You might be asking yourself why it’s taking so long to get supplies to Haiti or personnel to Haiti or tent cities set up in Haiti. You are likely watching a news story or reading an article detailing (yet again) the devastation the country is now facing and the increasingly dire circumstances the people there are facing. You are watching and reading about this and wondering where we are after ten days and shaking your head thinking it’s another Katrina. What you don’t know is what the sensationalism minded media is not telling you or helping you to understand, but luckily I’m here and I’ll take you through the big points.
Katrina was a complete and utter failure. All we had to do was drive two hours in any direction and food and water could be found, but our government sent in FEMA and they fucked up. What happened there was inexcusable, but 180 degrees from what we are dealing with in Haiti. Katrina was devastating to a localized geographical area, most of the nation of Haiti was destroyed or affected and we don’t live two hours away. Sending supplies is quite a bit more complicated than loading up a truck and diving them in, Haiti does not have the personnel, supplies, infrastructure or security it needs so we have to supply it all and it takes time.
At the bare minimum we need personnel on the ground to unload planes and boats with supplies on them, that personnel is on a military base in Ft. Bragg, NC living their life, putting their kids to bed and working longer hours than most of us can imagine. Getting the call that they need to go to Haiti requires mobilizing four to five thousand troops, some of them within in a day or two. So the very first thing is just putting out notice that you need to pack you bag, kiss the family goodbye and get your ass on a plane. That takes longer than a couple of hours, because you also have to coordinate with the Air Force to get the planes. Personnel means supplies and barracks which also have to be sorted out and sent or set up. We also are going into a foreign government and just because it’s a time of crisis there is still red tape and hoops to jump through. Once all of that is accomplished there’s a matter of clearing air fields of debris so planes filled with troops and supplies can even land. At least one of our planes was diverted back to the states for this very reason – no one in Haiti to clear the airfield so we could land and begin to help or set up.
Even when that is done, all the personnel are there, supplies are gathered and the means to disseminate is taken care of, there is still the issue of security and housing. Yes, tent cities sounds easy enough, you just put up some tents. Unfortunately, we’re looking to set up tent cities for approximately 400,000 people and they are well outside the capital city area so the people need to be transported to them. In addition, tents need cots, blankets and/or sleeping bags, latrines, showers, mess halls, and security. None of this is easy or fast and remember, all this is being done by people who were home sleeping in their own beds three nights before.
There is a lot more to consider both because it is in a foreign country and because the wreckage covers a vast area. We aren’t talking about driving some trucks up to the Superdome and unloading them, it’s a whole other world of emergency management and considering how many steps and how many difficulties exist in this particular situation I’m pretty damned impressed.
Our phone has not stopped ringing since it happened, Saturday, Sunday, 1pm or 3am it’s ringing because there are people working 24 hours a day on this and they are working their asses off. So stop asking why it takes so long and what the big deal is with opening a few tents. Hell, it takes me the better part of a week to plan a weekend away so I think a little perspective is in order people.
No comments:
Post a Comment