Friday, February 5, 2010

Hell in Haiti

A story from an Australian woman working in Haiti

PHOTO: Alison Thompson

Dear Friends:

What is happening in Haiti is truly exposing the clandestine relationship between international aid agencies and western powers.  After so many weeks of raising billions of dollars, the most basic relief is barely trickling down to the people who need it most.  It is like they want to see Haitians who are already on their knees, fall flat on their backs.  The email from Alison gives an accurate picture of the situation and it had to take a celebrity from Hollywood to release the bottleneck.  International aid agencies have so much experience in dealing with disasters and there is no excuse for what is happening in Haiti.

Something needs to be done urgently before the rainy season, because more people will die in those camps which are only covered by bed sheets.  I am especially concerned about the children and those who are already sick, in those camps.  There is so much land in areas that have not been affected by the earhquake.  If there was genuine goodwill, they would have used some of that money (by now) to begin moving people to more decent shelter on the outskirts and in the suburbs.

It is unbearable to see what is happening.

Regards,

Flavia Cherry
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Australia Day Honours: Haiti worker is honoured

BY MONICA HEARY
26 Jan, 2010 11:34 AM

IN THE middle of the rubble and human misery of Haiti there could be a little pocket of celebration when Cronulla aid worker Alison Thompson officially receives her Order of Australia Medal (OAM).

The medal is for the former teacher's humanitarian aid work, particularly in the Peraliya region of Sri Lanka, in the post-tsunami trauma of late 2004.

Now her proud parents are understandably worried about their daughter's presence in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

"All our children are free spirits, and we pray for her every day,'' father Keith Thompson said.

In Haiti Ms Thompson is working hand-in-hand with actor Sean Penn, whom she met as a result of her directing a documentary, The Third Wave, about Sri Lanka post-tsunami.

In a letter to her parents from Haiti this week she says: "Dante would describe it as hell here. There is no food and water and hundreds are dying daily.

"The other day I assisted with an amputation with no pain killers, holding down a young boy while they used a saw to cut his leg off .''

Ms Thompson has continued living in Sri Lanka for the past five years, where she has been working in a community tsunami early-warning centre, which she founded. The centre is the only one in Sri Lanka, and setting it up was a continuation of her assistance to the country. She has also helped rebuild a village, start a medical centre, 80 businesses, and a school.


_____________________________________________
via PACWIN

Email from Alison Thompson sent to her parents in Sutherland Shire (Sydney) on 24 January 2010.

Subject: Hell in Haiti

Hi mum and dad - I won't be around when they announce my award on January 26th.   I am with Sean Penn, diana jenkins, Oscar and 15 doctors embedded in the 82 airbourne ( USA)   Dante would describe it as hell here.  There is no food and wAter and hundreds dying daily. The aid is all bottlenecked and not reaching here . The other day i assisted with amputation ( holding them down) while they used a saw to cut a young boys leg off with no pain killers. Today I went with a strike force and army patrol in hummers into the streets and walked 5 miles through the camps set up on every street corner ..sewage and bodies stench is everywhere. As i attend to a patient 30 people crowd around me and it's hard to breath.  I nearly fainted today as the sewage smell went straight down my throat. I went white and dizzy but couldn't sit down as sewage is running through the streets. There is much infection and it feels like the job is too big. No antibiotics anywhere.

Good news, today our new york doctors evacuated 18 patients with spinal injuries out to miami and we're all so excited. Our mash unit is in the 82 air base overlooking a refugee camp of over 50000 people. The refugees start singing Christian songs at 4 am and line up for food until the army hands it out at 8 am ( thats if there is any food) On the first night I was in the nearby jungle camping under the stars with my team and woke up to the beautiful music drawing me to them. I thought it was a church and we went to find it and came across the 82 airbourne camp and the refugee camp.( that's how we ended up here) as it wasn't safe to stay where we were even though we had our own security force.

We are totally self suffient with food gas and medicines and have a private donor (Diana Jenkins who was a refugee in camps in Bosnia as a child - her family died of starvation in the camps. ) Sean Penn is here purely as a volunteer and is cutting through bureaucracy to get aid moving and food water and medicines to the people. There is no agenda but to save lives. Helicopters fly over head and it feels like vietnam. That night 50,000 people sung me to sleep and they sing every night for the world to save them. There is always hope but she's not here right now.

Alison xxx

My writing is a mess as it's on iPhone and keeps changing my words and the generator is on for a few hours but I know it's important to tell the world. Please send to any press who may call or family and friends.

And for those who want to read more about Alison and her award, here's an article from the St George & Sutherland Leader:

http://www.theleader.com.au/news/local/news/general/australia-day-honours-haiti-worker-is-honoured/1734194.aspx

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