Rescatan a una joven en Haití
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Este miércoles, una adolescente fue rescatada viva de entre los escombros por un equipo francés a 15 días del terremoto que azotó Haití el pasado 12 de enero.
La joven, Darlene Etienne pasó dos semanas debajo de los restos del edificio de habitaciones del campus de la Universidad St. Gerard en el distrito central de Carrefour-Feuilles de la capital Puerto Príncipe.
Miembros del equipo de rescate aseguraron que la joven se encontraba severamente deshidratada.
Darlene Etienne pasó 15 díás debajo de los escombros en el campus del College St. Gerard en Puerto Príncipe.
En seguida, fue trasladada a un hospital.
La familia de Etienne aseguró que la muchacha apenas había iniciado sus estudios cuando el terremoto causó el derrumbe de los edificios de la universidad.
Al menos 100 personas han sido rescatadas de entre las ruinas en Puerto Príncipe. El más reciente fue un hombre de unos 30 años que fue sacado este martes de los escombros por soldados de Estados Unidos.
clic Vea también: Haití: rescatado a 14 días del accidente.
El periodista de la BBC Emilio San Pedro, quien está a cargo del programa especial Conexión Haití, comentó "que el mero hecho del rescate en un momento tan crítico genera una especie de respiro dentro de estos eventos, aunque sea muy remota la posibilidad de seguir haciendo este tipo de hallazgos".
For Disaster-Struck Haitians, Arrival in U.S. Does Not Mean an End to Problems
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By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: January 27, 2010
MIAMI — Marie Violande Guerrier-Cavalier arrived in Florida from Haiti on Jan. 16, with little more than her feverish infant son, Marcley, his tiny legs in casts because of a birth defect. She left her husband and four other children behind, living in the yard outside their broken house.
Enlarge This Image
Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York Times
Marie Violande Guerrier-Cavalier, 45, and her 3-month-old son, Marcley, on Sunday outside a relative's home in Miami. More Photos »
Multimedia
Slide Show
Haiti Recovers Slowly
Related
Amid Earthquake's Ruins, Signs of Revival in Haiti (January 28, 2010)
Because Marcley is a United States citizen, born here, his mother was allowed to evacuate with him after the earthquake, and can stay in the United States for six months. But Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier has few possessions, no money and no way of legally earning any. She can neither support herself and Marcley, nor send money back home at a time when Haitians are desperate for help from outside. And it is unclear where she will go when the six months are up.
"I came with the intention of being able to support my family," said Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, 45, who for now is staying with a friend. "To see my kids not being able to eat, that hurts really badly."
Federal officials said they were still trying to figure out what to do for parents like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier. And they are struggling to deal with an array of other complexities involved in helping both earthquake victims that have made it to the United States and those they left behind.
About a week after the earthquake, the United States extended temporary protective status to Haitians who were already in the United States on the day of the quake, allowing them to stay legally and to work.
But hundreds of Haitians like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, who were allowed to come here after the earthquake as escorts for American citizens who are minors, are not eligible for that status.
They also are not eligible for a status known as humanitarian parole, which would allow them to apply for permission to work, and to renew their status in one-year increments. Some Haitian orphans were granted that status, allowing them to come here before their adoption paperwork was finished.
Federal officials said they had realized their mistake and, last weekend, began to give incoming parents humanitarian parole instead of tourist visas. But at least one mother who arrived on Sunday had only a tourist visa, said Gepsie Metellus, the director of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center in Miami. And the change came too late for Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, and others like her. Humanitarian parole cannot be given to someone already in the United States.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, temporary protected status was made available only to Haitians already in the United States because officials were seeking to deter Haitians from trying to get to the United States by boat. No such mass exodus has materialized, but other problems with the program have surfaced.
One reason officials cited for extending temporary protected status to Haitians was so they could get jobs and send more money home. But applicants are being asked to scrape together nearly $500 in government fees, money that could be going instead to family members in Haiti.
