February 2O1O
This photograph was taken before the earthquake of 12 January 2010. Please help the people of Haiti rebuild their homes, their communities, their lives.
HELP HAITI donation hotline 3120 5000 online donations www.oxfam.org.hk
HAITI FACTS
after the earthquake
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere
before the earthquake Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere Population
: 9 million
Population living on less than US$2 a day : 6.84 million (76%) Population not using safe drinking water
: 3.78 million (42%)
Debt
: US$890 million
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births
: 48.8
Children underweight for age
: 22%
Probability of not surviving to age of forty : 18.5% Adult literacy rate
: 38%
Adults living with HIV-AIDS
: about 120,000
Telephone subscribers
: 15.6 out of 100 people
Internet users
: 7 out of 100 people
CO2 emission rates (metric tons per capita) : 0.2 Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Development Programme
OXFAM in HAITI
Oxfam is providing Drinking water for about 400,000 people Hygiene and sanitation services in 14 urban and rural locations Latrines also provided for people with disabilities Therapeutic activities with children Emergency shelter Cash-for-work, such as for clearing rubble and constructing latrines, began on 24 January More than 60 tons of Oxfam supplies have been sent from Canada, England, Panama and Spain Information correct as of 25 January 2010
For updates, please visit Oxfam International website: http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/haiti-earthquake Oxfam has been working in Haiti since 1978 on three main areas: sustainable livelihoods (such as coffee cooperatives); disaster management (not just to prepare for earthquakes, but also against floods and hurricanes) and access to education, water, health care and electricity).
OXFAM in THE PRESS Metro Hong Kong, 20 January 2010 (in Chinese): /www.metrohk.com.hk/index.php?cmd=detail&id=126453&search=1 The Standard, 22 January 2010 (in English): www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=20&art_id=93476&sid=26769760&con_type=1 A collection of reports from Oxfam and others: http://haitiquake.posterous.com/
O.N.E February 2O1O
14 January
Two children in a makeshift shelter / Photo: Jorge Silva, Reuters, courtesy www.alertnet.org
16 January
Aid delivery on the way / Photo: Joe Raedle, courtesy of Getty Images
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OXFAM STARS
OXFAM VOICES
Public figures supporting Oxfam’s response in Haiti: Bono / Coldplay / Colin Firth / Denise Ho / Djimon Hounsou / Scarlett Johansson / Annie Lennox / Chris Martin / Pearl Jam / Pet Shop Boys / Radiohead / Rosemary Vandenbroucke and more…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXgmCkuuQtU
“THE UNITED NATIONS REGULARLY CALLS ON OXFAM” Haiti's clean water supply and its drainage system have been damaged, and the risk is that diarrhoeal disease will break out. Water in the damaged drainage system will attract mosquitoes, which can cause other infectious diseases. Survivors are already weakened, and these diseases can be fatal. I call on Hong Kong people to support Oxfam to carry out humanitarian responses in Haiti. The United Nations regularly calls on Oxfam to coordinate water-sanitation work; Oxfam's expertise in this area is held in high international regard.
Dr. Lo Wing-lok, Infectious Disease Specialist; Association Member, Oxfam Hong Kong / in a media statement on 15 January
“I CALL ON HONG KONG PEOPLE” I visited the affected areas of Sichuan Earthquake with Oxfam Hong Kong in 2008. I understand survivors of earthquake need help from others, especially in water supply, sanitary facilities and temporary housing. Oxfam’s relief work fulfill the current needs of the survivors in Haiti. The damage and scale of the Haiti Earthquake is large, and the country’s poverty heightens the survivors’ vulnerability. I call on Hong Kong people to take immediate action, supporting Oxfam’s relief efforts to help people in Haiti.
Denise Ho, singer and actress; Oxfam Ambassador, Oxfam Hong Kong / in a media statement on 15 January
“A COUNTRY OF EXTREME POVERTY” I visited Haiti with Oxfam a few years ago. It's a country of extreme poverty and brutal living conditions. Most people in Port-au-Prince live in tin shacks. The earthquake that has struck Haiti will have turned the city into an unimaginable hell.
Chris Martin, singer of Coldplay, in a media statement on 14 January; He went to Haiti with Oxfam in 2002
“WE CAN TRANSMIT HOPE” All of us in our staff, we’re all affected as the rest of the population, losing our houses, losing our family – in my case, my mum… I buried my mother in our garden; and I know many other people have done the same… As Oxfam staff, we can maintain hope and we can transmit hope, since we know as Oxfam we will have some resources to help people… It’s like we are starting from zero…There is no capacity within the government, because so many were killed. Not only that, but important sections of the population are dead. We lost a lot of famous professionals and experts, who were unique in their fields. They’ve died. Some prominent figures in the feminist movement were also lost. In spite of this, I think it can be a moment to see our need to work, to change direction and the direction of others… It can be an opportunity and can be shared.
