for orphans and other children affected by the disaster who are currently living in a tent-city in Cabaret, about 15 miles outside of Port-au-Prince on property owned b V4H.

While media attention on Haiti is fading, the need is escalating. Schools and businesses remain closed, and individuals continue to live in tent cities. We are soliciting donations to help us provide meals for the children who attend the camp and to purchase games and sporting equipment, which we will then use during spring break and then leave there when we depart. Although the cost of food is relatively inexpensive, the costs will mount quickly over the week to welcome every child who wishes to attend our camp. Additionally, we hope to fulfill the wish list of our partner organization and its orphanage and school by bringing needed medications and personal hygiene items for the population of that tent city. Further, if your contributions allow, we hope to begin the construction of a planned public park and soccer field that will provide a lasting impact long after our trip has ended. The cost to begin construction is estimated at $5,000.

Our goal is to raise an additional $10,000-$15,000 to assist with some of the immediate and long-term needs of the people we will serve. If you wish to make a tax-deductable donation, you can also send a check payable to Fordham University School of Law and with Disaster Relief Network in the memo, to the Public Interest Resource Center, Fordham University School of Law, 140 West 62nd Street, Rm. 08, New York, NY 10023.

Thank you very much for your support,

Fordham Law Disaster Relief Network

For more information on the status of Haiti's schoolchildren, please see this recent NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/americas/07schools.html?hp

Click here if you would like to download our official donation letter.