Conclusion
There are those that have criticized the massive Haitian relief effort, financial and otherwise, put forth by Americans over the past month. We hear cries of “What about taking care of the poor people in the USA?”, “Why didn’t we come together like this for the residents of New Orleans”.
These questions are valid, and understandable. I do think that America responded slowly to the ravages of Katrina, and we have learned from it. However, in our discussions at dinner, we identified enormous difference between the two scenarios.
First of all, New Orleans was somewhat prosperous to begin with, so there were always opportunities for people to have bettered themselves. Not so with the Haitians, ranking poorest in the Western hemisphere.
Secondly, no matter what your station in life, after Katrina hit the gulf coast you did have an opportunity to move on. I don’t mean to make light of the fact that people lost their homes and possessions. That is an unspeakable horror.
However, the chief of surgery at Tulane, who writes an editorial for a surgical journal, packed up the family and took a new position in North Carolina. A clerk in the local Target could perform the same job in Houston. Even the families dependent upon government subsidies could get the same support a few miles away in Baton Rouge.
Again, I don't wish this to be misconstrued as a callous assessment, but there was a way out for these people as difficult as it might have been.
Not so with the Haitians. There is no vehicle by which they can escape their lot in life, which before January 12th was dismal, and now is beyond comprehension.
This country, as I have said repeatedly, is like no other. Because of a lengthy history of corrupt governments, there is virtually no industry, trade, or tourism. As such, the people have had very little in the way of exposure to outside visitors.
In addition, Haiti has historically had no government assistance for its citizens. This total lack of a welfare system has perpetuated an environment which could best be described as a survival of the fittest. Combine that with the fact that the people are virtually isolated from the rest of the civilized world, and I arrived at an interesting theory which I proposed at dinner one night. Haiti is somewhat of a Galapagos Island for humans.
This will now be forever changed.
It is a fact that the cities, and buildings within, were hit hardest by the earthquake. If a shanty constructed of palm fronds collapsed on a family, the damage was probably corrected in short order. However, the concrete buildings and homes were almost impossible to escape. The quake lasted only 30 seconds. After allowing a few seconds for recognition, it left little time with which to escape.
Because of this, the “producers” of this nation were more decimated than the “non-producers”. They were the people in the office buildings, banks, universities who have now been removed from the gene pool. A number now totaling more than 230,000. The farmer rebuilds his shack and moves on.
Peter Roman is of the opinion that Haiti will become a welfare state of the world. This is probably not far from the truth.
Do I think they can rebuild? Unfortunately, I do not.
I was in Lower Manhattan shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. As we all witnessed, there was an elaborate, accelerated excavation plan in place which operated around the clock. Nevertheless, the project took years to complete. In my week in Haiti, we did not see one, and I mean one, excavation project at work. The collapsed buildings were left as is. I suspect they will forever remain a monument to the lost souls buried beneath.
The one thing that I and my fellow team members need to do is help sustain the effort to assist these people in their time of need. The attention span of the world’s people is short, and we have now transitioned to the chronic phase of recovery. We will try to formulate a mechanism by which the process can continue, hopefully involving more than just healthcare workers from our community. These people need help from all walks of life. . . communications, infrastructure, sanitation, etc. (no lawyers !)
As I had previously mentioned, we gained far more from our visit to Haiti than the Haitian people did from our presence. In my travels around the world, whenever I would encounter overly friendly and attentive people, there would always, and I mean always be an ulterior motive. Trust me; this is not the case with the Haitians. Their affection is genuine.
The cable news stations prepared us for the physical destruction. Our extensive experience in health care prepared us for the disease, limb loss, infections, etc. However, we were defenseless with respect to the emotional attachment we developed with our Haitian colleagues and patients.
I would like to thank all of the people who took the time to read these blogs. For the most part, I had written them as a vehicle to record our experience. I did not mean to be so presumptuous to think that what I had to say would be found interesting by people who are so busy with their own lives.
We do need to offer a tip of the hat to Dr. Scott Sigman. He provided the initial impetus for the trip, and helped put together a team which I would rank with the nation’s best.
Lowell General Hospital and Saints Memorial were very cooperative and generous with supplies.
There are those that have criticized the massive Haitian relief effort, financial and otherwise, put forth by Americans over the past month. We hear cries of “What about taking care of the poor people in the USA?”, “Why didn’t we come together like this for the residents of New Orleans”.
These questions are valid, and understandable. I do think that America responded slowly to the ravages of Katrina, and we have learned from it. However, in our discussions at dinner, we identified enormous difference between the two scenarios.
