Haiti Herald, March 19, 2010

It's raining!! And the people are not prepared. First rain - then mud. The hard rain fell during the night. People tried to stay warm in their tents and in the morning had to deal with rivers of mud. It is estimated that another 200,000 tents are needed for the earthquake victims. The participants of the Conference held in Santo Domingo this past week pledged 70,000 more tents. They are hopeful that the summit in New York on March 31 will be able to find the remaining 130,000. (Le Nouvelliste)

Five areas have been approved by the government as lodging camps for earthquake victims and 8 other lots have been designated for rubble areas. The first camp would be located 15 km outside of Port au Prince with room for 10,000 people. These new cities would be equipped with police, parks, clinics and bathrooms. The government has also initiated a program to inspect housing that was not damaged in the quake to allow people and businesses to move back into their buildings. (Haiti en Marche)

Still no formal date for the reopening of school. Some classes are being given in tents. It is not officially called "school" but academic activities. This is seen as a method to help children adapt to a routine of school-like activities. Students are grouped by their level of academic ability and not by age. The goal is to get them involved in mental activities to keep their minds active. (Haiti Press)

Marie Brutus wrote an article in Le Nouvelliste in which she described the dilemma of the Haitian doctors. "It is urgent and important to help the wounded, but we also need to think about the doctors from here. The foreign doctors came in great numbers and with a great amount of free medicine so that now a Haitian surgeon or orthopedist cannot find anyplace to work or practice. Nevertheless, these doctors have family responsibilities but they don't have international aid to pay them long-term. And even as we recognize the need for the international aid, you must admit that long term - since the aid will only continue a few more months, maybe a year- this situation will be disadvantageous for Haitian professionals. This aid will have a negative effect on our medical students and young doctors who, not seeing any future in their field, will leave the country at a time when the country needs them the most.

Whereas the foreign medical aid is abundant and on one hand is necessary for the population, on the other hand Haitian doctors are worried about the future. The personnel from some hospitals is already disposable since these hospitals, not generating any profit, cannot pay the doctors. What will happen to these doctors once the fever of the earthquake has passed? What will happen when the foreign meds smother the local health sector? What will happen to the Haitian doctors, once the international medical aid has totally absorbed (or almost) all of our clientele?" (Le Nouvelliste)