How Do You Make Home in a Camp?
by Beth Hanlon
The earthquake destroyed my home and killed the father of my five children. Now we are living in the Chanmas camp. My children’s father used to take care of everything. What will I do now? When it rains, we can’t lie down—all night long, I stand on my feet holding my baby, waiting for the rain to stop. When it does, I put an old rag down to cover the mud so we can try to sleep. My one-year-old baby is always putting the mud in her mouth. We sleep in the cold—all the children are sick. The situation is very grave. —Anouz Demezia, 31
It is no wonder Anouz and tens of thousands of other Haitians feel abandoned. Sixmonths have passed since the earthquake, yet many are still trying to survive in some 300 makeshift camps, often with no more than an old suspended bed sheet for shelter.
One sad irony is that Anouz and her fellow inhabitants of the Chanmas camp live literally in the shadow of the remains of Haiti’s massive Presidential Palace, which was destroyed by the quake. President Preval was made homeless (although he isn’t living in a camp), and the Haitian government has been largely unable to respond to the needs of people like Anouz.
The only assistance Anouz has received has come from Kofaviv (The Commission of Women Victims for Victims), our main partner organization in the Chanmas camp. As Anouz said, “There is no government help. I sometimes feel like my life is over. But the situation would be far worse if it weren’t for Kofaviv. They are the only ones helping my family. Kofaviv has been my government.”
In the hours following the quake, Beyond Borders helped launch the Haiti Response Coalition(HRC). Through the HRC we delivered mattresses like the one being carried by this jubilant girl. Photo: Beyond Borders |
Beyond Borders has been working both with relief agencies and local partner organizations in more than fifteen of these camps, helping make life more livable for thousands of people in these camps. Through our partners we are distributing thousands of tents and waterproof tarps to serve as temporary shelter for families. Since our interview with Anouz, she and her family have been provided with a tent.
We are offering other forms of assistance in the camps as well. Through Kofaviv and other local partners we are working to prevent sexual violence and assist women and children who have become victims of such violence. We are also working in partnership with the Haitian government to identify and register children who have become separated from their parents. This work is helping reunite these children with their families or, when necessary, placing them with families that offer interim care.
The HRC also distributed other essentials such as hygiene kits, water filters and filtration systems, as shown here. Photo: Beyond Borders |
Through the Haiti Response Coalition (HRC), an organization we co-founded in the immediate wake of the earthquake, Beyond Borders continues to mobilize local leaders and grassroots groups, enabling them to get supplies and resources where they are most needed. The HRC has helped camps organize leadership to better advocate for and respond to the needs of the inhabitants. The HRC is also working to prevent the illegal forced evacuation of camps.
In collaboration with organizations like Limyè Lavi (our principle partner organization in Haiti), the HRC, Kofaviv, and other local groups, Beyond Borders has also provided food, medical supplies and assistance, sanitation, clean water, temporary shelter and much more to homeless families in camps in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, and Leogane and to displaced people in dozens of rural communities.
How do you begin again after you’ve lost everything? Though the needs are staggering, we are working hard each day to help Haiti’s homeless children and adults find the basics of home until the day they can return to something that really is home.