Haiti After the Earthquake

by Paul Farmer

Overview

"Paul Farmer, doctor and aid worker, offers an inspiring insider's view of the relief effort." -- Financial Times

"The book's greatest strength lies in its depiction of the post-quake chaos In the book's more analytical sections the author's diagnosis of the difficulties of reconstruction is sharp." -- Economist

"A gripping, profoundly moving book, an urgent dispatch from the front by one of our finest warriors for social justice." -- Adam Hochschild

"His honest assessment of what the people trying to help Haiti did well -- and where they failed -- is important for anyone who cares about the country or international aid in general." -- Miami Herald

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610392075
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	07/10/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Paul Farmer is Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and cofounder of Partners In Health. He also serves as UN Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti under Special Envoy Bill Clinton. Among his numerous awards and honors is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's "genius award."

Table of Contents

Nèg Mawon Joia S. Mukherjee ix

Writing About Suffering 1

1 The Catastrophe 6

2 Praxis and Policy: The Years before the Quake 22

3 January 12 and the Aftermath 54

4 A History of the Present Illness 121

5 Into the Camps 140

6 From Relief to Reconstruction (Building Back Better?) 149

7 Reconstruction in the Time of Cholera 188

8 Looking Forward While Looking Back: Lessons from Rwanda 236

Epilogue: January 12, 2011 236

Afterword: March 31, 2012 246

Other Voices

Art, by Catherine Bertrand Farmer 260

Women

Lòt Bò Dlo: The Other Side of the Water Edwidge Danticat 261

Sim Pa Rele (If I Don't Shout), by Michèle Montas-Dominique 271

Goudou Goudou Nancy Dorsinville 285

Mothers and Daughters of Haiti Didi Bertrand Farmer 295

Doctors

Humanitarian Aid, Impartiality, and Dirty Boots Louise Ivers 308

Lopital Jeneral Struggles to Survive Evan Lyon 319

Doctors in Tents Dubique Kobel 328

Those Who Survived Naomi Rosenberg 332

Humanitarians

First We Need Taxis Timothy T. Schwartz 342

The Official Jennie Weiss Block, O. P. 356

Building Back Better Jehane Sedky 363

Notes 373

Acronyms and Initiahsms 409

Contributors 411

Acknowledgments 415

Index 419

Photo insert between pages 216-217

What People are Saying About This

President Bill Clinton

“A gripping recollection of the quake’s ruin, chaos, and despair, and the story of remarkable persistence, hope, and love in the aftermath. Once you’ve seen Haiti through Paul Farmer’s eyes, you’ll never see Haitians, or any of the world’s poorest people, quite the same way again.”
—President Bill Clinton

Editorial Reviews

…the importance of this volume cannot be overstated. What emerges clearly is that Haiti's disaster is not merely geologic. The shaking earth only added to the woes of a long-stricken country abused by foreign-backed dictators, economic embargoes and historic French demands to be paid for its slaves freed at independence 200 years ago. Haiti underscores the desperate need for a lasting solution for a people who live hand-to-mouth on an island that once grew enough sugar for nearly the entire world.
—The Washington Post

James Maskalyk

President Bill Clinton

“A gripping recollection of the quake's ruin, chaos, and despair, and the story of remarkable persistence, hope, and love in the aftermath.  Once you've seen Haiti through Paul Farmer's eyes, you'll never see Haitians, or any of the world's poorest people, quite the same way again.”


Adam Hochschild

“Profoundly moving....An urgent dispatch from the front by one of our finest warriors for social justice.  With eloquence and wisdom, Paul Farmer shows how we cannot fully comprehend one of the great natural disasters of history without understanding the man-made suffering that Americans and others have inflicted on Haiti.”

Madison Capital Times, July 14, 2011

From the Publisher

“Farmer’s clarion and moving chronicle is followed by powerful essays by other [voices].”
—Booklist

Washington Post

The uniqueness of Farmer’s . . . contribution to this new stage of Haiti’s history is the piercing historic and social/political dimensions he offers.”
—The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail

Farmer’s clarion and moving chronicle is followed by powerful essays by other [voices].”
—Booklist

Booklist

On January 12, 2010, the whole world witnessed the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti and the devastation that followed. Having worked in Haiti for almost 30 years, Farmer (UN Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti; global health & social medicine, Harvard) draws on his vast experience to explain what he calls the "acute on chronic problem" that exists in the aftermath of the quake. He recounts the chronic problems caused by Haiti's history of colonial rule, damaging foreign and domestic economic policies, and the resulting abundance of well-meaning but dysfunctional humanitarian aid. Farmer does not deny the horror of the earthquake, but he pushes for closer examination of the problems in Haiti that made this natural disaster so destructive and the efforts to help its citizens extremely difficult. He argues for a more progressive rebuilding plan in Haiti to "build back better." Also included are essays from earthquake survivors, doctors, and other volunteers, which lend a more personal tone to the book. VERDICT Farmer demonstrates his deep love for Haiti while at the same time pushing for the drastic foreign and domestic reforms needed to rebuild this troubled nation. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about the history of, and recovery efforts in, Haiti.—Veronica Arellano, California, MD

Library Journal

Listeners can immediately believe they are hearing Paul Farmer himself deliver his eloquent broadcast of the voices of those affected by the disastrous earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. Eric Conger captures not only the matter-of-fact tone of Dr. Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and UN deputy special envoy for Haiti, but also the bold yet restrained compassion that fills Farmer's account. Additional essays by friends and colleagues make up the second part of the program. Edwidge Danticat and Michele Montas-Dominique deliver passionate readings of their works. Joia S. Mukerjee’s heavily accented delivery of “Neg Mawon” resonates with anger on behalf of her country. Meryl Streep and Edoardo Ballerini give commanding and sensitive performances of several essays. The careful, respectful use of Haitian Creole is a welcome addition, as are clear introductions and an index to the essays. The scenes of unimaginable devastation and loss so vividly described can be hard listening, but Farmer's vision for "building back better" and the hope and commitment of his colleagues and friends remain indelible. S.J.H./R.F.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2011 - AudioFile

From the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Haiti and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and members of his team, a searing firsthand account of the earthquake and its aftermath.

Farmer (Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader, 2010, etc.) presents consequences of the outrage that U.S. law—e.g., the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961—makes it impossible to do what needs to be done in a country like Haiti. Relief and reconstruction funds cannot go to government agencies or to rebuild government infrastructure; instead, they must be funneled into NGOs. Haiti's government, writes the author, is operating out of a small police station on a shoestring budget. More than 40 percent of government employees were killed, and 28 out of 29 ministries were leveled. Yet, under the ruling law, because of Haiti's history of human-rights violations, the United States cannot contribute to rebuilding government infrastructure or paying public employees, including doctors, nurses and medical technicians. The NGOs and volunteers who receive the funds can't discuss policy priorities, make laws or coordinate the scale of activity required, and they siphon funds into overhead and operating costs. Farmer has been involved in Haiti for 25 years, during which time he has warned policy makers about the country's precarious position. Unfortunately, the results have been very close to what he was predicted for years—at least 2 million people are still displaced, one-third of the population is directly affected and cholera has become a major problem. Other contributors to this book include Edwidge Danticat, Evan Lyon and Dubique Kobel.

An eye-opener of a report and a wake-up call that change is needed.

Kirkus Reviews