Lizay. Welcome to the latest edition of Woy Magazine’s weekly newsletter, providing you with must-know news and commentary on Haiti and our Diaspora.
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Goudou goudou
On August 14th, 2021 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti at 8:29 am. The epicenter was located in the Southern Peninsula of Haiti, the same area that Hurricane Matthew caused remarkable damage only five years ago. As of now, the partial assessment of the damages according to Pwoteksyon Sivil has counted 2,189 deaths and 12,268 people injured. The Haitian government has called a state of emergency.
This earthquake hits Haiti only 11 years after the devastating earthquake in 2010 where about 220,000 people lost their lives. According to seismologists, last week’s earthquake occurred along the same faultline as that of 2010, the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone, and was twice as strong as the 2010 earthquake.
In 2020, Haitian online media outlet, Ayibopost, published an article explaining the ubiquity of cinder-block buildings in Haiti, “Comment les constructions en béton ont-elles envahi Haïti ?” The article explains that these constructions became popular in the country in the 19th century in reaction to major floods occurring in major cities. In 1924, wood constructions were banned under President Louis Borno to protect against fires. These types of buildings grew even more in popularity in the 1960s where these constructions were preferred by the Duvalier regime. This proved to be effective for hurricane season but has devastating consequences in the context of earthquakes.
Why can earthquakes in Haiti be so devastating? It’s a combination of factors that include a seismically active area, a high population density of 11 million people and buildings that are often designed to withstand hurricanes — not earthquakes.
Typical concrete and cinder-block buildings can survive strong winds but are vulnerable to damage or collapse when the ground shakes. Poor building practices can also play a role.
“I think it’s important to recognize that there’s no such thing as a natural disaster,” said Wendy Bohon, a geologist with Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. “What you have is a natural hazard that overlaps with a vulnerable system.” (Source: LA Times)
#2021pa2010
#2021pa2010 is the hashtag some young Haitians are using on Twitter, “2021 is not 2010”. Memories and lessons from the disastrous humanitarian response of the 2010 earthquake have many calling for alternative ways to deliver aid. For instance, the Haitian Civil Protection Agency insists that all volunteer groups and international organizations go through them in order to coordinate any distribution to avoid chaos. This is different than the response in 2010 where Haitian leadership in the coordination was sidelined. This hashtag is another example of the vigilance of Haitians and their insistence for government accountability, as we have seen in the last few years.
One of Pwoteksyon Sivil’s priorities is to avoid the making of tent cities. Tent cities sprung up everywhere after the 2010 earthquake, and was a huge security risk, especially for women and girls, where sexual assault ran rampant. The question remains, what is the alternative, and what are the strategies to avoid this?
In the meantime, Haitians are helping their neighbors. Aid is coming in from all departments of the country to provide help to their fellow citizens, as well as humanitarian convoys from countries around the world.
Haiti is not cursed
It is easy to draw the conclusion that Haiti is cursed or prone to bad luck. However, a deeper analysis shows that there have been intentional decisions from international powers and local elites that have kept Haiti poor. Many are calling for this moment to not be politicized, but it is difficult to not immediately think of the billions of dollars in PetroCaribe funds that could and should have gone towards building a better infrastructure that could help to avoid such calamity. Instead, those funds disappeared into the pockets of corrupt government officials with the backing of the international community. We know that the notion that Haiti being cursed is false. Haiti's people are strong and resourceful. Haiti's people have been failed by its leaders who refuse to govern. Me Dorval said it a few days before he was killed, "le pays n'est ni gouverné ni administré ."
Bwa Kayiman
August 14th, the day of the earthquake, also marked the 230th anniversary of Bwa Kayiman, the ceremony that marked the beginning of the Haitian revolution. To commemorate this, check out this talk by the MIT-Ayiti initiative with Professor Jean Casimir on Haitian self-determination, the power of lakay found in Haitian culture, and Haitian Creole.
Men, leta pa wè se pa endividi ki fè yon sosyete. Yon sosyete se yon makonn kominote ; e se kominote ki fè endividi a ; kominote se gadò endividi. Kominote a bay moun egzistans, li ba yo dwa ansanm ak volonte pou defann dwa yo. E se sou baz dwa moun lalwa kale. Lalwa pa bay dwa, li rekonèt dwa. Se kominote kote w soti a k ap ba w fòs ak dwa pou w reklame sa lasosyete dwe w. Pa gen leta ki ka efase sa. (Source: MIT-Ayiti)
Investigation
This year has been a whirlwind for Haiti and Haitians. As Haitians strive to recover from another major natural disaster, the investigation of the assassination of defacto President Jovenel Moise continues, but many barriers and threats are stalling its progress. The case is now at a standstill after the death of a court clerk (greffier), Ernst Lafortune, who was found dead after one day on the case. The judge on the case has since withdrawn himself.
Dans une entrevue accordée au journal ce vendredi après-midi, le juge d'instruction Mathieu Chanlatte a confié qu'il s’est déporté volontairement du dossier relatif à l'assassinat du président Jovenel Moïse. Pour cause, aucun moyen n'a été mis à sa disposition pour l’instruction de cette affaire. « J’ai décidé de ne pas instruire le dossier parce que je ne dispose pas de moyens, principalement un dispositif de sécurité personnelle et pour ma famille », a fait savoir le magistrat, alors qu’il se rendait au tribunal pour signer son déport. (Source: Le Nouvelliste)
Pote Kole
Thanks to the support of our readers and their networks, Woy Magazine was able to raise $10,574 in less than 24 hours to deliver tents and tarps to people in the affected areas of the earthquake. Since then, 800 tarps were delivered and distributed by our team to the department of Nippes, the epicenter of the earthquake. We will continue to update on the progress of the distributions as they develop.
