Haiti - one year later

Yesterday was exactly one year since the earthquake killed and destroyed many lives in Haiti.

The earthquake stole more than 23.000 lives and more than one million of Haitians are still living in camps and the disaster is still affecting the people of Haiti.
With such disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti diseases, criminality, and homelessness becomes a common problem. The corrupt system in Haiti doesn’t make the situation better either. UN forces and other nongovernmental organizations are now in Haiti to keep a somehow stabile situation. The question is what the future bears for Haiti.

Problems that Haiti is facing are many and it will take time to restore the country. Education, water, hygiene, nutrition, health, protection from criminality and poverty are serious issues today, one year after the catastrophe, issues that affect their rights, the human rights. The need for help is huge.

Knowing this we also know that rights such as civil rights, social and cultural rights, children’s rights and women’s rights are being violated and these rights are just a few of those that are being violated. Restoration of the disaster is going to be a long process, also because the country itself before the disaster was and still is corrupt and the life is of poor standard.

A fact is that out of the population a great number of them are children, children who died at school or at home. Our children are our future. What I believe is one of the most important issues is how the children can be given a chance of a decent future, a future where they fulfill their dreams and hopes.

I saw a news segment on TV about Haiti which showed me that there must be some hope for the children in Haiti. Schools have been built which is great.

The change that Haiti really needs if you ask me is to get rid of the corruption. In fact the corrupt system in Haiti is also a link to the crumbling of the buildings. Corrupt construction workers use material of poorer quality when constructing buildings, for a certain amount of money. This makes the constructions non-resisting to natural disasters like earthquakes.

Haiti is also one of the 192 countries who have ratified the convention on the rights of the child, which means that Haiti has an obligation of protecting children’s rights which they haven’t done.

To criticize Haiti is also difficult since they have suffered a history of conflict and poverty which makes it even harder to support and protect the rights of the population, but that still is not a legitimate life for anybody.


During the year, people have been vaccinated against the most dangerous diseases, schools have been built and restoration is on the way, but much is still to do to restore Haiti.
The situation is still rocky in Haiti but there still is a gleam of light in the country.