Haiti: To praise the government or pass judgment?
Thursday, July 22, 2010

When should humanitarian groups publicly criticize governments and when should they stay quiet? It is a question that has bedeviled humanitarian groups in recent years (think of Darfur, for example) and it is now being asked in Haiti, and among ACT Alliance members, in the recent commemoration of the six-month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake.

A woman draws water at a well recently constructed by an ACT Alliance member. Photo: Catianne Tijerina/ACT

By Chris Herlinger/CWS

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – When should humanitarian groups publicly criticize governments and when should they stay quiet?

It is a question that has bedeviled humanitarian groups in recent years (think of Darfur, for example) and it is now being asked in Haiti, and among ACT Alliance members, in the recent commemoration of the six-month anniversary of the January 12 earthquake.

Pushing the question to the forefront was a June 25 op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times by Erik Johnson, humanitarian response coordinator for ACT member DanChurchAid, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In the piece, Johnson took the Haitian government to task, saying authorities "had lapsed into the classic pattern of corruption, inefficiency and delay that holds the country hostage."

Johnson, a veteran of a number of large-scale emergencies, said that in more than a decade of humanitarian work, he had "never seen camps like those in Port-au-Prince. International standards defining what people are entitled to after a disaster are in no way being met. The Haitian camps are congested beyond imagination, with ramshackle tents standing edge to edge in every square foot of available space."

He argued that "massive, aggressive intervention is required" and said the Haitian government had clamped down on the importation of goods, making it difficult for humanitarian assistance to get to beneficiaries.

"Though it's important that the Haitian government is in the driver's seat of the recovery effort, it has not yet stepped up to the job," Johnson argued. "The government needs to aggressively facilitate imports of needed goods and equipment and allow agencies to resettle both camp residents who are most at risk and those whose homes were not damaged."

Johnson's piece evoked a number of responses in private. Some aid workers within the ACT network said Johnson articulated what some are observing and saying privately. And even those who had not read the piece said that government inefficiencies and roadblocks have hobbled the response in Haiti.

Others, though, criticized Johnson's opinion piece, saying it was important that aid groups and coalitions, like ACT members, not join what one aid worker privately called "the chorus of blanket criticism of government."

"It is weak, but democratically elected," the worker said of the Haitian government. "Strident criticisms from international NGOs will only give succor to even more dubious elements."

For the record, representatives of ACT Alliance members in Haiti who have coordinated efforts for their agencies during the first months of work said they and their staffs are well-aware of the problems, and say that some degree of criticism is valid.

At the same time, however, they argue that there is a pragmatic element they have to contend with – which is that Haitian authorities and humanitarian groups have to find ways to work together in the coming months and years, despite the difficulties so far.

Prospery Raymond, country manager for Christian Aid, said that criticism and pragmatism almost have to exist side-by-side in Haiti right now. He said authorities have to display stronger leadership on finding a solution to the housing crisis. "The biggest challenge that we are facing now is ensuring that everyone has a safe and sustainable place to live," he said.

"There is not enough land currently available to build permanent houses for everyone who needs them. The Haitian government needs to address that issue as a matter of urgency."

Raymond also said that authorities must address the issue of any concerns about corruption – a reason often cited for why all but a fraction of the international aid pledged to Haiti by donor governments has not been delivered. (That aid is separate from the assistance provided by humanitarian aid groups, like that provided by Church World Service, Christian Aid and other ACT members, which has already been used for initial emergency response assistance.)

Concurrent with that concern is a worry Johnson expressed about Haiti now settling into an old pattern in which elites – those who Johnson said "continue to live in luxury in elegant homes high above the dusty sprawl" – are trying to control events in their favor.

Raymond said any concerns about corruption need to be investigated, saying Haiti must move beyond a culture of corruption. "'Building back better,'" Raymond said, "not only means building back better homes, it also means being accountable."

But Raymond is also adamant that the international community must still deal with the realities of a weakened government that lost large numbers of personnel and much of its own infrastructure – by some accounts, almost two-thirds of its buildings.

Raymond said he won't apologize for saying that the international community has to find ways to build up and "accompany" the Haitian government. "I think it's good to push the state," he said. "But they still have to get back on their feet."

In one of the numerous stories on the June 12 six-month anniversary of the earthquake, The New York Times noted that some of the same complaints about the slow pace of recovery, particularly regarding temporary housing, have been heard in other recent disasters, such as the response in Indonesia to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

“I defy any country on earth to be fully functional at this stage after such a disaster,” said Imogen Wall, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, quoted by the Times.

Observations like that resonate with Sylvia Raulo, outgoing country representative for the Lutheran World Federation, who said pitting international NGOs against the Haitian government misses the point. "We're all struggling with capacity issues right now," she said.

When told that a LWF staffer had complained about relief items being held up in customs, Raulo said she understood the frustration. But then she told of her own experience of going to the government customs office. What Raulo found was a small office, no larger than her own, housing a dozen harried and overworked employees, taking care of customs for the entire country.

"Donors should demand that, as part of the response, the Haitian government be supported to set up the kind of structures needed to move the recovery along."

That is one way of viewing the problem. Another was an anecdote from an ACT representative who privately recalled hearing a Haitian colleague at a meeting of humanitarian groups. The colleague said he was tired of hearing complaints about government inaction.

Why? “I do more than the government anyway."

CWS Haiti Coordinator Aaron Tate said this about the situation: "We are all frustrated by the apparent lack of speedy recovery for Haiti.  There were a lot of dreams early on that this was an opportunity to build a 'new Haiti' better than the old Haiti.  But the reality is that with such devastation, it is an incredible effort just to rebuild at all.
 
"Still, I expect the Haitian government, with the support of the international community, to provide for the needs of its people, a great many of them living in tents all over this country.  For example, it should not be acceptable that land ownership issues are debated eternally and become an excuse for inaction.  This is an emergency situation, and the government should take whatever emergency actions are necessary to provide housing." 

This is the third of a series of stories by CWS staffer Chris Herlinger focusing on the first six months of ACT Alliance recovery work in Haiti and related issues.

How to help

Contributions to support recovery work in Haiti may be made online or by phone (800.297.1516), or may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. 

  Church World Service is a member of the ACT Alliance, a global coalition of churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

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