Haiti Earthquake Relief: How You Can Help

Letter from American Humanist Association member Sebastián Vélez who is coordinating humanist relief efforts on the ground in Haiti.

Dear Roy and Maggie:

Delivery of the American Humanist Association food supplies and tools
Finally the Dominican navy gunship came through yesterday. We had everything ready since Saturday, and shipped Monday 3am. On arrival to Haiti, UN was in control. There was a large crowd at the dock, everybody wanting to help. After 1hr of negotiating between Navy and UN, PAM (World Food Program) was set to take all the supplies for distribution. The trucks arrive, a hundred people are let into the docks, and we start unloading the ship into the trucks. We set apart a small part for an orphanage that had not had food for 4 days (see small pickup truck by big white PAM trucks on pics). We deliver to orphanage (see pics), go to PAM warehouse to verify delivery (see pics), and with PAM coordination send one of the trucks to hospital area with food and medicines. The Dominican ship with supplies was the first to arrive to Jacmel after the earthquake, and delivery of relief supplies from the AHA 100% accomplished. 

Damage and safety in Jacmel
I estimate around 20% buildings were completely destroyed. The 50% estimate by others is probably counting buildings that are not safe anymore after cracks and collapsed walls (vs whole building on ground trapping people). UN reports 306 dead. Unlike Port-au-Prince, there are no bodies left out on the streets, and despite a broken jail and the destruction and the hunger and crisis, the city is safe. Since only one small Colombian team are removing people from the rubble, body count will go up when more workers arrive and after our delivery of tools. Smell of dead bodies in many, many areas. Colombians still removing live people.

Relief situation in Jacmel
Ours was the first shipment by land or sea of any supplies. Most of the supplies from other NGOs that also went on this ship where tents, bottled water, and individual packs of food. Ours was the only one with medicines and rescue tools. A few small airplanes with teams were starting to arrive, and when I left a small US military plane had just arrived. PAM had a presence there before the earthquake and have the trucks and logistics to handle food and medicine donations, although they don't seem to have enough personnel to handle this size of crisis, so Haitians say aid not arriving to them. Spanish doctors in Pedernales about to sail to Jacmel. Others arriving to Pedernales (border) every minute. More DR Navy ships set to leave today.

Our current role
Arriving aid orgs have no reliable information. Many contradicting reports coming out, ie. the hospital working vs. collapsed, armed gangs vs. all at peace, total destruction vs. minor, need food vs. PAM has food but needs help on logistics, to even who's there and who's not. There is no general coordination. All substantial aid must arrive by sea. International aid organizations arriving to DR border, but all starting to get information from scratch. I am the only person at the DR/Haiti border with reliable, first-hand information. In meetings since 6am (asked for time out to write this report). Have list of priorities, list of medicines (from meeting with PAM and doctors) and medical equipment in urgent need, plus sharing all the logistics details we learned in last 2 days. For instance, a Spanish team is now purchasing US$50,000 in medicines from Santo Domingo using our list. Currently working with these teams on their logistics.

How the American Humanist Association can help now
Large organizations (mostly European) starting to arrive, with teams of doctors and logistics specialists, so after we finish relay of information, I suggest the AHA uses new funds to continue delivering food and supplies to orphanages and other pockets that are cut-off from supplies as a result of the earthquake since we have the fastest operation. On our personal situation, I am well, but all my students are sick and in bed (none went to Haiti).

I want to stress the importance of the AHA's membership response. Our shipment justified the first trip from the Dominican Navy. Now many more shipments coming from Santo Domingo, since logistics are solved. Our tools and medical supplies were the first to arrive (as per UN bluecaps) and put to use immediately. We were the only ones from that dock that went into the city and got first-hand information for those here at the DR/Haiti border. These International organizations are using our list of medicines starting at the top of the list we provided.

Best,

Sebastian