Approximately one month after the earthquake, my friend Mardoche Dorval, a Haitian who has lived in Paris, Miami, and New York for the last few years, traveled back to Haiti to investigate, assess the damage, and see what he could do to help. When he returned, I sat down with him to get his thoughts on the situation in his homeland.

On reaching Port au Prince:
It’s usually about a five hour flight to get to Haiti, but because only essential flights for the NGOs were allowed in, I had to fly to the Dominican Republic and then catch a bus to Port au Prince the next morning. The bus takes about seven hours to reach the city. There’s usually only one bus to Haiti every morning, but so many people had flown in to help that I was on bus number eight.
There were many, many Haitians who had returned home to help, boarding the buses. Several hadn’t been home for many years, but there were also people from all over the world who had decided to come and help.

On the visiting before and after the quake:
The last time I visited Port au Prince was May 2009. The biggest difference this time, of course, is that 80% of Port au Prince is destroyed. There is total devastation.
I stayed at my aunt’s house in Croix des Bouquets, which is on the outskirts of the city. Luckily her boyfriend is an engineer, so their house is well built and didn’t sustain much damage.

What he did while he was there:
While I was there, I toured the city, surveying the damage to the capital. There were people still digging through the rubble and although it was a month later, I did see a body pulled from the debris.
I helped by translating for the volunteers and NGO workers. I also gave out food and water as I traveled through different neighborhoods.

What surprised him the most:
What surprised me the most is that people were already getting back to life as usual. Vendors were back in business, opening their stands and the shops that weren’t destroyed. The people were functioning, even if the government wasn’t.
I don’t know about the rest of the affected areas, but the majority of vendors in Port au Prince are women. I came upon one older woman sitting at her stand and counting her money. I asked her, “What were you doing when the earthquake hit?” She replied, “The same thing I’m doing now, counting my money!” and laughed. The Haitian people, and especially Haitian women, are very resilient.

On why the earthquake had such a high death toll:
Port au Prince was severely overcrowded, with a population of 2.5 million people. On top of that, there was no building code. This is the main reason why so many people died. I’m sure that once the tallying is done, the final death toll will be much higher than estimated.

On the loss of the educated class:
People of all classes died, but Haiti lost a huge percentage of its intellectual capital in the earthquake. The quake hit at 4:53 pm, when most people were still at work. The educated class (government officials, bankers, office workers, etc.) were the people most likely to be inside the larger buildings in the city. On top of all of the death and destruction, there is now a huge chunk of the middle class missing from the workforce. I think many Haitians will return because of this. One of my friends already got a job in the financial industry there and has moved back.

His thoughts on the future:
I think that if the United Nations, World Bank, and Haitian government work together, using a system of check and balances to curtail corruption, Haiti will emerge a different place. Even before the quake Bill Clinton had been spearheading an initiative to bring business into the country. If these businesses and others continue their investments, Haiti can be a wonderful place in the future.

Haiti had asked for $3.8 billion to help rebuild the infrastructure of the city, but they received $9.9 billion to be disbursed over the next three years. Several countries who understood the tragedy that Haiti had to endure have contributed to this fund and, with it, a whole new path has opened up for Haiti.

Shortly after I sat down with Mardoche, he announced his decision to return to Haiti to help with the rebuilding of his country. He is currently in Miami, meeting with other Haitians to discuss the best ways to not only rebuild, but improve, Haiti. By the time this article has been published, he will be back in his homeland, one of many people hoping that Haiti’s suffering has finally ended and helping to ensure its bright future.