Sunday, January 17, 2010
Epicenter town of Carrefour in Haiti sees little aid, little hope
BY LUIS FELIPE LOPEZ
[email protected]
CARREFOUR, Haiti -- Nobody here has seen elements of the United Nations mission, with their unmistakable blue helmets. Nor the vehicles that distribute water or the mobile kitchens sent by the Dominican Republic.
This town, which on Tuesday was the epicenter of the earthquake, is living in the epicenter of oblivion.
On Saturday, a first contingent of Dominican firefighters managed to reach Carrefour, an enormous hillside town about 10 miles south of Port-au-Prince, home to more than 400,000 people.
``We're looking for the possibility to rescue some survivors in the rubble, but unfortunately can't find anyone,'' a member of the Dominican crew -- who asked not to be identified -- told El Nuevo Herald.
``We have decided to return to Port-au-Prince because the people here are desperate and, under such conditions, our work becomes much too dangerous,'' he added.
The streets and alleys of Carrefour -- known by the Haitians as Kafou -- are totally empty. Getting here is extremely complicated because most the buildings collapsed and the rubble blocks access to the town.
In the absence of police authority, groups of residents have barricaded the roads with cadavers and burning tires in an effort to prevent looting.
But many others refuse to abandon their rickety homes, hoping that someone will arrive to rescue them and the bodies of their relatives.
``We need the government, the United Nations, the firefighters, someone to come. Now. We cannot wait any longer,'' said Beatrice Raimond, 32.
.
This decimated population -- decimated in the literal sense of the word -- has endured one tragic event after another in the past three decades: Earthquakes, hurricanes, the horror of indiscriminate violence and the eccentricities of the dynasty of Papa and Baby Doc Duvalier.
So far, the limited efforts of rescue and aid conducted with international cooperation have been focused on the central zone of Port-au-Prince.
With hundreds of bodies on the streets or trapped in the rubble, the danger of disease is imminent.
The name Carrefour means ``crossroads'' in Creole and in the present situation it could not be more appropriate.
[email protected]
CARREFOUR, Haiti -- Nobody here has seen elements of the United Nations mission, with their unmistakable blue helmets. Nor the vehicles that distribute water or the mobile kitchens sent by the Dominican Republic.
This town, which on Tuesday was the epicenter of the earthquake, is living in the epicenter of oblivion.
On Saturday, a first contingent of Dominican firefighters managed to reach Carrefour, an enormous hillside town about 10 miles south of Port-au-Prince, home to more than 400,000 people.
``We're looking for the possibility to rescue some survivors in the rubble, but unfortunately can't find anyone,'' a member of the Dominican crew -- who asked not to be identified -- told El Nuevo Herald.
``We have decided to return to Port-au-Prince because the people here are desperate and, under such conditions, our work becomes much too dangerous,'' he added.
The streets and alleys of Carrefour -- known by the Haitians as Kafou -- are totally empty. Getting here is extremely complicated because most the buildings collapsed and the rubble blocks access to the town.
In the absence of police authority, groups of residents have barricaded the roads with cadavers and burning tires in an effort to prevent looting.
But many others refuse to abandon their rickety homes, hoping that someone will arrive to rescue them and the bodies of their relatives.
``We need the government, the United Nations, the firefighters, someone to come. Now. We cannot wait any longer,'' said Beatrice Raimond, 32.
.
This decimated population -- decimated in the literal sense of the word -- has endured one tragic event after another in the past three decades: Earthquakes, hurricanes, the horror of indiscriminate violence and the eccentricities of the dynasty of Papa and Baby Doc Duvalier.
So far, the limited efforts of rescue and aid conducted with international cooperation have been focused on the central zone of Port-au-Prince.
With hundreds of bodies on the streets or trapped in the rubble, the danger of disease is imminent.
The name Carrefour means ``crossroads'' in Creole and in the present situation it could not be more appropriate.
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// posted by TheDominican.net @ 9:58 AM
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