HAITI: Haitians line up for much needed aid as the country marks the one month anniversary of the earthquake

Record ID: 572785

  • Title: HAITI: Haitians line up for much needed aid as the country marks the one month anniversary of the earthquake
  • Date: 13th February 2010
  • Summary: BOY BRUSHING HIS TEETH
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: International Relations,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVACS1YIF2ZTKWHSLJ2PW5QP8HR9
  • Story Text: As Haitians awoke to another day of living among the rubble one month after a devastating earthquake struck the impoverished island, thousands of internally displaced Haitians continued their daily struggle to obtain basic necessities as life in the tent cities degenerates.
    One month after the quake, Haitians gathered outside the presidential palace while hundreds of women lined up to await for much needed food.
    Helping Haitian women place the bags of rice on their heads, workers unloaded a truck of relief provided by the World Concern Emergency group which said Haiti would require long term help.
    "I think that this is going to be long term, long term, they need a lot of help to rebuild this city. You have seen yourself, the city has been destroyed, it needs a lot of help over a long period of time," Peter Natue, coordinator for the World Concern Emergency group, said. "Emergency relief, the next six to nine months."
    Haiti was the Western Hemisphere's poorest state even before last month's quake, with 80 percent of its people surviving on under $2 per day and a long history of instability and corruption.
    The Jan. 12 disaster killed more than 200,000 of Haiti's 9 million people, injured another 300,000, destroyed much of its capital and institutions, and left 1 million homeless.
    But a month later, the recovery is still largely in emergency response mode.
    With the rainy season about to start, planning for shelters and new homes is not far along. There are now nearly 500 spontaneous tent encampments around the capital Port-au-Prince where most live under plastic tarps or cloth bedsheets.
    Disaster experts predict it will take 10 years to get Haiti onto a stable footing, with housing, an effective government, security, poverty reduction and development expanded to areas outside of Port-au-Prince.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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