Legal advocates said many of the estimated 100,000 Haitians eligible for temporary protected status have not been working and cannot afford the fees.
"The No. 1 problem is the money," said Randolph P. McGrorty, the chief executive of Catholic Charities Legal Services in Miami, which collected more than 2,000 applications in the last week, with many still lacking the required money order.
Mr. McGrorty said that it was possible to get the fees waived, but that such requests would delay applications. "So far, they have refused to grant a blanket fee waiver," he said.
Applicants pay $50 for temporary protected status, $80 for a background check and $340 for permission to work. Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that the fees were set by Congress and that only Congress could allow a blanket fee waiver.
Though federal officials have said they would be "generous" when reviewing individual applications for fee waivers, it is not clear exactly what it takes to qualify.
"It depends on a case-by-case basis," said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which runs the program. "There's no one answer, that here's what you have to submit to be able to get it."
Maricame Aristide, 63, who has supported herself as a live-in maid since her application for permanent residency was turned down, came to St. Clements Catholic Church in Broward County on Monday for help with her application. She said that even if she had that kind of money, she would rather send it to her orphaned grandson, now living on the streets of Port-au-Prince with Ms. Aristide's sister.
Evacuees continue to pour into the United States, many in need of basics like clothes and diapers. As of Monday morning, 15,666 people had been evacuated from Haiti to the United States. Of those, 12,497 were American citizens, according to State Department figures. The rest were legal permanent residents or the adult escorts of minor citizens like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, or like Darline Chery, 35, and her husband, Wladimyr, who managed to get their three daughters, all born in the United States, to Fort Lauderdale.
The Chery family, whose members have only tourist visas, is staying in the one-bedroom apartment of a cousin. The oldest daughter, who is 6, has already been enrolled in school. In Haiti, Mr. Chery was a travel agent and Ms. Chery worked for a non-governmental organization. Without the ability to work now, they are at a loss.
"We are all extremely traumatized," Ms. Chery said, holding her 4-month-old baby and speaking in a very quiet Creole.
Instead of being able to help themselves and relatives at home, parents with short-term visas have been forced to ask for help themselves. Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier and the Cherys have already applied for Medicaid benefits and food stamps for their children.
"My husband is doing everything that can be done," Ms. Chery said. "Because when you have a family and you're the parent, you're supposed to be taking care of them."
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By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: January 27, 2010
MIAMI — Marie Violande Guerrier-Cavalier arrived in Florida from Haiti on Jan. 16, with little more than her feverish infant son, Marcley, his tiny legs in casts because of a birth defect. She left her husband and four other children behind, living in the yard outside their broken house.
Enlarge This Image
Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York Times
Marie Violande Guerrier-Cavalier, 45, and her 3-month-old son, Marcley, on Sunday outside a relative's home in Miami. More Photos »
Multimedia
Slide Show
Haiti Recovers Slowly
Related
Amid Earthquake's Ruins, Signs of Revival in Haiti (January 28, 2010)
Because Marcley is a United States citizen, born here, his mother was allowed to evacuate with him after the earthquake, and can stay in the United States for six months. But Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier has few possessions, no money and no way of legally earning any. She can neither support herself and Marcley, nor send money back home at a time when Haitians are desperate for help from outside. And it is unclear where she will go when the six months are up.
"I came with the intention of being able to support my family," said Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, 45, who for now is staying with a friend. "To see my kids not being able to eat, that hurts really badly."
Federal officials said they were still trying to figure out what to do for parents like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier. And they are struggling to deal with an array of other complexities involved in helping both earthquake victims that have made it to the United States and those they left behind.
About a week after the earthquake, the United States extended temporary protective status to Haitians who were already in the United States on the day of the quake, allowing them to stay legally and to work.
But hundreds of Haitians like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, who were allowed to come here after the earthquake as escorts for American citizens who are minors, are not eligible for that status.
They also are not eligible for a status known as humanitarian parole, which would allow them to apply for permission to work, and to renew their status in one-year increments. Some Haitian orphans were granted that status, allowing them to come here before their adoption paperwork was finished.
