This past weekend, I got together with some Haitian friends to size up our experience with the Haitian reconstruction effort. I met these friends shortly after the devastating earthquake of January 12, and we have served as a Board of Advisers of sorts for each other; we've provided moral support and recruited each other into our various projects for Haiti. We've grown quite close over the last few months -- I suppose tragedy has a way of bringing people together. But I was still surprised when we all seemed to share the same sentiment: Haitians have become disillusioned with the reconstruction process. Turns out our experience is more that just anecdotal. Despite the record pledges for aid to Haiti--pledges that both Clintons had a hand in organizing-- the reality on the ground is not much different than it was a few months ago.In a recent article summing up the relative failure of reconstruction, the author cites the following statistics:
- Amount pledged for Haiti's reconstruction over the following 18 months at the March 31 UN conference: $5,300,000,000
- Percentage of this amount that has been paid: 1.9
- Amount of pledged U.S. bilateral search and rescue assistance to Haiti that was delivered in the wake of the earthquake: $0
- Value of aid the French government has promised Haiti through pledged contributions to UN agencies, NGOS and the Red Cross: $180 million
- Quantity of this aid that has been delivered: $0
- Estimated number of Haitians who remain homeless after the earthquake: 1,500,000
- Amount that has been collected for Haiti relief by U.S. charities: $1,300,000,000
- Number of Haitians without even tents or tarps for shelter: 232,130
