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South Florida key to recovery in Haiti, but road is long and uncharted
Posted on Sunday, 01.31.10
BY AUDRA D.S. BURCH AND ELINOR J.BRECHER
<!-- begin /production/story/credit_line_format.comp -->aburch@MiamiHerald.com
Hours after the earthquake in Haiti, South Florida emerged as a natural staging area for an epic relief effort to a nation now tragically defined by loss.
Just as naturally, the region promises to shape Haiti's recovery -- part think tank, part supply depot.
As shell-shocked Haitians still seek firm footing, a community bound by blood yet separated by 750 miles of ocean is just starting to consider its role -- and the price of being a good neighbor.
Just who will pick up the tab has already caused turmoil. U.S. military flights stopped bringing trauma patients to Florida on Wednesday after Gov. Charlie Crist asked for federal aid. The state, he said, has already spent $10 million.
Officials were trying to work out a compromise Saturday so flights could resume.
"There's a thin line between local and global, between Miami and Haiti," said Mark Rosenberg, president of Florida International University. "Long after the cameras are gone in Haiti, South Florida will have to stand tall and be aggressive in the rebuilding effort."
Understandably, those efforts haven't yet coalesced into an agenda; many of the estimated 268,000 Haitians in South Florida are still at square one, searching for lost loved ones or mourning their dead.
But in some ways, relief is progressing to recovery.
Miami-Dade's school board is considering building classrooms in Port-au-Prince. The University of Miami's field hospital is settling in for the long haul. Archdiocesan Catholic priests are in Haiti to bring spiritual healing to those in anguish.
And on the Miami River -- a narrow ribbon that has long tied South Florida to Haiti -- boats laden with relief supplies and marketplace staples chug toward open water.
Already a lifeline to Haiti, this 5.5-mile waterway will become even more important as the cheapest, most efficient way to transport construction material to the ports.
South Florida's demographics and geography position it squarely at the intersection of recovery dialogue, strategics, mobilization and commerce.
"With such a large Haitian community, there's obviously going to be investment from here," said Alex Stepick, FIU professor and director of the Immigration and Ethnicity Institute. "Pragmatically speaking, the imports are going to come through Miami, so there is no question we will play a pivotal role in the rebuilding."
The Diaspora has always been one of the Haitian economy's most solid pillars, sending $1.17 billion a year in remittances, "more than any foreign aid," said Marleine Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami and co-chair of the Haiti Relief Task Force.
"We have a unique opportunity to get it right," said Dr. Rudolph Moise, a Miami activist and, like Bastien, a candidate for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Senate hopeful Kendrick Meek. "Haiti has been neglected for 200 years. . . . Haiti needs everything."
More at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1455513.html
Posted on Sunday, 01.31.10
BY AUDRA D.S. BURCH AND ELINOR J.BRECHER
<!-- begin /production/story/credit_line_format.comp -->aburch@MiamiHerald.com
Hours after the earthquake in Haiti, South Florida emerged as a natural staging area for an epic relief effort to a nation now tragically defined by loss.
Just as naturally, the region promises to shape Haiti's recovery -- part think tank, part supply depot.
As shell-shocked Haitians still seek firm footing, a community bound by blood yet separated by 750 miles of ocean is just starting to consider its role -- and the price of being a good neighbor.
Just who will pick up the tab has already caused turmoil. U.S. military flights stopped bringing trauma patients to Florida on Wednesday after Gov. Charlie Crist asked for federal aid. The state, he said, has already spent $10 million.
Officials were trying to work out a compromise Saturday so flights could resume.
"There's a thin line between local and global, between Miami and Haiti," said Mark Rosenberg, president of Florida International University. "Long after the cameras are gone in Haiti, South Florida will have to stand tall and be aggressive in the rebuilding effort."
Understandably, those efforts haven't yet coalesced into an agenda; many of the estimated 268,000 Haitians in South Florida are still at square one, searching for lost loved ones or mourning their dead.
But in some ways, relief is progressing to recovery.
Miami-Dade's school board is considering building classrooms in Port-au-Prince. The University of Miami's field hospital is settling in for the long haul. Archdiocesan Catholic priests are in Haiti to bring spiritual healing to those in anguish.
And on the Miami River -- a narrow ribbon that has long tied South Florida to Haiti -- boats laden with relief supplies and marketplace staples chug toward open water.
Already a lifeline to Haiti, this 5.5-mile waterway will become even more important as the cheapest, most efficient way to transport construction material to the ports.
South Florida's demographics and geography position it squarely at the intersection of recovery dialogue, strategics, mobilization and commerce.
"With such a large Haitian community, there's obviously going to be investment from here," said Alex Stepick, FIU professor and director of the Immigration and Ethnicity Institute. "Pragmatically speaking, the imports are going to come through Miami, so there is no question we will play a pivotal role in the rebuilding."
The Diaspora has always been one of the Haitian economy's most solid pillars, sending $1.17 billion a year in remittances, "more than any foreign aid," said Marleine Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami and co-chair of the Haiti Relief Task Force.
"We have a unique opportunity to get it right," said Dr. Rudolph Moise, a Miami activist and, like Bastien, a candidate for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Senate hopeful Kendrick Meek. "Haiti has been neglected for 200 years. . . . Haiti needs everything."
More at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1455513.html