Federal officials said they had realized their mistake and, last weekend, began to give incoming parents humanitarian parole instead of tourist visas. But at least one mother who arrived on Sunday had only a tourist visa, said Gepsie Metellus, the director of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center in Miami. And the change came too late for Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, and others like her. Humanitarian parole cannot be given to someone already in the United States.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, temporary protected status was made available only to Haitians already in the United States because officials were seeking to deter Haitians from trying to get to the United States by boat. No such mass exodus has materialized, but other problems with the program have surfaced.
One reason officials cited for extending temporary protected status to Haitians was so they could get jobs and send more money home. But applicants are being asked to scrape together nearly $500 in government fees, money that could be going instead to family members in Haiti.
Legal advocates said many of the estimated 100,000 Haitians eligible for temporary protected status have not been working and cannot afford the fees.
"The No. 1 problem is the money," said Randolph P. McGrorty, the chief executive of Catholic Charities Legal Services in Miami, which collected more than 2,000 applications in the last week, with many still lacking the required money order.
Mr. McGrorty said that it was possible to get the fees waived, but that such requests would delay applications. "So far, they have refused to grant a blanket fee waiver," he said.
Applicants pay $50 for temporary protected status, $80 for a background check and $340 for permission to work. Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said that the fees were set by Congress and that only Congress could allow a blanket fee waiver.
Though federal officials have said they would be "generous" when reviewing individual applications for fee waivers, it is not clear exactly what it takes to qualify.
"It depends on a case-by-case basis," said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which runs the program. "There's no one answer, that here's what you have to submit to be able to get it."
Maricame Aristide, 63, who has supported herself as a live-in maid since her application for permanent residency was turned down, came to St. Clements Catholic Church in Broward County on Monday for help with her application. She said that even if she had that kind of money, she would rather send it to her orphaned grandson, now living on the streets of Port-au-Prince with Ms. Aristide's sister.
Evacuees continue to pour into the United States, many in need of basics like clothes and diapers. As of Monday morning, 15,666 people had been evacuated from Haiti to the United States. Of those, 12,497 were American citizens, according to State Department figures. The rest were legal permanent residents or the adult escorts of minor citizens like Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier, or like Darline Chery, 35, and her husband, Wladimyr, who managed to get their three daughters, all born in the United States, to Fort Lauderdale.
The Chery family, whose members have only tourist visas, is staying in the one-bedroom apartment of a cousin. The oldest daughter, who is 6, has already been enrolled in school. In Haiti, Mr. Chery was a travel agent and Ms. Chery worked for a non-governmental organization. Without the ability to work now, they are at a loss.
"We are all extremely traumatized," Ms. Chery said, holding her 4-month-old baby and speaking in a very quiet Creole.
Instead of being able to help themselves and relatives at home, parents with short-term visas have been forced to ask for help themselves. Ms. Guerrier-Cavalier and the Cherys have already applied for Medicaid benefits and food stamps for their children.
"My husband is doing everything that can be done," Ms. Chery said. "Because when you have a family and you're the parent, you're supposed to be taking care of them."
Amid Earthquake's Ruins, Signs of Revival in Haiti
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
Eduard Macendi, 30, second from left, picked up a birthday cake for his cousin at the Epi d'Or Pattisserie in Port-au-Prince. More Photos >
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By DEBORAH SONTAG
Published: January 27, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — This devastated capital showed increasing signs of stirring back to life on Wednesday as Haitians restarted factory assembly lines, visited their barbers, sought replacement cellphones and even picked up their dry cleaning.
Multimedia
Slide Show
Haiti Recovers Slowly
Related
Girl Rescued From Haiti Quake Debris (January 27, 2010)
Times Topics: Haiti
Haiti Disaster Relief: How to Contribute | Tips on Donating
More Multimedia on the Haiti Earthquake
Nothing could be called business as usual. When the big Brasserie Nationale d'Haïti beverage manufacturing plant kicked back into action, it did not start with one of its best-known products, Prestige, the national beer that is a point of pride here. It began with the essential: bottled water.
