The problem in Haiti was not only the earthquake. It is the poorest country in Latin America that needs development aid. Marek Soós from ADRA Slovensko recalls after more than four months of work in Haiti.

How quickly did ADRA Slovakia get involved in actions to help earthquake victims?

Immediately after the earthquake, we announced a collection. Together with funds from the Slovak Aid program, we used the money collected for immediate relief after the earthquake. Since ADRA Czech Republic had a much larger amount of money at its disposal, we decided that the Slovak collection would be of greater benefit when the money was combined with Czech Adra.

The Czech branch had at its disposal six million Czech crowns for immediate humanitarian aid and another over 20 million Czech crowns from public collections and donors, which it decided to use for a two-year agricultural project. This is already counted as development aid. As part of these projects, Slovak funds were used for the construction of shelters in Petite Goave and for the restoration of the water source in Pike. It solves the drinking water problem in the area permanently, so basically it is also development aid.

The UN has a relatively good base in Haiti, peacekeeping forces are also active there. Did it help to act quickly and efficiently after an earthquake?

It is certainly important what these organizations have there, it is a great help especially in the distribution of material. But even so, the first wave of aid to Haiti was chaotic. In the beginning, many aid funds were released, many small organizations came and they tried to spend their funds as quickly as possible. Later it was selected, only the bigger players remained and they were able to come to a better agreement with each other. But later another problem emerged - the Haitian government did not want to let aid cross the border.

Why?

It was justified to some extent. In Haiti, an import tax of 22 percent is paid and humanitarian goods are not taxed. There were certainly those who took advantage of the post-earthquake situation to avoid taxes. However, the government overreacted. At first, humanitarian aid was delivered through ports and airports without any problems, from mid-April restrictions were already applied to certain types of goods, and from July only medical equipment and food are counted as humanitarian material. We had a problem getting the drinking water purification equipment there. We were able to resolve it in a few days, but it took us a month and a half to arrange for a shipment of farm implements to be allowed into the country.

How has the situation in Haiti changed during the time you were there?

After the earthquake, many organizations started delivering food there. People began to become dependent on imported food and stayed in the camps instead of returning home, trying to repair their houses and continue to work the land. At first, people set up camps along the roads because if they stayed at home in their small settlements, no one would come to help them. It is also related to the fact that Haiti has had many problems before, not all of them caused by the earthquake. It is a country in many respects even more backward than some African states, yet it has good conditions for agriculture and tourism. Many things that were neglected in the country - for example, in the field of health and water distribution - began to be addressed only after the earthquake, when humanitarian organizations arrived.

Do you think humanitarian organizations were able to respond to the situation correctly?

Haiti needs organizations that will stay there longer and contribute to the development of the country. The Czech ADRA also tried to think in this spirit. In the second phase, for example, we distributed kitchen sets containing pots, ladles, and knives to the people in the camps. We tried to motivate them to return home. Haitians should also have a lasting benefit from the two-year agricultural project. A seed bank and training centers will be built to teach people how to use land more efficiently.

Klaudia Laszlóová

The article was published in the Development Aid - Fall 2010 newsletter. It is published by Platforma mimovládnych rozvojových organizácií (MVRO), which is an association of legal entities - an umbrella organization of 31 (23 regular members and 8 observers) Slovak non-governmental organizations that deal mainly with foreign development and humanitarian aid.