REPORTING FROM HAITI: "All the Resources Are in the Wrong Place"

Tarpaflex says on its own website that blue tarps would not be a good choice for housing.

In most cases, blue tarps are used just a few times and are easily replaced with just a few dollars. The downside to having traditional blue tarps rather than heavy duty white tarps is that they absorb sunlight and weaken; they easily tear and are not good for transporting or covering and pulling extremely heavy, pointy, or otherwise difficult objects.

Here is a short slideshow about the people in Macassin and the problems they are facing. Turn on the "caption" function to get more description.

On March 11, a USAID flight delivered 750 rolls of plastic sheeting to Haiti. To date, USAID/OFDA has provided 15,480 rolls of plastic sheeting to meet post-earthquake shelter needs, "benefiting approximately 774,000 people," according to government reports.

The ongoing distribution of USAID/OFDA-funded plastic sheeting supports Shelter Cluster efforts to provide shelter materials to approximately 240,000 households before the likely June onset of the hurricane season.

Try living under plastic sheeting and blue tarps during a hurricane. We took this video on Highway 1 north of Port-au-Prince.

Population movement maps are generated on a daily basis, but they only show numbers based on use of government transportation, and do not include people leaving Port-au-Prince using private transport.

The UN World Food Program has "reached" 434,000 individuals since March 6, but does not give any specifics on numbers of meals. They will pull out on March 31.

Seeds for bean, maize, sorghum, pigeon pea, and peanut crops are either being eaten by starving families or being sold. There is concern that rural production of food crops will not meet the needs of the populations that have fled Port-au-Prince.

In total, the United States has contributed nearly $770 million in earthquake response funding for Haiti to date.

It is difficult to see where this aid has been utilized.

I wrote the other day that Port-au-Prince is like Mad Max on steroids. It is getting worse, no matter how much rubble is gradually removed from the streets. There is a feeling of every-man-for himself and it will only get worse when the WFP stops distribution on March 31 and there are not enough new donor organizations to coordinate food distribution. There is some food in the countryside, but if people eat the seeds they are supposed to be planting there will be serious shortages.

I wish I had solutions. Everyone here does. All we can offer are small snapshots of this ongoing disaster.

USAID estimates put the total number of displaced at between 1,200,000 to 1,290,000 as of March 12. This includes 700,000 displaced in the Port-au-Prince area alone.

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