YWCA of Haiti: Reconstruction of our country means ‘staying to continue’
As Haiti’s government confirms around 230,000 people died in last month's earthquake, Genevieve Michel, a young woman of 22 volunteering as the Acting General Secretary of the YWCA of Haiti recalls the disaster that devastated her country and reflects on what it will take to reconstruct Haiti.
"It was an afternoon like all other ones. My head full of plans for the evening, I was about to open the gate of the house when suddenly the earth started to tremble. It started very lightly, with a huge sound in the background and gradually became stronger. First I thought it was a gas explosion coming from the neighbor’s house when I saw them run out to the garden. Turning around, I saw trees bending down to the ground, and the car that had dropped me off was going in zig zags. Suddenly, the ground became almost soft and I had the impression of surfing. I could almost feel the ocean waves under my feet. It was only then I realised it was an earthquake. It only lasted a few seconds but it felt like an eternity.
Once the initial shock had passed, my first reaction was to call my immediate family to make sure everyone was fine. But communication was already starting to be difficult. Never would I have thought there would be so much damage. I really had no idea of the degree of devastation.
I became more conscious of it all with the echoes of the tragedy taking place in the city. News was coming from everywhere: the Presidential Palace had fallen down, as well as the Court of Justice, the Cathedral, public administration buildings, commercial buildings, big hotels and of course private homes. I heard that my grandmother’s house fell down and that my grandmother and grandfather are stuck inside their apartment in the same compound. Anxiety increases… and names are given: those that escaped, those that are injured, those that are homeless, those that are unaccounted for, those that have died…Names that I can put a face to, that I know in one way or another.
Night falls and the anguish of waiting begins; families waiting for news, everyone waiting for morning…A small ray of hope lights up. We have to wait for morning to come. Uncertainty also takes its place. What will tomorrow be made of?
The days that followed the disaster are difficult to describe. I could no longer recongnise my city. One has to guess what used to be there. I will never forget the number of people walking around in a daze, faces filled with despair, with no destination in mind but fleeing from the tragedy that became part of their life.
Help arrived little by little and life resumed more or less its daily course. We have to heal the wounds and the suffering, a task that will not end very soon. The people of Haiti as a whole is impacted and traumatised by this tragedy, and the aftershocks keep reminding us that life is fragile. Those that survived are organising themselves as best they can. Survival has to be organised. Finding water, fuel and food has become a major achievement. As for me, I have not lost any dear ones and even though I can count some minor material damages, I still have a roof over my head and I feel guilty. Guilty to be so lucky. I keep asking myself the reasons why I was spared.
My city is in tears, my country is suffering! The cries I hear and the devastation I see tell me the extent of the catastrophe. However, the signs of solidarity that I witness leave me speechless! And I know….I know that God never gives a burden to carry without the strength to carry it. I know that all this did not happen for nothing and that we, Haitians, have experienced other tragedies. I see some people overtaken by fear packing their bags to leave but for me there is only one solution: TO STAY.
There is so much to do and so much to rebuild in a country where the structures were already weak that it almost feels impossible. But I am confident. The key words are: COURAGE, PATIENCE, HOPE! Yes, I believe! I believe that there is strength in unity. Our motto is now more than ever ours. I believe in tomorrow. A future in which everyone will have participated and that will be ours together. What doesn’t kill makes one stronger. It is now for us to prove. And that is life: TO CONTINUE!'
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