Haiti: 'A tragedy beyond imagination'

Published on Thursday 14 January 2010 21:36

DESPERATION turned to anger last night as Haitians began making roadblocks out of corpses in protest at the delay in emergency aid reaching them after the devastating earthquake.

• Amid a sea of earthquake victims outside a makeshift mortuary in the capital, Port-au-Prince, a man covers his nostrils as he searches for relatives. Picture: Getty

Shaul Schwarz, a photographer for TIME magazine, photographed at least two roadblocks in downtown Port-au-Prince formed with bodies of earthquake victims and rocks.

He said: "They are starting to block the roads with bodies, it's getting ugly out there, people are fed up with getting no help,"

With the national police all but vanished and widespread reports of looting , a growing sense of unease began to grip the capital.

Nearly two days after the devastating quake, bodies still litter the streets, while groans of the buried continued to drift from the ruins of Port-au-Prince.

Limbs protruded from disintegrated concrete and muffled cries emanated from deep inside the wreckage of buildings.

Bodies lay everywhere in the capital: tiny children next to schools, women in rubble-strewn streets with stunned expressions frozen on their faces, men hidden beneath plastic and cotton sheets.

The Red Cross estimated the death toll from Tuesday's magnitude-7 quake could reach 50,000 and said a further three million people – a third of the population – were believed to be injured or homeless.

Shellshocked Haitians silently wandered the broken streets of Port-au-Prince, searching desperately for water, food and medical help. Others clawed at buildings with their bare hands in a desperate bid to locate survivors.

People set up camps amid piles of salvaged goods, including food scavenged from the rubble.

Poor sanitation, the imminent spread of disease, lack of water and outbreaks of lawlessness threatened to claim thousands more lives.

The head of charity Mdecins du Monde, Olivier Bernard, said aid had to arrive almost immediately. "To save lives, surgery must be available ideally within the first 48 hours," he said.

Jimitre Coquillon, a doctor's assistant, said: "This is much worse than a hurricane. There's no water. There's nothing. Thirsty people are going to die."

The international community pledged more than 200 million,

but there was little sign of aid beginning to filter through for the tens of thousands struggling to survive, in desperate need of medical care, water and shelter.

Logistical problems made it difficult for aid to reach the country's flattened capital. Phone lines were down, the port was closed, houses were destroyed, fuel was running low and food and water were in short supply.

There were even reports last night that aid flights from the United States had been halted because there was no room at the earthquake-damaged airport.

As it was revealed that half the 32 UK nationals living in Port-au-Prince were still not accounted for, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced 6m in aid from Britain and said Haiti had suffered a "tragedy beyond imagination".

He called for the whole world to respond, and said: "The last 24 hours have been truly horrific for the people of Haiti."

The US began sending 3,500 soldiers and 300 medical personnel to help with disaster relief and security. President Barack Obama announced $100m (60m) in aid and told the Haitian people: "You will not be forsaken. You will not be forgotten.

"In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you."

The Queen made a private donation of an undisclosed amount to the Disasters Emergency Committee, and said: "I'm deeply saddened to hear of the earthquake in Haiti with its huge loss of life and damage to homes and livelihoods. I offer my condolences and profound sympathy to all those affected."

In Haiti, fear was the defining emotion – fear that relatives had perished, fear of aftershocks, fear of disease and fear of violence as looting broke out.

Damage to hospitals and a shortage of equipment made it difficult for doctors to treat those who had been injured.

Amid it all, the search for survivors went on. In Petionville, next to the capital, people dug through a collapsed shopping centre, tossing aside mattresses and office supplies. More than a dozen cars were entombed, including a UN truck.

Nearby, 200 survivors, including many children, huddled in a theatre car park using sheets to rig makeshift tents and shield themselves from the sun, as temperatures hit 90C.

In Port-au-Prince, some 3,000 police and international peacekeepers cleared debris, directed traffic and maintained security in the capital. Members of the UN's 9,000-strong peacekeeping force in Haiti secured the airport, port and main buildings.

Balancing suitcases and belongings on their heads, many people streamed on foot into the Haitian countryside, where wooden and breeze-block shacks showed little sign of damage. Ambulances and UN trucks raced in the opposite direction, towards Port-au-Prince.

Efforts to administer emergency services and distribute food and water varied from place to place – in some cases, they were seemingly non-existent.

A few 4x4s driven by UN personnel plied streets clogged with rubble and stunned Haitians. But even those basic humanitarian efforts could be short-lived. Last night, fuel shortages emerged as the latest concern.

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Haiti: Obama calls on ex-presidents Clinton and Bush to help save lives

Haiti: Survivors young and old pulled from ruins