Six Months after Earthquake, 1.5 Million Haitians Live in Tent Cities Amid Rising Anger

Interview with Kim Ives, editor and writer with Haiti Liberte newspaper, conducted by Scott Harris

Six months ago on Jan. 12, the nation of Haiti was devastated by the most deadly earthquake in its history. The hemisphere's poorest nation, battered by this magnitude 7.0 earthquake, saw an estimated 230,000 of its citizens killed under hundreds of thousands of collapsed homes and commercial buildings in the capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities and towns. Another 300,000 people were injured and 1.5 million people were made homeless by the quake.

Despite a flood of international media attention and initial shipments of food, water and medical aid in January, many of the 3 million Haitians affected by the earthquake remain homeless and without the basics of life, such as adequate food, clean water, sanitation and medical care. People in Haiti's destroyed cities — still living in makeshift tents in more than 1,300 camps – are frustrated by the lack of coordination between the government and NGOs to deliver aid to those who need it most.

Despite pledges of $5.3 billion for reconstruction from around the world, only 10 percent has thus far been donated. A new commission led by former U.S president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has been established to supervise the rebuilding of Haiti's infrastructure and push donors to honor their commitments.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Kim Ives, an editor with the newspaper Haiti Liberte, who recently returned from a fact-finding visit to Haiti. He discusses the lack of progress in many areas of aid distribution and the determination of many Haitians to take action to improve their desperate situation.

Kim Ives is also a documentary filmmaker. Read Ives' articles online at www.haitiliberte.com

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