Haitian diaspora debates how to build better Haiti after quake

Mon, 22 Mar 2010
Silvia Ayuso

Washington - More than 200 representatives of the Haitian diaspora gathered Monday in Washington for a two-day meeting to debate reconstruction in the Caribbean country in the wake of the January earthquake.

The issue at stake is how the 4 million Haitians who live outside their country can help following the devastating quake of January 12, and how they can turn the disaster into an opportunity to create a fairer, more transparent and sustainable state.

The recommendations for "a strategic plan for reconstruction and development in Haiti" that come out of this meeting sponsored by the Organization of American States (OAS) are to be forwarded to a Donors' Conference on Haiti set for on March 31 at the United Nations.

In a video message, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said all those planning to attend the donors' conference in New York are awaiting the comments of the Haitian diaspora.

"In the months and years ahead, Haiti will need the work and determination of its people," Clinton stressed.

She noted that expatriates can help Haiti with their talent, experience and skills.

"We look forward to your ideas and participation," Clinton said.

Her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, was visiting Haiti Monday along with his successor George W Bush on Monday. It was the first joint visit by both presidents who were appointed by President Barack Obama to lead fundraising efforts in the earthquake's aftermath.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza stressed that the diaspora has a key role to play in the long-term reconstruction of Haiti, so that it moves ahead to become a better country than it was before the quake.

The gathering's stated objectives are to "identify the elements of and specific recommendations for the reconstruction plan," and to "develop a coordinated strategy for how the Haitian diaspora will engage in capacity and nation building and relate to other domestic and international partners in this effort."

In a passionate address that pulled the audience off their seats, Massachusetts state representative Marie St Fleur, speaking as a member of the Haitian diaspora, called upon her compatriots to work hard and commit to the construction of a "new Haiti" that is both modern and inclusive.

"One Haiti that works effectively, with transparency and accountability," she stressed. "The world is ready to help us, but we must be willing to help us to change things."

The disaster is "a unique opportunity and responsibility to shift historical paradigms," St Fleur said.

The devastation caused by the quake, she noted, was the consequence of years of "active neglect" from all, including the diaspora.

"We all must be part of the solution, we must be willing to accompany this government or any other government," St Fleur said.

She noted that the diaspora, particularly the 2 million Haitians living in the United States, send 1.6 billion dollars a year to their homeland.

"We are the largest donor to the people of Haiti," St Fleur stressed. "We have the right to demand a place."

The January 12 quake destroyed most of Haitian capital Port-au- Prince, claimed at least 220,000 lives and left an estimated 1.5 million homeless.

In a preliminary assessment, experts from the Inter-American Development Bank estimated at up to 14 billion dollars the losses caused by the quake in the Caribbean country, which was the poorest in the Americas even before the disaster.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315313,haitian-diaspora-debates-how-to-build-better-haiti-after-quake.html.