Out of the frying pan into the fire... by Barbora Misakova

Where do all those money disappear? There were millions of dollars collected around the world to help Haiti, but where are they? Jean-Max Seraphin, 25 stands near the sodden cotton bedsheets that serve as his home and asks: “If millions have been collected, why don’t they buy tents? Our children will be sick. We will be sick. And more people are going to die.” One month ago destructive earthquake hit Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. Within few weeks the tropical rainy season will start and on June the hurricane season will begin. The city looks like it was in war with the rest of the world: rubbles and dead bodies are everywhere; those who stayed aliv! e are poor and have neither money nor food. There is no roof to protect them and their children. Tent cities have grown in open fields, along the roads; on a golf course, on sidewalks. Temporary homes are built from plastic tarps, bedsheets and panels of corrugated zinc. When the rainy season starts, everything (including people and their provisional houses) will be washed away. What is more, health officials say the increasing cases of tetanus, dengue and other ailments are seen in these encampments. People are hungry as well. Even though the U. N. World Food Program is feeding about 2 million people, there are still some residents complaining about shortages and cases when aid is turning up on the black market are more often. There is no surprise that Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive is losing hope. To move 1 million people into better temporary shelters is in such a short time would be a miracle! That money would help!

related story (sgx16445): http://www.france24.com/en/20100212-one-month-after-quake-tr...

by Barbora Misakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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