Red Cross Blogs

Haiti earthquake podcast: interview with aid workers

By Sarah Oughton
January 18, 2010 at 3:51 pm

As time is running out for survivors of the Haiti earthquake, desperate for food, water and medical attention, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is drawing on resources around the world to get vital aid to those who need it as quickly as possible.

I’ve been talking to members of our logistics emergency response unit – who are now in the Dominican Republic – co-ordinating the distribution of relief. Listen to the podcast and find out the emergency response effort is going so far.

Image © Talia Frenkel/American Red Cross

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Transcript:

Sarah Oughton: As time is running out for survivors of the Haiti earthquake, desperate for food, water and medical attention, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is drawing on resources around the world to get vital aid to those who need it as quickly as possible.

In the aftermath of the disaster, local Red Cross staff and volunteers were on the scene and continue to assist the injured and support hospitals struggling to cope. Pre-positioned relief goods were released immediately within Haiti and from other warehouses in the region. These include kitchen kits, shelter kits, blankets and containers for storing drinking water.

While information is still limited, a Haitian government spokesperson puts the current death toll at around 50,000, with expectations that this will rise to between 100,000-200,000. Even if the number of dead remains at 50,000, considering that the population of Haiti is around 10 million it is the equivalent to over 300,000 people in the UK being killed over night.

Damage to the air and sea ports is causing huge logistical challenges in getting urgent supplies into the country. While the airport has now re-opened, it cannot cope with the high volume of planes arriving, and many flights are being re-routed to Santo Domingo, in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

The British Red Cross logistics emergency response unit arrived in Santa Domingo on Saturday and is now co-ordinating delivery of relief goods arriving from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama and getting them trucked through to Port-au-Prince.

I’m Sarah Oughton, international writer based in London, and I spoke to two of the team members Emily Knox and David Stephens just before they got on the plane to fly out to the Dominican Republic.

SO: What exactly is your role within the ERU?

EK: So I’m responsible for HR, finance and stock control so an important part of my role is making sure that because we have to be accountable to donors, all the stock is logged and that we know where it’s been imported and deployed.

At the moment, we know we’re going to be going to the Dominican Republic helping to facilitate the flow of goods into Haiti, but things change so depending on what the situation is, it may be the case that we’ll go to Haiti.

SO: A question a lot of people ask when we try to fundraise is how do we know that the money we give will actually be helping people in the field, so does that mean that your role can account for that?

EK: Yes exactly, so we have a whole system where all the goods are recorded when we receive them and when they get dispatched and then again when they get delivered to the delivery points where the relief team take over and actually hand them to the people that need them.

SO: And what do you think the major challenges will be?

EK: I think in situations like this, it’s always difficult to get correct information. Things change very quickly as well and as we’ve seen already there’s a limited capacity in Haiti in terms of the infrastructure that’s left, the airport, so I think there’ll be an awful lot of goods coming in and it’ll be a question of how we get these to the affected areas.

It can be quite stressful, very stressful at times. It can seem a bit chaotic so it’s really important to focus on the task at hand. And I think the added pressure comes from knowing that you need to do your job well because the people that you’re helping at the end of the day are really in desperate need of the assistance you’re giving, so it helps to focus the mind.

SO: Can you give us a bit of a feeling what it’s like working in a disaster zone?

DS: It’s difficult sometimes to keep your eye on the ball because it’s such a shambles, it is a mess, it is an awful situation for the people you’re trying to help. But you have to remain focused. There’s thousands of tonnes of aid pouring in both Federation and from NGOs and from outside agencies and governments independently, like the Americans, at the moment are responding in huge amounts in both manpower and material resources, so it needs sorting, so just remaining focused is the main thing and it’s the best way to help the beneficiaries.

SO: And how will the ERU co-ordinate its work with the others in this massive international response.

DS: It’s quite often the UN take the lead in these situations, we’re used to that and we have co-ordinating meetings and our team leader will be very much involved in the higher level planning and we’ll be told what to do when we get there. But it does need a heck of a lot of co-ordination, it really does. Looking at the team members, I think we can just make that little bit of difference, well I hope we can that’s the reason for going anyway.

SO: Since speaking to Emily and David on Friday we’ve had confirmation that they’ve arrived in the Dominican Republic. I’m now speaking to Fiona Davidson, British Red Cross disaster relief officer, who is helping co-ordinate our response from London. Fiona, I know you’ve been in contact with the team on the ground, can you tell me how they are getting on?

