Quiet desperation

Today was an exercise in patience.  We've been waiting and waiting for word that the containers were off loaded and that the M/V SeaHunter was on its way here.  Still waiting. 
Received some food and over-the-counter medical supplies this morning from a warehouse in Nassau that were brought in by plane.  Don't know who was behind this but it is much appreciated.  Food and clothing are the hot items right now which explains our anxiety regarding the SeaHunter. 
We were visited again by individuals representing several large NGOs.  They are very curious about the Cavaillon children so we're thinking that there's something going on to which we are not privy.  The kids are adjusting amazingly well and have begun integrating themselves with the others.
Met with some folks who want to start a soup kitchen for poor families.  We'll probably join them if they can organize it without our help.  We're talking something like 500 families.  Couldn't keep this up for very long but we're hoping that Cross International will continue to help and maybe another non-profit, too.  By the way, if your looking to support a wonderful and effective non-profit, consider Cross International.  They have been with us for years, through thick and thin, and have not faltered.  Look them up on the web. 

What are they saying?

If you listen to the vast majority of the people around here, they'll tell you that they are fed up. Fed up with the poverty and the misery. Fed up with an inept government that only utters words but never acts. People in the streets yell out, "America, take over!". The latest report for the southern department clearly shows that in areas where the state officials are "in charge" nothing is getting done. There's in-fighting going on among the government officials and the priority is not the welfare of the people. What a madhouse!
I heard that there were warehouses in PaP full of food and relief supplies that were manned by minor government bureaucrats who were slowly attempting to inventory what they had on hand (a monumental task when all you have is pen and paper) and who refused to release anything until the paperwork was done. The remaining Customs Office is as difficult and arbitrary as always as though there had never been an earthquake. Children with no apparent families in the tent cities have to linger there for days as the various "bureaus" decide who has ultimate authority to determine their fate. Patients who have been treated are on their own to find a place to live or someone to care for them.
President Clinton has his work cut out for him!

Update

I am glad that President Bill Clinton has been named as the Coordinator of the Haitian Relief Effort. Maybe now we will start seeing some humanitarian assistance in the countryside.
Life goes on here. I am always amazed at the resilience of the Haitian people. Oh, yes, there is frustration and some anger. Tensions are high with too many people and not enough money for food. There is hoarding and some black-marketing going on. But, generally speaking, the folks here are doing a fantastic job of helping each other out.
The medical crisis is pretty much over and we have entered the recovery stage.
There are thousands upon thousands of amputees now. A physical handicap here is almost a death sentence as almost all work is physical. The ortho team spoke of returning with some friends in the prosthetic business. Once the amputations have healed, people should be fitted with prosthetic limbs as soon as possible. We are thinking of transforming our building in town, LaMadonne, into a resource center for the newly amputated. There is such a great need for this now. We should provide counseling as part of the service and explore job training opportunities. This is also a good opportunity to provide training and jobs for our older boys. We'll need your sustained help to make this happen.

Update Day 21

Today was our medical team's last day doing surgery to repair broken bones of all sorts as a result of the earthquake. Another team will be replacing them tomorrow though the crisis on the orthopedic level is nearly over. The second medical phase is focused on infections from the hastily performed surgeries on the scene; on the spiked incidents of malaria, typhoid, dengue; on the results of lack of potable water (parasites and the like) and so on. No one is talking about the psychological effects of this trauma though there are some social workers around.
I received a brief from an international agency accustomed to relief work and they had recommendations for people like us who are attempting to help the Haitians in their pain. We are told to refer all traumatized people to mental health professionals in the country. Yeah, right. There is one mental health facility in the whole country and it was situated in Port-au-Prince so it may not even be there anymore. What folks don't seem to understand is that Haiti never had a real health system. The state hospitals were a mess before the earthquake. They lacked doctors, qualified nurses, medicine, laboratories... The government, the school system, the health ministry were all failures. Finger-pointing is a favorite sport down here and, really, who cares at this point. Haiti needs more than rebuilding; it needs to be re-conceived. And this won't happen with the current government--what remains of it.
The only relief supplies coming our way are from private organizations. How can this be? There are still planeloads of medicine, food, clothing and such arriving in PaP daily but they stay there. Who is running this relief operation?
If I'm sounding a bit edgy, it's only because I am. Families in the countryside are falling apart because they can't find food. There are no jobs and there's no relief in sight. Yes, we are here and there are other groups helping but the need surpasses our abilities. Wasn't it bad enough to suffer through such a massive earthquake that caused thousands upon thousands of deaths, destroyed the city of PaP, displaced a million people? If relief does not come soon for those in the villages and towns, it will be the end of Haiti. I have to ask if this is the result of ineptitude or something much worse?