Marching for Change in Haiti

Hundreds of Haitian-Americans from across the five boroughs, community organizers, elected officials and a host of rabbis and priests gathered yesterday afternoon in Times Square to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti.

The event, dubbed “Marching for Change,” sought to raise awareness of the ongoing need for relief and rebuilding in Haiti. Featured speakers included Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham, City Councilman Jumaane Williams and Housing Works President and CEO Charles King.

“Today's march was needed to call people's attention to the continued struggle that Haitian people are facing a year after the earthquake,” said Nadine Juste-Beckles, a Haiti native who now lives in Brooklyn, a borough that boasts the largest Haitian population outside of Haiti.

“This is a serious matter and we need to call attention to the global community on the need to meet four basic demands: provide clean water, provide jobs, better sanitation and most importantly provide housing.”

One year after the massive earthquake, only five percent of the rubble has been cleared. To make matters worse, the island also has been gripped by back-to-back crisis, including floods, a cholera epidemic and ongoing political unrest. Haitian children are dying from dehydration and bacteria gathering underneath their fingernails and toenails. More than 300,000 have died and countless remain missing.

“Most of the Haitian people are still without homes and clean, potable water,” said Haitian-American and Bed-Stuy resident Harry Djanite. “This one-year commemoration is a way for us to remember the victims, the missing loved ones, and also to celebrate the beauty and rich culture of Haiti.”

Djanite, a musician and DJ, joined other artists and entertainers yesterday for a benefit concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The event, “Hope and Future,” was a fundraiser to restore a road and rebuild a school in the town of Petit-Guave, one of the hardest hit areas of the quake.

But in the country’s effort to coral ongoing support, questions surrounding Haiti’s unstable government and possible misuse of relief funds may be cause for pause amongst many would-be generous Haiti sympathizers.

According to The Daily News, almost one year after the international community raised $1.4 billion in aid for Haiti, $1 billion is still missing. Only 38 percent of that money has been spent to provide recovery and rebuilding aid. By comparison, in New Orleans, about 80 percent of the money raised for Hurricane Katrina victims has been spent, according to a survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy of 60 major relief organizations.

"One billion dollars to aid a country where people are living in tents, and year later and we still cannot account for funds that have been allocated to Haiti,” said Juste-Beckles. “When does it stop? When do we say that enough is enough and it's time to take the monies raised and start addressing the immediate needs of the people?”

Tahissa Arroyo is a member of Housing Works, a group that co-sponsored the march and has contributed more than $30,000 to the effort to rebuild and bring clean water to Haiti.

“After today, we’re going to keep people aware of what’s going on. We’re continuing our work down in Haiti so people can have a semblance of what normal life needs to be,” said Ms. Arroyo.

“I feel that although Haiti has been through so many trials and tribulations, the country will rise, rebuild, and reconstruct,” said Djanite. “Haiti is always seen in such a negative light as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. But my people are resilient.”