And when Jean Pierre Beauchamp unlocked his dry cleaning business in the center of the city, he did it so that customers who had lost their homes could retrieve — free — what they had dropped off right before the earthquake left them with only the clothes on their backs.
Still, the life force was kicking. "The earthquake is over," Mackenzie Bokaj, a computer technician, declared as he got a haircut and a shave at the bustling Kyky's Barber Shop. "You cannot let yourself get all ratty like a grandpa. History marches on. You have to clean up."
As expected, President René Préval announced that he was indefinitely postponing next month's legislative elections and that he would not seek to extend his term in office beyond its expiration next year. He responded to criticism that he had rarely appeared in public since the quake, saying, according to Reuters, that he did not want to exploit the disaster.
"In my job," he said, "we have two ways of doing things: the way politicians do, where we go to the hospital and we cry with the people. Or to sit, and to work and try to find the right way to recovery. I chose to work."
Its streets clogged with trucks bringing aid and removing rubble, Port-au-Prince was a mix of desperation and determination on Wednesday. Crowds continued to fill food distribution sites — Brazilian soldiers had sprayed tear gas at Haitians jostling for food on Tuesday — while medical students from Quisqueya University set up tents beside the ruins of their university to provide postoperative care to overflow patients from the General Hospital. They wore newly made T-shirts that said, "We will go on, hand in hand."
Everywhere hand-lettered signs in English, French and Spanish cried out for help, and yet everywhere residents took matters into their own hands, too, responding with brooms and buckets to a request from the city government to help restore physical order.
In a growing cash-for-work program, the United Nations sent more than 11,000 earthquake survivors to clean the rubble-strewn streets in the capital and other hard-hit areas, paying them the Haitian minimum wage, about 60 cents an hour. The United Nations aspires to put at least 100,000 Haitians to work in this program.
The Brasserie Nationale called about 350 employees back to work as it restarted production of essential items — water first, milk will be next — but not all were happy to be back on the job. Yvien Chery said, "Everybody is afraid to be inside the factory" because of the aftershocks.
A motley assortment of enterprises reopened. A patisserie was doing a booming business selling éclairs, fruit tarts and croissants to foreign doctors, as well as an elaborately frosted birthday cake to Eduard Macendi, 30, who planned to hold a small celebration for his cousin in the yard where they are living.
And, in a city where only one electric plant is functioning, an electronics store, owned by Sandreno Mentirone, was selling one item in volume: gasoline-fueled generators.
Mr. Mentirone has posted two guards with shotguns at the entrance to his store, which is in an area downtown that has experienced heavy looting.
No one was placing bets, according to shops that take wagers, on the New York lottery and other numbers. "People want a sure thing right now," said Christophe Baptiste, who runs the Colo Super Bank, a store that sells everything from hair relaxer to jumper cables.
Long lines snaked from the central immigration and emigration office as Haitians took steps to replace passports buried in their crushed homes. Many interviewed said they wanted the documents so that they could obtain a visa and flee the country.
Asked where she intended to go, Suze Calixte, who showed up at 4 a.m. to wait in line, said: "France? Miami? Anywhere."
Ray Rivera, Ruth Fremson and Ginger Thompson contributed reporting
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
Eduard Macendi, 30, second from left, picked up a birthday cake for his cousin at the Epi d'Or Pattisserie in Port-au-Prince. More Photos >
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Reprints
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By DEBORAH SONTAG
Published: January 27, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — This devastated capital showed increasing signs of stirring back to life on Wednesday as Haitians restarted factory assembly lines, visited their barbers, sought replacement cellphones and even picked up their dry cleaning.
