Is Anyone Listening to the Haitians?

Nobody knows better what the people of earthquake-devastated Haiti need than the Haitians themselves.

(Co-authored by Athena Kolbe, a researcher with the University of Michigan, and Roger Noel, a social worker from Bon Repos, Haiti.)

Within hours of Haiti’s devastating earthquake in January, Reconstruction International Inc. was flying to the rescue. Reconstruction International Inc. is an alphabet soup of United Nations (UN) agencies, North American and Western European relief organizations, bilateral donor governments, private contractors, and charities of various shapes and sizes.

In capital cities around the world Reconstruction International Inc. spokespersons calmly prepared its shareholders for the cold calculus of relief assistance: first water, then food, followed by shelter and health and sanitation. Literally thousands of foreign personnel were swiftly mobilized into action to secure infrastructure, perform search and rescues, and deliver life-saving assistance.

Haiti is no stranger to Reconstruction International Inc. The country is home to more non-governmental organizations – or NGOs – per capita than any other place on earth. For years, this “Republic of NGOs” outsourced virtually all basic services to non-state providers. Foreign aid previously supplied to the Haitian government has been diverted to international NGOs instead.

With this kind of influence, Reconstruction International Inc. was well poised to step up its activities after the quake. Within weeks it raised more than $1.4 billion (U.S.) in “flash appeals,” much of it outsourced to consortium members. With at least five to ten times more money likely to be pledged at a major donor conference in New York on March 31, Reconstruction International Inc. is about to shift into high gear.

Owing to its impressive resource base and technical know-how, Reconstruction International Inc. tends to side-step local knowledge and expertise. After all, its personnel are the best and brightest, many of them learned veterans of war zones and disasters in remote corners with skills honed in Africa, Asia, and beyond.

In its rush to save lives and build Haiti back better, Reconstruction International Inc. has tended to consult with elites rather than ordinary Haitians. Although its manuals call for evidence-based practice, results-based programming, local ownership, and taking account of the concerns of the poor, these niceties are frequently abandoned in the heat of emergencies.

Yet in light of the failures of the past, Reconstruction International Inc. would do well to listen to local voices.

A research team affiliated with the University of Michigan and the Small Arms Survey and funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre is trying to amplify Haitian concerns. Early this month the team asked almost 3,000 urban dwellers and displaced people about their opinions on security, justice, property, and the place of their own government in meeting their basic needs.

The survey shows that despite the alleged return of marauding gangs, violence and crime are not uppermost on Haitians’ minds. Just one in five residents described crime as a serious problem after the earthquake; almost two in three of the same group described crime before the earthquake as a serious problem. Though many residents reported being victimized by criminals in the past, few said that a crime had been committed against them or their household since the earthquake. These findings echo reports from local Haitian organizations and leaders who have consistently described the situation in Port-au-Prince as relatively calm and peaceful.

The survey also shows remarkable patterns of reciprocity and self-help, with neighbours, friends, and family members banding together. Time and time again, survey respondents reported relying on families and other community members to provide housing, food, outdoor sleeping space, and cash – assistance that dramatically increased the likelihood that families would avoid serious hunger and malnutrition.

The survey provides a timely reminder that Haitians are remarkably resilient people, certainly more so than Reconstruction International Inc. gives them credit for. Since the earthquake, nearly one-third received gifts from friends, family, and the diaspora. Those receiving remittances were more likely to be food-secure. Remittances from abroad amounted to about $1.3 billion (U.S.) in 2009, and were likely to rise in 2010.

In spite of the many challenges they have faced, Haitians are still prepared to support their government to set things right. Almost two-thirds of Haitians would turn to the national police, not international agencies, for assistance. This is up from almost half in 2009.

The international community is in a unique position to begin supporting the Haitian government and society in new and exciting ways. As one community leader in a displaced persons’ camp said, “We have agronomists and engineers here already and we know our land best; the foreigners should be consulting with us first before spending so much money to fly people in from overseas. Hire Haitian professionals to do the work here; don’t just hire us to be your translators or drivers.”

At a minimum, Reconstruction International Inc. should take account of the realities on the ground as it prepares for decades of investment. Its assessments should be routinely updated to be sure that plans for Haiti take account of Haitian interests and Haitian capacities. Any effective long-term plan will need to be owned by Haitians, not by outsiders.