Yolette Etienne, on 18 January, Oxfam Great Britain Country Director, Haiti
O.N.E February 2O1O
17 January
An open air Catholic mass / Photo: Jorge Silva, Reuters, courtesy www.alertnet.org
18 January
Installing an Oxfam water tank to hold 10,000 litres / Photo: Caroline Gluck, Oxfam
O.N.E February 2O1O
OTHER VOICES
“THE WHOLE CITY WAS SINGING” In my thirteen years of working in Haiti, not once before have I seen such massive destruction as we are experiencing now. Nor have I seen such motivation, determination, compassion, and solidarity among people… the city had fallen and was continuing to fall as a result of continuous aftershocks. The streets were full of people sitting together. Everyone was sitting in the middle of the roads for fear that the houses would continue to fall on them. They were singing. The whole city was singing. They were singing songs of solidarity. They were singing songs of thanks and praise that they were still able to sing and to be together. These people have lost everything. The city is now a city of refugees. But they are putting their voices together to be thankful.
Amber Munger, on 15 January 2010, a community worker with the Haiti group, Konpay
“IN HAITI, NOBODY EVER REALLY DIES” Today is a good day to remember that in Haiti, nobody ever really dies. The many thousands who've had the breath crushed out of their bodies in the earthquake, and the thousands more who will not physically survive the aftermath, will undergo instead a translation of state, according to the precepts of Haitian Vodou, some form of which is practiced by much of the population. Spirits of the Haitian dead — sa nou pa we yo, those we don’t see — do not depart as in other religions but remain extremely close to the living, invisible but tangible, inhabiting a parallel universe on the other side of any mirror, beneath the surface of all water, just behind the veil that divides us from our dreams.
Madison Smartt Bell, author of a trilogy on Haiti, in The New York Times, 17 January 2010
“WE ARE UGLY, BUT WE ARE HERE” There is a Haitian saying which might upset the aesthetic images of most women. Nou led, Nou la, it says. We are ugly, but we are here. Like the modesty that is somewhat common in Haitian culture, this saying makes a deeper claim for poor Haitian women than maintaining beauty, be it skin deep or otherwise. For most of us, what is worth celebrating is the fact that we are here, that we against all the odds exist. To the women who might greet each other with this saying when they meet along the countryside, the very essence of life lies in survival. It is always worth reminding our sisters that we have lived yet another day to answer the roll call of an often painful and very difficult life.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-born author, in The Caribbean Writer, Volume 10, 1996
1 / Donate
Telephone hotline : (852) 3120 5000 Online donations : www.oxfam.org.hk
2 / Learn about Haiti
Go to HELP HAITI: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/
3 / Take action to cancel Haiti’s debt
www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/actions/haiti_drop_the_debt.html
4 / Fundraise for Haiti
Collect donations among friends, relatives, and colleagues and send to Oxfam
5 / JOIN EVENTS FOR HAITI
3 Feb / Hong Kong for Haiti – A Relief Benefit for the People of Haiti / www.hongkongforhaiti.com /
11 Feb / Project C:CHANGE – 6 people from Hong Kong will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro / http://twitter.com/projectcchange
12-28 Feb / Exhibition at Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong / www.fcchk.org /
HONG KONG TO HAITI: The Hong Kong public has donated over HK$25 million to the effort, and counting... As of 29 January, the Hong Kong SAR Government Disaster Relief Fund has contributed HK$8 million (US$1.03 million)
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18 January
19 January
“All of us in our staff, we’re all affected as the rest of the population, losing our houses, losing our family – in my case, my mum… I buried her in our garden… As Oxfam staff, we only can maintain hope and we can transmit hope, since we know as Oxfam we will have some resources to help people.” - Yolette Etienne, Oxfam Country Director / Photo: Caroline Gluck, Oxfam
30 tons of Oxfam water and sanitation equipment leaving East Midlands Airport, England / Photos: Doug Marke, Page One Photography
O.N.E February 2O1O
Listening, Talking:
Key factors in rebuilding Haiti By Roger Ricafort
November 2009 / Survivors of two typhoons in the northern Philippines discuss their needs with Oxfam Hong Kong. Nori De Dios (second from right), a humanitarian worker with Oxfam Hong Kong, is currently based in the country, coordinating various rehabilitation efforts.
