How Should Haiti Rebuild in the Earthquake's Aftermath?

Q: More than a week after Haiti's devastating earthquake, foreign governments and aid groups are facing serious obstacles in providing food, water and medical attention to survivors. What are Haiti's short-, medium- and long-term needs in the aftermath of the catastrophe? Will the international community make a permanent commitment to recovery and reconstruction in Haiti in the coming years, or will donor interest be short-lived? What role will private companies, many of which have donated extensively to earthquake relief, play in rebuilding Haiti's infrastructure and economy?

A: Gérard Latortue, former prime minister of Haiti: "Right now, the priorities are to help as many people as possible, providing medical assistance, water and food, and building some camps to shelter the persons who have no more housing. The coming weeks will be crucial for that effort. In the aftermath of this very destructive earthquake, the problem of international help should not be approached only on humanitarian grounds. This dire situation calls now for the creation of a nation-building program that would review and solve all the fundamental problems the country has been unable to address, which are in priority: 1) effective decentralization and regional development; 2) establishment and implementation of an anti-earthquake building code; 3) reforestation of the mountains and protection of the environment; 4) creation of modern infrastructure in terms of roads, electricity, water, communications and irrigation; 5) creation of enterprises and jobs by the valorization of existing natural resources; and 6) a feasibility study for an eventual relocation of the capital city, which is built on the Enriquillo fault. Haiti cannot do these tasks alone. Partnership with the international community, the Haitian Diaspora and the private sector will be needed. It is to be hoped that there will be an effective and harmonious cooperation between the donors' community and the government of Haiti, and that the traditional rivalry among the donors will be this time set aside."

A: Ericq Pierre, economist and advisor on Haiti to the Inter-American Development Bank: "The international community has responded massively to the catastrophic destruction Haiti has suffered. Less apparent and perhaps underestimated is the solidarity among Haitians, all groups included. We need to keep that spirit of solidarity to better rebuild our country. A reverse migration is taking place from Port-au-Prince to the countryside. While food and humanitarian assistance are contemplated for Port-au-Prince, we must continue project execution in the countryside to create jobs and to improve infrastructure. Schools in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed and nobody knows how long it will take to reopen them, but there is no reason for schools in other cities to be closed. In fact, their facilities should be extended to accommodate the newcomers from Port-au-Prince. If the countryside is neglected because it did not suffer directly from the earthquake and distribution of assistance focuses only on Port-au-Prince, I fear in the medium term another exodus from the countryside to Port-au-Prince in search of food and jobs. A reconstruction of Port-au-Prince implies rehabilitation of the countryside."

A: Anton Edmunds, chief executive officer of The Edmunds Group International and senior advisor to Caribbean Central American Action: "The earthquake could not have come at a worse time for Haiti. The country had just seen the smooth transition of a new prime minister, had hosted a major investment conference and its private sector was touting investment in port privatization, energy projects and new industrial zones. Even the funding agencies had recommitted themselves. Other than dealing with the immediate needs of food, water and medicine, the primary focus has to be infrastructure. The country's ports must be upgraded and dredged, and investment is needed to improve the movement of goods and services beyond the capital. The telecommunications system also needs updating to bring the country into the modern era. The international community must make a commitment to work with the country for at least the next decade to build out major initiatives including a master plan that decentralizes Port-au-Prince. This would also help solve housing issues. This long-term commitment is not for the faint of heart and those in it for the short term probably serve Haiti best by staying away. The United States, as Haiti's major trading partner, along with Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, need to step up in a real way, but I fear that once basic stability is achieved and fears of migration and violence dissipate, the international community will retreat to the sidelines until the next disaster. For the private sector, the earthquake will have the initial effect of slowing outside interest in the country, as Haiti is a market for those who take the long view. Rebooting of commercial flows and new investment will be left to the Haitians. With their families injured or worse, their investments in ruins, they face a tough task. It is however, a task that they have successfully taken on before."

A: Robert Maguire, chair of the Haiti Working Group at the United States Institute of Peace and associate professor of international affairs at Trinity Washington University: "If there is a silver lining in the very, very dark cloud of the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince and its surroundings, it is that there is emerging a massive exodus from the city of mostly poor people going to the countryside for refuge, security and a better chance at survival. These displaced people were part of the massive influx of desperate rural residents to Port-au-Prince over the past three decades, when the city swelled by an average of 75,000 a year as off-the-land migrants piled on top of each other on hillsides, in ravines and along river flood plains and coastal alluvial flats. Even though Port-au-Prince offered few opportunities, the neglected, debased rural areas offered fewer. As Haitians stream back to their former communities or those of their parents, there is an opportunity to join them and begin to renew Haiti by investing in the entire country—not just the capital city. Steps that ought to be enacted quickly are the investment in rural 'welcome centers' (not displaced people tent cities) and the creation of a civic service program along the lines of a civilian conservation corps that would mobilize unemployed and dispirited people—especially youth—not just to assist in the renewal of Haiti through public works and repairing the environment, but also to help create the basis of a disaster response mechanism and to help to restore the dignity of people through wage employment (as was the case with New Deal programs in the United States) and provide Haitians with a real stake in their country's future. Let's set aside the tendency to see Haitians as a source of cheap labor and view them, rather, as a source of energy, ideas and determination to restore their own country."