'Haiti needs partners who treat it with respect': After a devastating and deadly earthquake, Haiti still searches for answers

Nearly two weeks after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake ravaged the Caribbean country of Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people, its citizens and aid workers continue the treacherous work of rebuilding the region. And while an all-hands-on-deck approach has consumed the western part of Hispaniola, many Haitians are wary of too much foreign intervention that could leave them in a worse position than they’re currently in.

Video Transcript

- On the ground in Haiti, where the situation is dire after that 7.2 magnitude earthquake, officials there say, at least, 600,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance. And get this, 135,000 people are displaced.

- Rescue efforts after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake have turned into body recovery and rubble removal. Life isn't normal here. But with limited resources, equipment, and government assistance, it's unclear when that will change.

MARLELNE BASTLEN: My name is Marlelne Bastlen. I'm the Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement, known as FANM. Since the earthquake, we had to shift some our work to develop a strategy to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti. What does it mean?

No country can thrive under constant meddling and interference on foreign nations. Haiti wants to collaborate with other nations. Haiti wants other nations to support it in times of needs, like this. But what Haiti doesn't need, any nation to come and dictate to the Haitian people. The Haitian people know what they want. We do not want what happened after the 2010 earthquake to happen, again, where different entities went to Haiti without consulting with the Haitian people, and basically, took over and implemented measures that did not benefit or that did not reach the impacted areas.

PHLLIPPE GIRARD: My name is Phllippe Girard. I'm a professor of Caribbean history at McNeese State University. The responsibility of governing Haiti is Haitians. In practice, however, the United States ever since the days of the Monroe Doctrine in the 1820s has felt that it is the big brother in the neighborhood and throughout the Americas, and especially in Haiti because of the strong ties that the countries have had historically, and also, the fact that there is a large African-American population in the US, which is active, especially within the circles of the Democratic Party.

There are paths for economic development in Haiti. It is located in a region of the world, the Caribbean, that tends to profit off tourism quite a bit. The Island is beautiful, and typically, cruise ships and tourists don't go to Haiti. Because the political instability is so great that the country has a bad reputation, but that is something that can change.

So in the future, the political situation in Haiti proves I could see it become an important tourist destination the same way that the Dominican Republic and Jamaica nearby are. It is also located next to a major market in the United States. So in terms of exporting goods, especially goods that would benefit from the fact that labor costs in Haiti are very low, there's no reason why we import goods from China when Haiti is so much closer. We are not bound by our past. I study history, but it doesn't mean that we are doomed by history. Countries can recover and develop. So [INAUDIBLE] be the eternal optimist and think that there might be a [INAUDIBLE].

- Haiti does not need someone to be paternalistic and dictate to the country or to the people of what to do and what not to do. So right now, we would like to ask the Biden administration to reassess its position [INAUDIBLE] and to stop asking for an election when the country is going through such crisis. An election is not possible right now.

The people have taken to the streets in thousands, saying, no, to the elections. Haiti needs time to breathe. Haiti needs time to create a safety situation for women and girls, people who are not from the impacted area. They are hunkered down because of gang activities.

There's been an arms embargo on Haiti for years. So if there has been an armed embargo for years, how come these gangs have access to heavily, heavily, heavily equipments and in arms that are killing our people? And the US can stop it. We need to have them rebuild sustainability.

We don't want people to be giving us things all the time. The country has the resources for every Haitian on the island. Haiti is not poor. Haiti is not poor. We just need to find a way to bring the gap between the 1% that controls most of the resources of the nation and the majority of the Haitian people who have to fight for if we krump. Enough is enough.