For a Sustainable Progress
Jan 23, 2010 / Cyberpresse
Recently, La Presse published a letter from a lady here whom, upset by the plight of children in Port-au-Prince, exclaimed: “If I could, I would take the first flight in the direction of Haiti to rescue them all and bring them here.” For her, these were only empty words: she already adopted three Haitian children!Despite Quebec's speeding up proceedings of adoption records already handled by the bureaucracy, the Haitian children will not all come here . Neither will adults, whatever the definition given to extended family.
Only an infinitesimal fraction of the 8 to 9 millions Haitians will join the diaspora here and elsewhere.
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During the coming days, the emotion that took the world by the throat for the last 12 days will gradually fade. The media will abandon the human reports with which they filled their pages and airtime. In the silence, soon almost forgotten, we will have to plan and perform the actual rescue of Haiti.
It will require less emotion, but more reason.
Thus, even the most gigantic international adoption plan of Haitian children would be a side effect. Besides that, experts do not recommend it. Uprooting is often brutal and there is high risk of trafficking. The UN says many of the 200 Haitian orphanages are suspected of engaging in it. And sometimes the undefinable status of children, in particular "Restavecs" sent by their families, further complicates the situation. Yesterday, UNICEF announced that children have already been missed from hospitals since the earthquake.
Similarly, a massive general immigration, leading up to 50 000 arrivals, would be only an illusory solution.
First, we don't rebuild a country by emptying it! Then, the Haitian community here is not very comfortable: nearly 40% live on low incomes (which does not prevent the Haitian diaspora around the world to be extraordinarily devoted: in 2008, they sent 1.3 billion U.S. to the homeland, more than the institutional support of 912 million!). Moreover, "integration is difficult, slow and sometimes disappointing," recalls a Canadian of Haitian origin.
In short, it's there, not here, that everything will play out.
Giving relief to Haiti and allowing sustainable progress will not happen by "importing" its children and its living forces. But by exporting logistics, capital and what will soon be just as important: jobs.
On Monday, the international community represented in Montreal will find a way to truly devote themselves.