Multimedia
Slide Show
Haiti Recovers Slowly
Related
Girl Rescued From Haiti Quake Debris (January 27, 2010)
Times Topics: Haiti
Haiti Disaster Relief: How to Contribute | Tips on Donating
More Multimedia on the Haiti Earthquake
Nothing could be called business as usual. When the big Brasserie Nationale d'Haïti beverage manufacturing plant kicked back into action, it did not start with one of its best-known products, Prestige, the national beer that is a point of pride here. It began with the essential: bottled water.
And when Jean Pierre Beauchamp unlocked his dry cleaning business in the center of the city, he did it so that customers who had lost their homes could retrieve — free — what they had dropped off right before the earthquake left them with only the clothes on their backs.
Still, the life force was kicking. "The earthquake is over," Mackenzie Bokaj, a computer technician, declared as he got a haircut and a shave at the bustling Kyky's Barber Shop. "You cannot let yourself get all ratty like a grandpa. History marches on. You have to clean up."
As expected, President René Préval announced that he was indefinitely postponing next month's legislative elections and that he would not seek to extend his term in office beyond its expiration next year. He responded to criticism that he had rarely appeared in public since the quake, saying, according to Reuters, that he did not want to exploit the disaster.
"In my job," he said, "we have two ways of doing things: the way politicians do, where we go to the hospital and we cry with the people. Or to sit, and to work and try to find the right way to recovery. I chose to work."
Its streets clogged with trucks bringing aid and removing rubble, Port-au-Prince was a mix of desperation and determination on Wednesday. Crowds continued to fill food distribution sites — Brazilian soldiers had sprayed tear gas at Haitians jostling for food on Tuesday — while medical students from Quisqueya University set up tents beside the ruins of their university to provide postoperative care to overflow patients from the General Hospital. They wore newly made T-shirts that said, "We will go on, hand in hand."
Everywhere hand-lettered signs in English, French and Spanish cried out for help, and yet everywhere residents took matters into their own hands, too, responding with brooms and buckets to a request from the city government to help restore physical order.
In a growing cash-for-work program, the United Nations sent more than 11,000 earthquake survivors to clean the rubble-strewn streets in the capital and other hard-hit areas, paying them the Haitian minimum wage, about 60 cents an hour. The United Nations aspires to put at least 100,000 Haitians to work in this program.
The Brasserie Nationale called about 350 employees back to work as it restarted production of essential items — water first, milk will be next — but not all were happy to be back on the job. Yvien Chery said, "Everybody is afraid to be inside the factory" because of the aftershocks.
A motley assortment of enterprises reopened. A patisserie was doing a booming business selling éclairs, fruit tarts and croissants to foreign doctors, as well as an elaborately frosted birthday cake to Eduard Macendi, 30, who planned to hold a small celebration for his cousin in the yard where they are living.
And, in a city where only one electric plant is functioning, an electronics store, owned by Sandreno Mentirone, was selling one item in volume: gasoline-fueled generators.
Mr. Mentirone has posted two guards with shotguns at the entrance to his store, which is in an area downtown that has experienced heavy looting.
No one was placing bets, according to shops that take wagers, on the New York lottery and other numbers. "People want a sure thing right now," said Christophe Baptiste, who runs the Colo Super Bank, a store that sells everything from hair relaxer to jumper cables.
Long lines snaked from the central immigration and emigration office as Haitians took steps to replace passports buried in their crushed homes. Many interviewed said they wanted the documents so that they could obtain a visa and flee the country.
Asked where she intended to go, Suze Calixte, who showed up at 4 a.m. to wait in line, said: "France? Miami? Anywhere."
Ray Rivera, Ruth Fremson and Ginger Thompson contributed reporting
Los arquitectos dan la batalla en Haití
Un grupo de arquitectos viajó a Haití para evaluar la seguridad estructural de los edificios; primero se enfocó en la revisión de las construcciones estratégicas para el funcionamiento del país.
Dos arquitectos franceses y dos canadienses se desplazaron a Puerto Príncipe para verificar el estado de las construcciones. (Foto: Reuters)
ARTÍCULOS RELACIONADOS
Corrupción agrava problemas de Haití
Los habitantes del país temen que la ayuda humanitaria se quede en manos de los funcionarios.
