An anniversary and some firsts
Many of us remember the catastrophe, but probably not the date. At the time, half of North American households were moved to donate to relief efforts in an unprecedented surge of global goodwill that raised billions of dollars of aid. But how did our good intentions play out?
January 12 is the anniversary of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti — the deadliest quake in the history of the Western Hemisphere, in a country that has the burdened status of the poorest in that region. Eleven years on, Haiti is still in critical recovery mode. Not only from the earthquake itself, but from the impacts of complex and compromised political, economic and social systems — within and outside Haiti. All have failed to alleviate the devastation the world thought it could fix.
To mark this event and its ongoing aftermath, we want to share stories that reflect on our collective missteps, question our motivations and, possibly, recalibrate our actions moving forward.
That’s the goal of our documentary, Not About Me, set for release this Spring 2021. It follows one young woman’s personal, decade-long story living and working in Haiti. But hopefully it can also nudge the rest of us to reconsider how we help and give.
So today we’re inviting you to watch our official trailer and join @notaboutmefilm on Instagram and Facebook, all launching today, January 12th.
January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
A neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12, 2010. Photo by United Nations Development Programme. Creative Commons CC BY NC-ND 2.0Creative Commons CC BY 2.0
It’s a tall order to coordinate international aid that responds to urgent need while also planting a sustainable footprint for ongoing recovery. Flawed systems and motivations — from outside and within — often do more harm than good.
Numbers alone cannot capture these complex challenges. But in the case of Haiti’s earthquake, the numbers can hint at the toll of loss, the scale of need, the wealth of goodwill —and the monumental muck in the international aid community we need to address to do better. So let’s remember some of those numbers.
7.0 magnitude quake strikes Haiti near the capitol city, Port-au-Prince
250,000 deaths (*with estimates as high as 316,000 deaths)
300,000 injured (*with estimates as high as 1.5 million)
1.5 million left homeless
17 percent of the government workforce is killed and only 1 government building is left standing
$7.9 billion estimated in damages requiring reconstruction
Half of Haiti’s schools and its three main universities are destroyed or severely damaged
Thousands of volunteers from around the world go to Haiti to help
50 percent of American adults donate and estimated $3.6 billion, predominantly to non-profits
$10.37 billion billion pledged by foreign governments, organizations and international agencies
*By the end of 2012, only half of these funds had been disbursed (and far less actually spent). Of that amount, less than 10 percent went to the Haitian government, and only 0.6 percent went to Haitian businesses and non-governmental organizations. Most of the money went to international aid agencies, NGOs and for-profit businesses.