Another sad reminder that Haiti‘s political and economic stability is very fragile.

By Jim Uttley

As the search for survivor’s in Haiti’s worst building collapse in recent memory, hope grows dim for finding any more alive. This horrific event is a reminder that Haiti’s political and economic stability is very fragile.

n international of rescue professionals including U.S., Canadian, French and Haitian firefighters worked tirelessly over the weekend, using camera, dogs, and sonar, in an attempt to recover trapped victims under the rubble of what used to be College La Promesse (The Promise College). According to Associated Press writer Jonathan Katz, at least 90 students and adults were killed in the collapse along with over 150 severely injured.

Anyone acquainted with Haiti’s healthcare system, knows that this has put an incredible strain on Port-au-Prince hospitals.

“We have not abandoned the search. We are continuing searching and we are taking a lot of precautions,” civil protection coordinator Nadia Lochard told The Associated Press.

“No survivors have come from the rubble since four children were pulled out Saturday morning,” said Daniel Vigee, head of a Martinique-based French rescue team.

Katz reports that, it wasn’t clear how many students and teachers were in the building when it collapsed. “...The school is believed to have had about 500 students. Haitian officials said some people inside had time to escape when it began to fall, and it was not known how many were pulled out unharmed last Friday.”

Haiti’s President Rene Preval has made several visits to the disaster site. He blamed constant government turnover and a lack of respect for the law for the deadly collapse.

“There is a code already, but they don’t follow it. What we need is political stability,” Preval told The Associated Press.

A Haitian lawmaker estimated that more than a fifth of Haiti’s 9 million people live in ramshackle slums that blanket mountainsides with squalid homes, shabby churches and poorly constructed schools like the one that tumbled down Friday.

Anger over what many Haitians consider a slow recovery effort boiled over Sunday as about 100 people rushed the wreckage and began trying to pull down the massive concrete slab. Thousands of onlookers cheered them before Haitian police and U.N. peacekeepers drove them back with batons and riot shields.

The school’s owner and builder, Protestant preacher Fortin Augustin, was arrested late Saturday on charges of involuntary manslaughter, police spokesman Garry Desrosier said.

Complaints had been made over the last several years that the three-story school building was unsafe. Many nearby residents left the area after part of the school collapsed a couple years ago.

Boxley Boggs, area director for CrossWorld, and a former missionary in Haiti, stated that he knew the area well as his kids used to attend school at Quisqueya Christian School near Petionville.

This disaster is another reminder of how shaky Haiti’s political and social infrastructure really is. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is just recovering from a series of back-to-back hurricanes that have left almost 800 dead in Central Haiti as well as the southwestern penisula. One local church in La Mission Evangelique baptiste du Sud d’Haiti (Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti) was swept away along with the pastor’s residence. At least two church members were lost in the flooding.

Many Haitians survive from day to day with the attitude that suffering is their fate—that whatever happens happens because it was destined for them. Others have this same thinking when it comes to their political affairs. There is a strong belief among most Haitians that their lives are controlled by forces outside of themselves.

The collapse of this school building is another tragic indication that Haiti’s future depends on people pulling together and working together to see that laws are obeyed. Haiti’s motto is “L’Union Fait La Force” (In Unity, there’s strength"). Hopefully, those in authority will recognize, as President Preval has indicated, that the government needs to be more vigilant in seeing that laws are obeyed and that life is respected.

Haiti has struggled the last couple years to recover from gang violence, kidnapping, and riots over food prices. Many people believe that Haiti is destined to be victim of evil and tragedy while others, particularly the evangelical community, believe that people can take charge of their lives and destiny and that God has a plan for them, as He has for their nation.

© Assist News

Jim Uttley spent almost 22 years in Haiti as a missionary kid (MK) and later as a missionary with World Team. He has written extensively on Haiti and is a regular contributor to HAITI OBSERVATEUR and the WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. Jim serves as a special correspondent for ASSIST NEWS SERVICE and writes on Native American issues. He can be reached at jmuttley2000 yahoo.com Jim is on staff with Wiconi International as Communications Coordinator. He and his wife live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.