llamarada de tusas - rebuilding Haiti

There is a saying in Spanish, "llamarada de tusas" (corn husk flame), which alludes to the initial hype... and then we forget.

What worries me most is that there is always a flurry of activity, ideas, money, etc. during a short period of time after a catastrophic event such as with Haiti. The long term consequence of all our well-intentioned albeit short-sighted help is that Haiti will be left with nothing to show except millions of empty plastic water bottles and not much else. Eventually reconstruction will happen, as it always happens in these cases, in anarchist fashion. The debris from the quake will be cleaned up a little, the bricks or concrete blocks trimmed of excess grout and reused with nary a piece of reinforcing steel, the foundation will be the ground trampled under foot, the sewers will be open trenches on the street. History repeats itself. I assure you however, that the national palace and the cathedral will be rebuilt stronger, and likely grander, than before.

All that said, there is a ray of hope with organizations like Architecture for Humanity. Rebuilding Port-au-Price will require a concerted effort that will pay significant attention to a sustainable infrastructure. It's not as glamorous as say, carting a bunch of FEMA trailers and setting them up on blocks as some have suggested in other venues. More importantly, rebuilding will require local participation; we must not, under any circumstances, foster the paternalistic tradition of giving handouts. Public participation is essential at all levels. Not just in regards to the urban planning aspects but also in the creation of cooperatives and micro-enterprises for the actual rebuilding. In the end, it will give Hatians a sense of ownership and the result will be the rebuilding not just of the city, but of the spirit.