Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – After a month's stay in Haiti, Fr. Luca Perletti, General Consultor of the Camillian Missions, has just returned to Rome and continues to follow the situation in the country from the General Curia located here. Here is an interview released to Fides.
What situation did you find in Haiti and how was it when you left the island?
I arrived in Port-au-Prince a week after the earthquake. There was destruction and confusion everywhere. Our “Foyer Saint Camille,” like a few other hospitals, was overtaken by the many victims, brought for emergency surgery. Besides the health problems, there were obvious signs of the precarious food situation. Many of the victims were often unable to obtain basic needs for survival. Small markets with few things were reorganized at the sides of roads. They were struggling to ensure that the survivors can live and nourish themselves. After a month in the capital, the emergency health status is seeing significant improvement. However, it promises to be a very demanding post-emergency phase, linked to corrective surgery, with rehabilitation (about 20,000 surgeries were performed immediately following the earthquake), the creation of institutes for prosthetics, and the aggravation of diseases related to the forthcoming rainy season: this will put a strain on the weak health system. Obviously this raises the issue of reconstruction, restoration of the local authority and the fight against poverty.
Have the Camillian structures there been damaged? Are they still in operation? How have the religious organized themselves?
In Port-au-Prince, Camillians are running a hospital in the suburbs. It serves a population of about 100,000 people. It has not stopped working, as it was one of the structures spared in the catastrophe. The hospital offers outpatient services in the areas of pediatrics, gynecology, medicine and surgery, first aid, and a shelter with about 100 beds and medical attention. It also works as a community medical service for the area assigned to it by the National Health System. The emergency has led to a revised plan for the hospital, which will be expanded with a second operation room, with more emergency rooms, with about 50 beds for rehabilitation, and with the opening of an office for the production of prostheses. There will also be reinforcement for the social services offices and the psychological counseling office.
What is the Church's involvement in this situation of extreme emergency? Which emergency situations are top priority in her response effort?
The Church has been very badly hit, having lost many people, beginning with the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. Many Church buildings, gathering places and administrative offices, have collapsed. Religious orders and congregations have suffered considerable human and material losses. It will not be an easy time. Nevertheless, the Church has continued to offer her help, especially in the world of health care, through hospitals and medical centers run by religious orders. Even where there were no medical facilities, the congregations have set up field hospitals or clinics. Many religious are often found in the coordination meetings, as evidence of their commitment to social and health care especially in depressed areas (the neighborhood of Cité de Soleil, for example). Even the Papal Nuncio has been actively engaged in supporting the Church in this effort of emergency response and reconstruction. Many groups of Christians of other denominations are very active and this helps to establish cooperative relations.
How long do you think it will be necessary before the affected population will begin to live, hope, ... ?
The future of the country is uncertain. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and this earthquake has taken it to its limits. But many have the hope that it will represent a leap into the future, now that the world has noticed Haiti. It is a hope. So, really, tears and pain will bring a better future! But everyone, starting with the great powers, will have to contribute, to give this country back its title of “Pearl of the Caribbean.” (AP) (Agenzia Fides 2/3/2010)