Some may feel that it is too soon
involves a lot of talking and listening
will contribute a lot to ensuring
to talk about rebuilding Haiti when
among various agencies – government,
targeted and effective relief services.
massive rescue and relief work is still
non-governmental organisations,
An important element of people’s
underway. But to recover from such
and business. Without such efforts,
participation is that they see access to
a catastrophic disaster takes some
major areas of needs can be so easily
quality relief resources as a right, and
serious strategic thinking, based on a
overlooked. For example, when the
not simply a matter of charity.
robust understanding of the Haitian
Philippines was hit by a series of deadly
It is impor tant for suppor t
contex t – and this takes a lot of
typhoons in September and October
agencies to adhere to internationally-
listening and talking.
last year, the media coverage and
agreed relief standards, called SPHERE
So how do you rebuild a country
images predominantly focused on
standards, which lay out the guidelines
like Haiti? Long before it was battered
the dire situation in the capital Manila
and benchmarks for quality relief
by the worst earthquake in 200 years,
whereas the predicament faced by the
services – such as water requirements,
it was already a human disaster zone
less-developed northern part of the
food and medical entitlements, etc.
- being one of the poorest countries in
country was largely neglected.
But talking and listening alone have
the world. We should not forget the
Participation by those who are
never put a roof over people’s heads
images of Haitians scrambling for food
adversely affected by disasters in
or food on the table. Coordination,
and making do with mud-cakes during
the discussions and decision-making
consultation, talking and listening
the height of the food crisis less than
processes is likewise impor tant .
need to lead into effective planning
two years ago.
Support agencies need to actively
and swift action.
Coordination is extremely
listen to those whose lives have been
Effective planning and swift action
important in an emergency situation
turned upside down as they are best
in emergencies, as well as for longer-
and this requires the willingness
placed to know what they need. It is
term reconstruction, begin much
to share assessment and response
about doing aid with people rather
earlier, with disaster preparedness.
information, among others. This
than to people. Such participation
This involves preparing communities to deal with disasters – in terms of di s a s te r aware n e s s , di s a s te r mobilisation plans, etc. For longerterm reconstruction, fundamental decisions need to be taken early on as to what life is going to be like for communities - not just individuals. It is no good, as happened in Aceh after the 2005 tsunami, to say that everyone will have a house, if you don’t also think about building the roads and infrastructure that make a town. Effective coordination is dependent upon good national and sub-national disaster preparedness and response policies and mechanisms. Strong leadership of any aid effort is likewise important. An agency, preferably the national government - but if not, then the UN, should be in charge of the plan and assign tasks. It should be strong enough to say ‘no’ to efforts that are not in the best interest of the people affected. During the drought in southern Africa in the
In Carrefour, one of the hardest-hit areas in the Haiti earthquake, people set up their own tents for their first emergency shelter.
early 2000s, governments did refuse genetically modified (GM ) maize
Photo: Louis Belanger / Oxfam
O.N.E February 2O1O
seed as food aid. They insisted that the seeds must be milled into flour so as not to contaminate the nations’ maize crop. Disasters will be with us, and increasingly so, on account of climate c ha n g e im p a c t s . O ve r th e p a s t decade, the world has witnessed
Haiti
– Land of High Mountains
an upsurge of large-scale disasters.
Prehistory to 1500s
Civil Conflict 2001-2004
According to the Centre for Research
Ta no and other Amerindian peoples inhabit the
A r m e d a t t a ck s , a t te m p t s to ove r throw
on the Epidemiology of Disasters,
Caribbean, including what is now called Haiti,
government, National Palace seized, UN forces
the frequency of natural disasters
which derives from the Ta no name, Land of High
are sent in to help stabilise Haiti
grew by an average of 8.5 per cent in
Mountains; by 1550, many of the Taíno people
the period 2000 to 2007. The world’s poorest countries and communities are
had been decimated
Natural Disasters 2004 -2005 Floods in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005 kill
increasingly under threat. In light of this, the readiness to
Spain and the 1490s
respond to emergencies is of utmost
Christopher Columbus lands and Spain colonises
importance. Each response in an acute
the island, now called Haiti (the mountainous
emergency is a matter of life and death; our ability to respond immediately saves more lives. Oxfam Hong Kong is
western part) and the Dominican Republic (the eastern part)
Democracy 2006 Rene Preval wins the first elections since Aristide was overthrown, (Feb); a democratically-elected
thus strongly considering setting up an
government headed by Prime Minister Jacques-
emergency relief fund to strengthen
1697
our capacity to make timely decisions
Haiti is ceded by Spain to France
Edouard Alexis takes office (June)
and to contribute significantly to humanitarian response.
