Edito : Haiti : latest news from the field - Monday, January 18th

IMPORTANT AND URGENT : Recrutment for Haiti - International Liaison Officer.

About 40 expatriates of Doctors of the World/Médecins du Monde’s international network are continuing to work in the Central Hospital in Port-au-Prince and in CHOSCAL hospital in Cité Soleil. They are also providing first-aid response in Petit Goave. Further manpower and equipment is continuing to reach the site.

« The rumour must have got out that foreign medical teams were present and a constant stream of the injured arrives in cars, on stretchers, in wheelbarrows" says our team. "The corpses in front of the mortuary were evacuated, but the smell remains unbearable as some of those waiting outside the hospital under makeshift shelters are also dying. The earthquake is not the only cause of death. »

The surgeons have been working at Central Hospital in Port-au-Prince since Saturday and have to carry out a large number of amputations. The severity of the injuries caused by the earthquake and the inability to treat infections means that at present there is not really any alternative. Given the number of cases to be treated, the medical teams need to sort people out quickly, focusing on the most serious cases but also the younger ones who are operated on as a priority. This morning, MDM operated on a large number of children.

7-year old Thélissa had to have one arm amputated. She is extremely brave and told us about her life at school before she was put to sleep. When she woke up, she was very happy to see the health care team and asked us for a « shampoo for the hair, a soft one, because my hair is so dirty and so ugly » This little girl lost her mother in the earthquake ...

The logistical and supply aspects are complicating the medical response to the victims of the earthquake. For these logistics and security reasons, Doctors of the World had to set up a support base in the Dominican Republic.

"With the port in ruins, a congested airport and roads in very bad condition, we decided to establish a logistics support base in the capital of the Dominican Republic. This makes it easier to supply the teams in Haiti" says Luca Beltrame, one of our emergency coordinators.

Gérard Pascal, MDM surgeon told us : « It’s very intense work at the central hospital, there are so many people needing urgent surgery. It’s very hot, 30 degrees in the operating theatre, and around 40 under our medical clothing. We lack basic infrastructure such as running water or just basic comforts. However, we were lucky to get here and be immediately taken in by an American NGO, International Medical Corps, that was already there. They have made room for us in an improvised theatre and are very supportive when we run short of supplies. Solidarity between the humanitarian agencies is very strong when faced with an emergency. This is making things simpler, but we are still waiting for the freight, which is stuck somewhere. »

13-year old Katiana, came to the hospital with her aunt ; she had two broken legs and had no news of her mother and father. « I was outside my house during the earthquake. A wall fell onto me. Passersby got me out of the rubble and took me to the hospital. I have no way of contacting my parents, the phones don’t work and obviously I can’t go home. » She underwent emergency amputation of both legs.

Thirty tons of equipment, two 4x4 vehicles as well as a logistics and medical team finally reached Haiti from Paris on January 17th. On January 18th, two tons of medical and health supplies for the treatment of trauma and fractures, tents for the installation of two field hospitals, generators and hygiene kits for people who lost their homes, left Torrejón de Ardoz.

Didier, a Frenchman with whom we are staying, cannot help thinking about the Haitians and what the future holds for them. « Every time the media mention Haitians, it’s negatively ; they only mention violence, looting, insecurity. But that’s a complete caricature. If you had seen their solidarity after the earthquake ! Each neighbour, every passerby helped in the search for survivors. It’s true that there has been some looting, but there’s nothing to eat, what would you do in their place ? »

Jacques Lorblanchès, MDM Surgeon « I have been on quite a number of missions in my life, for example I was in Bam in Iran after the earthquake, and at the border between Cambodia and Thailand in November 1979. But nothing compares to what has happened here. There are so many people who need care and so many people to be amputated. We’re short of everything, particularly running water and electricity. Without treatment, some people we operated on run the risk of septicemia. People lack food, water, basic hygiene. They have no homes, they sleep in the streets, all piled top of each other. There is a high risk of a cholera epidemic in the coming weeks.  »

News from the team : January 16th

We have no access to anything, we are in the MDM Canada house which cracked during the earthquake and there are regular aftershocks. We have to write very fast, not knowing how long we’ll be able to continue. We arrived yesterday evening from Santo Domingo, had a bus accident but no injuries. We spent the night on the lawns of the French Embassy residence with first-aid workers and journalists.

Little water, almost no food. This morning we went with the surgical team to the Central Hospital in order to help an American NGO’s team already there. We have to put everything in order and the freight has still not reached Port au Prince. Catastrophic situation : help is not getting through and the Haitians are distraught. We see no hostile reactions ; instead they are waiting impatiently for international assistance.

There is a serious risk that things will get worse. We see passing helicopters and trucks, but no aid is reaching the people. Situation in the Central Hospital : the yard is filled up with so-called beds, many injured. The mortuary is full and corpses are rotting on the ground. Many were injured by the earthquake, but there are also other common ailments not being taken care of as it seems that the hospital had been on strike for 2 months ...

Reminder : Before the earthquake, MDM was running many long-term programs (nutrition, mother and child care, infectious diseases, victims of violence, adoption in 2 orphans’ homes, and so on) in Port au Prince, Cité Soleil, Grande Anse, Petit and Grand Goâve. The team consisted of 75 local staff and 12 expatriates.