FROM THE FIELD
(incidentally, that lake had just about dried up
before Hanna hit).More than 3,000 people lost their lives to Jeanne, as a wall of water swept through the streets of Gonaïves in the middle of the night in 2004. This time,
thankfully, that number is much lower. “The number of lives lost is much less this time,” Oxfam’s Max Astier explained. “Unlike with Jeanne, the people of Gonaïves
had time to react to Hanna. The floodwaters began to rise in the middle of the afternoon and people were able move to higher ground before the water could gain strength as it rose. And
don’t forget, the people of Gonaïves have not forgotten Jeanne.”While there are differences between then and now, unfortunately there are also numerous
similarities. Everywhere you look, people of all ages are flinging mud out of their homes and businesses, armed with whatever they can find to use as a makeshift shovel, trying to salvage
whatever they can. The same naked mountains envelope the city and stagnant water, thick mud and piles of destroyed personal belongings line the streets. As we drive through one neighbourhood, I hear a
man singing. I turn to see who it is, to find an elderly man struggling to remove the sludge from him damaged home. He sees me and smiles and keeps on working.As I walk up to an informal
shelter (the building of a neighbourhood construction supply business), I am greeted by a group of women washing at a water pump in the yard. Despite the obvious despair they must be feeling, they
smile warmly at me and tell me: “We are hanging in there, by the grace of God
Gonaives on 15 September 2008
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