First of all, New Orleans was somewhat prosperous to begin with, so there were always opportunities for people to have bettered themselves. Not so with the Haitians, ranking poorest in the Western hemisphere.
Secondly, no matter what your station in life, after Katrina hit the gulf coast you did have an opportunity to move on. I don’t mean to make light of the fact that people lost their homes and possessions. That is an unspeakable horror.
However, the chief of surgery at Tulane, who writes an editorial for a surgical journal, packed up the family and took a new position in North Carolina. A clerk in the local Target could perform the same job in Houston. Even the families dependent upon government subsidies could get the same support a few miles away in Baton Rouge.
Again, I don't wish this to be misconstrued as a callous assessment, but there was a way out for these people as difficult as it might have been.
Not so with the Haitians. There is no vehicle by which they can escape their lot in life, which before January 12th was dismal, and now is beyond comprehension.
This country, as I have said repeatedly, is like no other. Because of a lengthy history of corrupt governments, there is virtually no industry, trade, or tourism. As such, the people have had very little in the way of exposure to outside visitors.
In addition, Haiti has historically had no government assistance for its citizens. This total lack of a welfare system has perpetuated an environment which could best be described as a survival of the fittest. Combine that with the fact that the people are virtually isolated from the rest of the civilized world, and I arrived at an interesting theory which I proposed at dinner one night. Haiti is somewhat of a Galapagos Island for humans.
This will now be forever changed.
It is a fact that the cities, and buildings within, were hit hardest by the earthquake. If a shanty constructed of palm fronds collapsed on a family, the damage was probably corrected in short order. However, the concrete buildings and homes were almost impossible to escape. The quake lasted only 30 seconds. After allowing a few seconds for recognition, it left little time with which to escape.
Because of this, the “producers” of this nation were more decimated than the “non-producers”. They were the people in the office buildings, banks, universities who have now been removed from the gene pool. A number now totaling more than 230,000. The farmer rebuilds his shack and moves on.
Peter Roman is of the opinion that Haiti will become a welfare state of the world. This is probably not far from the truth.
Do I think they can rebuild? Unfortunately, I do not.
I was in Lower Manhattan shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. As we all witnessed, there was an elaborate, accelerated excavation plan in place which operated around the clock. Nevertheless, the project took years to complete. In my week in Haiti, we did not see one, and I mean one, excavation project at work. The collapsed buildings were left as is. I suspect they will forever remain a monument to the lost souls buried beneath.
The one thing that I and my fellow team members need to do is help sustain the effort to assist these people in their time of need. The attention span of the world’s people is short, and we have now transitioned to the chronic phase of recovery. We will try to formulate a mechanism by which the process can continue, hopefully involving more than just healthcare workers from our community. These people need help from all walks of life. . . communications, infrastructure, sanitation, etc. (no lawyers !)
As I had previously mentioned, we gained far more from our visit to Haiti than the Haitian people did from our presence. In my travels around the world, whenever I would encounter overly friendly and attentive people, there would always, and I mean always be an ulterior motive. Trust me; this is not the case with the Haitians. Their affection is genuine.
The cable news stations prepared us for the physical destruction. Our extensive experience in health care prepared us for the disease, limb loss, infections, etc. However, we were defenseless with respect to the emotional attachment we developed with our Haitian colleagues and patients.
I would like to thank all of the people who took the time to read these blogs. For the most part, I had written them as a vehicle to record our experience. I did not mean to be so presumptuous to think that what I had to say would be found interesting by people who are so busy with their own lives.
We do need to offer a tip of the hat to Dr. Scott Sigman. He provided the initial impetus for the trip, and helped put together a team which I would rank with the nation’s best.
Lowell General Hospital and Saints Memorial were very cooperative and generous with supplies.
Those who donated beanie babies will never realize how much of an impact they made on the lives of these children. No picture or written description can capture the look on the faces of these precious children as they received these simple little stuffed animals. For the past month, they have lived a life that no child should have to endure, and you made the smiles return.
Michael and Franny Kettenbach, as well as the entire Market Basket family provided support, without which this entire mission would never have gotten off the ground. We will be forever indebted to them. One team member mentioned that it was ironic how a man whom he had never met (Mr. Kettenbach) could change his life forever.
To my team, heartfelt thanks for a job well done. We have more work to do, and I know you are up to the task.
I now need to enter rehab to cure myself of this beef jerkey addiction !
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