Líderes prometen ayudar 10 años a Haití
La comunidad internacional se comprometió a apoyar a la nación caribeña en su recuperación.
BM condona deuda a Haití por 5 años
El organismo internacional busca exonerar a la nación caribeña de su deuda por 38 mdd.
FMI apoya con 100 mdd a Haití
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, director gerente, anunció el apoyo luego del terremoto del martes.
Por: Marco Appel
BRUSELAS — Con casi todos los edificios de Puerto Príncipe, Haití afectados por el devastador sismo del pasado 12 de enero, ¿qué mejor que un arquitecto para evaluar los daños y establecer medidas de seguridad acordes con la situación de extremo riesgo que atraviesa ese país caribeño?
Con ese propósito, dos arquitectos franceses y dos canadienses de la organización internacional Architectes de l'urgence (Arquitectos de urgencia) se desplazaron a Puerto Príncipe apenas tres días después de la tragedia.
"Nuestro primer objetivo ha sido realizar los análisis técnicos de los edificios estratégicos afectados por el temblor", indica Patrick Coulombel, presidente de la organización gremial creada en 2001 para otorgar "apoyo a poblaciones afectadas por desastres naturales".
Explica que de este modo "podemos determinar el estado estructural de los inmuebles y ordenar su cierre o permitir su reocupación".
Decisiones irrevocables
Los miembros de Architectes de l'urgence han examinado al menos 12 instalaciones estratégicas. En una ciudad paralizada por el miedo a que haya nuevos desplomes de edificios oficiales y privados, el trabajo de los arquitectos resulta invaluable.
Por ejemplo, los empleados que hacen funcionar la central eléctrica de Puerto Príncipe se negaron a entrar a sus oficinas hasta que los arquitectos de la organización les informaron que no había peligro para retomar el trabajo.
También autorizaron la reapertura total o parcial (las salas de operación) de cinco hospitales, lo que significó un alivio para el desbordado personal médico, pues todas las clínicas de la capital habían sido evacuadas como principio de precaución.
Sin embargo, la evaluación de los arquitectos fue negativa en los casos de la embajada de Francia y la residencia del embajador de ese país en Haití, que tuvieron que ser cerradas y bloqueadas con cordones de seguridad.
Por todo el mundo
La organización Architectes de l'urgence nació en 2001, después de las fuertes inundaciones que afectaron al departamento de la Somme, ubicado en el norte de Francia. Posteriormente se unieron a ella un grupo de arquitectos de Canadá y otro de Australia.
El organismo, con sede en París, ha estado presente en Birmania, después del ciclón Nargis de mayo de 2008, y en Sumatra, tras los sismos de septiembre y octubre pasados. Además, desarrolla proyectos humanitarios, de asesoría y entrenamiento en Afganistán, Perú, Colombia, Indonesia y Chad.
Coulombel señala que al momento de constituir la organización la pregunta fundamental era saber si el gremio de los arquitectos podía responder de forma organizada a una catástrofe mayor y, así, cumplir con su rol social, como ya lo hacen los doctores, los bomberos o los propios periodistas.
"Nos interrogamos: ¿cómo podemos poner al servicio de los damnificados nuestras competencias profesionales?, ¿cómo podemos ser más eficaces como arquitecto? Con el tiempo nos dimos cuenta de una cosa: que había 'otra forma de ser arquitecto'", expone Coulombel.
La actividad de los arquitectos de la organización, llevada a cabo a veces en países en conflicto, no está libre de peligros. En agosto de 2006 tres cooperantes locales murieron en Sri Lanka durante un bombardeo del ejército contra posiciones de los rebeldes tamiles.
.
Un grupo de arquitectos viajó a Haití para evaluar la seguridad estructural de los edificios; primero se enfocó en la revisión de las construcciones estratégicas para el funcionamiento del país.
