Notes from the Field | Eyewitness account: “I don’t know what I’m going to find”

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Eyewitness account: “I don’t know what I’m going to find”

Posted by: Jon Thompson on January 14, 2010 at 2:15PM EST

by Hauke Hoops, regional emergency coordinator in Haiti

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Hauke Hoops, CARE’s Regional Emergency Coordinator, flew from Panama to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, just after midnight Jan. 13. We reached him at the airport in Santo Domingo Jan. 13 at 6 a.m. local time, as he was preparing to board a humanitarian flight to Port-au-Prince.

Hauke Hoops, Regional Emergency Coordinator

''I arrived this morning in Santo Domingo, just after midnight. I haven’t slept all night. I stayed a few hours in a hotel that was fully booked with aid workers. The airport was full of aid workers, rescue teams. A lot of different aid agencies are coming into Santo Domingo and trying to get into Port-au-Prince.

''The airport in Santo Domingo is organized, very under control. It’s still on the quiet side, because we are some of the first aid workers to fly in through Santo Domingo. It will start to get busier today as more aid workers fly in. It is turning into the humanitarian hub. The government of Dominican Republic is charging ahead at full speed to help. This is a big tourist country, so they have the infrastructure in place to handle so many flights and people coming in.

''At the airport, I met with many other agencies, and we are discussing how to get humanitarian supplies into Port-au-Prince. I don’t know what I’m going to find when I get to Port-au-Prince. I haven’t been able to reach our staff there by phone today, so I don’t know if anyone knows when I arrive. It’s far from the airport to CARE’s office, and it will not be easy to find transport. Roads are blocked, and fuel will be hard to come by. Electricity is a real problem.

''I brought a hammock and sleeping bag and I am prepared to sleep outside. I don’t know where I will be staying because hotels have been destroyed. The houses of our colleagues have been destroyed.''

''Reports are that there is no water or food in Port-au-Prince. I’m bringing some water and food, but luggage is limited. That will be CARE’s first priority for the emergency response, and I am working with other agencies to find options to procure food and water for the people affected. Maybe from Gonaives, maybe from Dominican Republic. I will know more when I arrive what is available and what is not.''

Send This | Categories: Aid, CARE, Children, Disaster, Earthquake, Haiti, Haiti Earthquake, IDP, Natural Disaster, Poverty, Relief, Women

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