Fiona Davidson: The team arrived on Saturday evening and since then have helped get customs clearance for an emergency hospital which is now being moved on to Haiti. It has also been important to meet with all the other organisations operating in Dominican Republic to ensure co-ordination so aid is moved as quickly as possible and with the correct prioritisation. The next few days for the team will be busy as more flights arrive, carrying vital aid consignments.

SO: The British Red Cross is just one part of the huge Red Cross response from around the world, can you tell me more about what the Red Cross is doing in Haiti?

FD: The International Committee of the Red Cross has a team on the ground providing medical supplies to a number of hospitals. And it is assisting the Haiti Red Cross in managing the many dead bodies, ensuring they can be recovered and identified by their families.

The Red Cross has also set up a special website to help thousands of people within Haiti and abroad who have lost contact with their loved ones. The address is icrc.org/familylinks.

The Red Cross has established a base camp near the airport in Port-au-Prince, where a number of emergency response units from around the world are already operating, more teams are arriving in the coming days. They are supplying basic healthcare, dealing with water and sanitation issues, managing IT and telecommunications and receiving, processing and arranging the distribution of relief items.

The British Red Cross has so far given over £1.6 million to the emergency response operation, but more is needed both for the urgent relief needs and for longer-term recovery.

SO: The Disasters Emergency Committee – which brings together 13 leading UK aid agencies, including the British Red Cross, to raise money in major crises – launched an appeal, which has already raised an amazing £15 million.

This response from the British public is unprecedented – an outpouring of generosity which shows the strength of feeling for the people of Haiti and their plight. However, considering the scale of this disaster, and its impact on Haiti’s already vulnerable population, more funds are needed. If you haven’t already made a donation or you would like to give further support please visit dec.org.uk or call 0370 60 60 900

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and has for years suffered from civil unrest, chronic poverty and regular natural disasters such as hurricanes. It is likely that the recovery work in Haiti will continue for years, rather than months and we will be there long after the cameras have gone.

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Comments (5) »

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Tags: disaster response, earthquake, emergency response, ERU podcasts, Haiti, interview, logistics, mp3, red cross

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Emergencies, Podcasts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Haiti earthquake podcast: interview with aid workers”

1. Haiti Earthquake Duration | AXI says:

   January 18, 2010 at 8:14 pm

   [...] Haiti Earthquake Podcast: Interview With Aid Workers | Red Cross BlogsAs time is running out for survivors of the Haiti earthquake, desperate for food, water an… [...]
2. RANGANATHAN HARIKUMAR says:

   January 19, 2010 at 10:46 am

   I DEEPLY FELT AND UNABLE TO ACCEPT. AFTER WATCHING NEWS IN HAITI. THIS MOMENT WE SHOULD ACT VERY EFFECTIVE AND WHAT WE CAN DO FOR HAITI MOTHER/FATHER/BROTHER AND SISTERS,I PERSONNELY REQUEST MY FRIENDS TO HELP IN THIS MOMENT AND MAKE HAITI FOR BETTERMENT.THIS HELP WHAT WE DO NOW IT WILL BE GREAT HELP IN OUR LIFE TIME.LETS WORK TOGETHER BY SENDING MONEY AFFORDABLE.REMEMBER TODAY IT HAPPEND IN HAITI SO TOMMORROW IT WILL,PLS HELP HAITI SUFFERING.
   GOD BLESS FAMILIES OF HAITI.
   HARI.
3. Robert Brown says:

   January 21, 2010 at 11:38 am

   To rapidly get food,water,etc to “impossible to reach” of crowded Haiti hillside shack areas. stretch a 3/8,3000ft rope overhead with a rapid, remote controlled trolley and helium ballons capable of supporting it plus 500-1000 lbs.Lower the payloads anywhere. Then, move the upper end of the line and repeat. Top engineers can have several of these units operating in less tha 2 days? Please pass this on to those capable of this crazy one or a better,faster plan to quickly save lives. Thank you for your consideration-Bob
4. Sarah Oughton says:

   January 22, 2010 at 9:33 am

   Thanks for your comment and support Hari.
5. Sarah Oughton says:

   January 22, 2010 at 9:33 am

   Hi Bob, thanks for the advice I’ve passed it on to our operational team.