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08/25/2021 08:59 AMMore than 11 years after an earthquake devastated parts of Haiti, prompting residents in Essex to form the nonprofit Sister Cities Essex Haiti (SCEH), the Caribbean country is once again facing similar difficulties.
On Aug. 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Haiti’s southwest peninsula, about 60 miles west of the location of the earlier earthquake, in January 2010, and 78 miles west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, according to the United State Geological Survey (USGS).
The programs of SCEH are in the city of Deschapelles, Haiti which is about 72 miles north of Port-au-Prince, and is not near the epicenter of the earthquake.
Jenifer Grant, who founded SCEH and now serves on its board of directors, said she’s having mixed emotions—relief that the organization’s program areas and staff are safe, while saddened by what has occurred there.
“It’s very hard for me,” said Grant. “I’m so happy that Deschapelles again has not suffered at all. And I know the people who are running the programs in the south and my heart breaks for them.”
Scientists from the USGS state that the most recent earthquake occurred along a fault line of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone, the same fault structure as the 2010 earthquake, and that seismic aftershocks are expected in the region.
On top of the earthquake, Haiti is also facing hurricane season, with flooding rains brought by Tropical Storm Grace just days after the earthquake.
These natural disasters, in a country noted by The World Bank as being one of the poorest in the world, only compounds its social and economic issues, not to mention political turmoil. Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated on July 7.
“They have been going through a difficult political time,” said Grant. “They’ve been undergoing kidnappings, and gangs, what have you, mostly in Port-au-Prince. To have this earthquake come is just devastating.”
The number of casualties from the earthquake was reported at 2,000, with more than 9,900 injured, as of Aug. 18, according to the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Millions of people have been affected though, including 540,000 children, with “limited or no access to shelter, safe water, health care and nutrition,” according to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“The hospitals that are there are having a hard time taking care of patients and a lot of the individual NGOs [non-governmental organizations] that work there, their programs have suffered in different ways,” said Grant.
Although efforts are being made to provide international aid, some of the towns and cities of the region affected by the earthquake, such as the towns of Jérémie and Aux Cayes, are hard to reach due to the terrain, said Grant.
Criminal violence and gangs control the main road from Port-au-Prince, according to the United Nations.
Asked to compare the most recent earthquake with the one in 2010, Grant said, “In 2010, the devastation was much worse because it was the city of Port-au-Prince, but they were able, some people, were able to get to hospitals and eventually get some health care.”
In 2010, the death toll was estimated at 300,000 by the Haitian government, although other estimates are smaller.
Grant said that the programs of SCEH, which focus on education, literacy, arts, and athletics, are continuing to operate as they normally do, unless circumstances related to the natural disaster change.
SCEH is collaborating with the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) to host an academic speaker on Haiti, Laurent Dubois, as part of the SECWAC’s speaker series.
Dubois is co-director for Academic Affairs of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia and author of the book, Haiti: The Aftershocks of History.
The talk, which is titled “Haiti & Democracy,” will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 15 immediately following the SECWAC’s annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. The event is free for members and $20 for guests.
The Norwich-based Haitian Health Foundation, which has an established program focused on healthcare, education, and community development in the region directly affected by the earthquake is currently responding with humanitarian aid. More information can be found at www.haitianhealthfoundation.org.