They have a direct connection with the company in Paris.On the spot, reliable information and French-speaking and/or English-speaking capacities of assistance can be supplied upon request. The lack of food, the population who sleeps massively on the ground, downtown, create a perceptible aggressiveness. The language barrier (the Haitian people are French-speakers), is an obstacle for the American leadership in the rescue process and the reconstruction actions, to protect effectively men and means . A short statement will be put on-line every 24 hours on our website.
Contact : Didier Rancher, Deputy Managing Director.
Update 2010/01/27 :
The earthquake assessment raises 112 000 victims and 190 000 injured persons. UN Organization counts close to 610 000 disaster victims in Port-au-Prince. The situation is not consolidated and rain season could start soon, which could be worrying for the next events.
News :
Two new shocks with no damage have been observed yesterday morning at 4:00 am and 8:00 am, local hour.
Sanitary risk is now maximal. At the time when funerals time ends, it appears that victims have been buried quickly and in bad conditions. This could have disastrous consequences in terms of epidemics. Moreover, the concentration of populations in town center and in tent camps on the Champ de Mars could increase propagation of diseases.
The US army was principally present in the town center and around the airport. Today, our specialized team from GSG, have seen US hummers on the outskirts of the capital.
Security assessment :
The most important risk is insecurity. The crowds of strangers (journalists, humanitarian workers, NGO’s, firm delegations...) not especially aware of security measures, the number of homeless wandering in Haiti and the slow return to normal activities will reveal a certain risk. Haiti was considered as one of the most dangerous country in the world before the earthquake. We can imagine that the helplessness of the population after the funeral period, could boost insecurity.
It is highly advised to the strangers going to Haiti, to be accompanied by qualified persons on security problems in dangerous areas.
GSG, thanks to its reassurance help mission, settles solutions of support and reassurance of journalists movements to Port-au-Prince and in the capital.
Security forces in Haiti are operational. More than local police forces, there are 3 500 soldiers coming from the United States and Canada, 7 000 military forces from UN Organization and about a hundred policemen from the European Gendarmerie Force.
The US army controls the harbor and airport of Port-au-Prince.
Daylife :
Concerning communications, some GSM local lines have been repaired. Only text messages are working.
The clearing of communication axes is the first step to make easier moving and then start the reconstruction step.
Reconstruction :
Survivor research phase is officially closed. Priority is now the reconstruction of the capital. The haitian government organizes the survivor’s rehousing in villages around. The Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerie, explained during the first conference for reconstruction which took place in Montreal, that Haiti would supervise the reconstruction helped by 14 countries (including France). They accepted to adopt solid mechanisms of follow up and evaluation.
First estimations concerning the reconstruction period are evaluated around 10 years.