Dos arquitectos franceses y dos canadienses se desplazaron a Puerto Príncipe para verificar el estado de las construcciones. (Foto: Reuters)
ARTÍCULOS RELACIONADOS
Corrupción agrava problemas de Haití
Los habitantes del país temen que la ayuda humanitaria se quede en manos de los funcionarios.
Líderes prometen ayudar 10 años a Haití
La comunidad internacional se comprometió a apoyar a la nación caribeña en su recuperación.
BM condona deuda a Haití por 5 años
El organismo internacional busca exonerar a la nación caribeña de su deuda por 38 mdd.
FMI apoya con 100 mdd a Haití
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, director gerente, anunció el apoyo luego del terremoto del martes.
Por: Marco Appel
BRUSELAS — Con casi todos los edificios de Puerto Príncipe, Haití afectados por el devastador sismo del pasado 12 de enero, ¿qué mejor que un arquitecto para evaluar los daños y establecer medidas de seguridad acordes con la situación de extremo riesgo que atraviesa ese país caribeño?
Con ese propósito, dos arquitectos franceses y dos canadienses de la organización internacional Architectes de l'urgence (Arquitectos de urgencia) se desplazaron a Puerto Príncipe apenas tres días después de la tragedia.
"Nuestro primer objetivo ha sido realizar los análisis técnicos de los edificios estratégicos afectados por el temblor", indica Patrick Coulombel, presidente de la organización gremial creada en 2001 para otorgar "apoyo a poblaciones afectadas por desastres naturales".
Explica que de este modo "podemos determinar el estado estructural de los inmuebles y ordenar su cierre o permitir su reocupación".
Decisiones irrevocables
Los miembros de Architectes de l'urgence han examinado al menos 12 instalaciones estratégicas. En una ciudad paralizada por el miedo a que haya nuevos desplomes de edificios oficiales y privados, el trabajo de los arquitectos resulta invaluable.
Por ejemplo, los empleados que hacen funcionar la central eléctrica de Puerto Príncipe se negaron a entrar a sus oficinas hasta que los arquitectos de la organización les informaron que no había peligro para retomar el trabajo.
También autorizaron la reapertura total o parcial (las salas de operación) de cinco hospitales, lo que significó un alivio para el desbordado personal médico, pues todas las clínicas de la capital habían sido evacuadas como principio de precaución.
Sin embargo, la evaluación de los arquitectos fue negativa en los casos de la embajada de Francia y la residencia del embajador de ese país en Haití, que tuvieron que ser cerradas y bloqueadas con cordones de seguridad.
Por todo el mundo
La organización Architectes de l'urgence nació en 2001, después de las fuertes inundaciones que afectaron al departamento de la Somme, ubicado en el norte de Francia. Posteriormente se unieron a ella un grupo de arquitectos de Canadá y otro de Australia.
El organismo, con sede en París, ha estado presente en Birmania, después del ciclón Nargis de mayo de 2008, y en Sumatra, tras los sismos de septiembre y octubre pasados. Además, desarrolla proyectos humanitarios, de asesoría y entrenamiento en Afganistán, Perú, Colombia, Indonesia y Chad.
Coulombel señala que al momento de constituir la organización la pregunta fundamental era saber si el gremio de los arquitectos podía responder de forma organizada a una catástrofe mayor y, así, cumplir con su rol social, como ya lo hacen los doctores, los bomberos o los propios periodistas.
"Nos interrogamos: ¿cómo podemos poner al servicio de los damnificados nuestras competencias profesionales?, ¿cómo podemos ser más eficaces como arquitecto? Con el tiempo nos dimos cuenta de una cosa: que había 'otra forma de ser arquitecto'", expone Coulombel.
La actividad de los arquitectos de la organización, llevada a cabo a veces en países en conflicto, no está libre de peligros. En agosto de 2006 tres cooperantes locales murieron en Sri Lanka durante un bombardeo del ejército contra posiciones de los rebeldes tamiles.
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