It is Tuesday late afternoon, the sun goes low at dusk, people are preparing to end one more day, going to pick the kids up from school, organising tasks for the week, or wondering when the things are going to get better. But that Tuesday was odd. At 16h53 on the 12th of January, eight years ago, an earthquake reached Haiti: more than 300 thousand people died in the event and almost 2 million lost their houses. Although the destruction was atrocious, it was just the beginning of a long-term tragedy. I remember watching on the TV all the caos, the mobilisation around the world to help Haitians, the call for an emergency operation made by non-profitable organisations. Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children, Oxfam, Amnesty, and so many others were involved in the cause.
So what people do in a situation like that? The majority does not fly to offer help in person. But people are still willing to make their part, kindness is one element of human behaviour. Then, they collect clothes, food, money and trust that their efforts will arrive to the needy ones. How? Through the hands of these brave souls that dedicate their lives to saving lives. When these “heroes” betray this “good will chain”, they wipe out the fragile remaining hope of victims, their emotional structure collapse and their chances of receiving goods from all over the world are put on risk by this controversial attitude.
Skeptics about charities reassure their beliefs, charitable people question their actions, and victims mistrust good willing. The treason committed by Oxfam staff injured the community when it took place, but more than that, affected the faith in humanity. A creature explored people in miserable conditions, took advantage of a catastrophe to satisfy selfish desires, and did all that carrying the flag of human kindliness. What was exposed in the media is just the “tip of the iceberg”, as stated by the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise. Charities are under investigation and according to Moise, “there are other non-governamental organisations in the same situation, but they hide the information internally”.
An interview recorded by ITV News tells the story of Mikelange Gabo, an Haitian lady who got pregnant from the Oxfam official Roland Van Hauwermeiren when she was only 17. She is not the only one abused by the staff. A copy of Oxfam’s final report about the sexual misconduct during the operation in Haiti, after the earthquake, was published this month. About 40 witnesses were interviewed and reported “horrific” facts. The organisation offered “humblest apologies” to the Haitian government.
While this hideous facts are being brought to light, life in Haiti is still painful. Thousands of people have no where to go but the emergency camps, there are ruins everywhere, diseases are continuously spreading and the poverty affects people lives in all aspects. So, now, my question is how that “get better” wish could actually become true if the trust on our “calamity heroes” is broken. Who is going to stand for the needy ones?