thousands of people
Food Crisis 2008 1800s
Severe hunger leads to food riots (April);
efforts to help Haitians. Inevitably the
Haiti becomes independent and abolishes
Government cuts price of rice; World Bank and
focus is on the short-term relief effort;
slavery (1804); the former slave-turned-emperor
USA announce extra food aid (US$30m)
but Haiti’s long-term future is at stake.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines is assassinated, and
Our immediate response should make
Haiti is divided into a black-controlled north
We are one with the world in
it possible for Haiti to take initial steps to address problems that underlie poverty and vulnerability to disasters. Haiti is already mired with USD 890
and a mulatto-ruled south (1806); Pierre Boyer unifies Haiti, but excludes blacks from power (1818-1843)
Four Tropical Storms 2008 A series of tropical storms and hurricanes hit Haiti (August and September) - Oxfam assists tens of thousands of people
million foreign debt and should not be further burdened. Today’s aid-lifeline
USA 1910s to 40s
should not end up being tomorrow’s
USA invades Haiti (1915), withdraws troops
debt noose. It is striking to see people in Port-
(1934), maintains fiscal control until 1947
themselves in what may look like
Duvaliers 1950s – 1980s
chaotic collection centres and rickety
Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier seizes power in
tarpaulin centres. But these are acts of
military coup (1956) and is succeeded by his son,
We just need to talk and listen to them to understand. They are taking
World Bank and International Monetary Fund cancel US$1.2bn of Haiti's debt (July) yet about US$890 million remains
au-Prince having already organised
active citizens and not passive victims.
Debt Relief 2009
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” (1971) who flees Haiti among public discontent (1986)
Earthquake 2010 The country’s worst earthquake in over 200 years hits Haiti on 12 January - Oxfam is assisting more than 400,000 people
control of their lives and not just sitting down twiddling their thumbs
Aristide 1990s and 2000s
awaiting international agencies’ aid
Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected president (1990),
efforts to get into gear. There would
ousted in coup (1991), returns to power (1994),
be far fewer survivors if they did. Roger Ricafort is the Director of the International Programmes Unit of Oxfam Hong Kong. Oxfam Hong Kong has programmes in China, South Asia, The Mekong, Archipelagic Southeast Asia and Southern Africa. This article was published in The Standard on 22 January 2010.
Source: Oxfam http://news.bbc.co.uk/ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/
loses power (1995), elected again (2000), and then forced into exile (Feb 2004)
O.N.E February 2O1O
7
Every day, Oxfam Hong Kong work s along side hundred s of groups around the world, from
N e w PartnerOrganisations
Oxfam Books
EARTH, AIR, FIRE, WATER
small NGOs to international bodies,
OX-Tales is a series of four paperback originals that highlight Oxfam’s
from government departments of
work for the world: Earth (from land rights to farming), Air (campaigning to
developing countries to community
climate change), Fire (supporting survivors of conflict) and Water (safe water
groups based in Hong Kong. Here
in emergencies).
are 7 ‘partner organisations’ that
OX-Tales features 38 authors – including Hanif Kureishi, Ian Rankin and
we are supporting for the first
Jeanette Winterson – who have donated their writing to Oxfam. In Hong
time.
Kong, the books are available at selected Dymocks, Metrobooks and Page One bookshops.
MAINLAND CHINA Gansu
•
Hui County Poverty Alleviation and Development Office, Gansu
Yunnan
• • •
Maternal and Child Health Center, Tengchong County Yongde County Civil Affairs Bureau Yongde County People's Government
PHILIPPINES
• •
Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services
HONG KONG
•
Hong Kong Institute of Education / Department of Social Sciences In this edition of O.N.E, we highlight the Hong Kong Institute of Education,
the largest provider of teacher education in Hong Kong. Oxfam Hong Kong has commissioned the Institute to conduct research on how primary and secondary school students use the Internet as part of their schooling. It is common knowledge in Hong Kong that the Internet is an important channel for learning, both at the primary and secondary school level. Access to the Internet can be seen as a basic need, and a basic right, for students. However, many low-income families do not have the resources to provide a computer with Internet access for their children, who therefore struggle to complete their schoolwork. This lack of access has the potential to widen the digital divide. HKIED, as it is colloquially known, has a wide network with primary and secondary schools. Experienced in participatory research, HKIED actively cooperates with schools during the research process, as is the case in this commissioned research. The research will be completed by March 2010. The findings will be used to advocate for measures to ensure that the needs of children from low-income families are addressed.
For more information, visit: www.oxfam.org.uk/books
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