When will we finish with the homages and the honors and start taking action?

January 12, 2011, makes 12 months that Haiti has been living in an unparalleled state of mourning. If someone said that it wasn’t necessary to have a special moment for the victims of January 12, he or she would appear insensitive. But at the same time, to take advantage of that mourning for the over 300,000 victims,

right in the face of the rest of society, really goes beyond the pale. We salute the courage of each family that suffered in the January 12 catastrophe.

What kind of conditions have people been living in since that day?

A lot of people keep pointing out that they don’t see how the situation of the victims has changed since January 12, 2010, but those words are left in the air, hanging. But it’s true – families are there, clear as day, right in front of the eyes of Haiti’s leaders and international friends who did not seem all that interested in changing the living conditions of people who are in such need.

Helping people doesn’t seem to be part of the program for the authorities. Instead, they are laying wreathes and flowers and making beautiful speeches which are more visible.

January 12, 2010, a date that nobody should ever forget.

But we can’t stop and cry over that date if we don’t force the government to fulfill its responsibilities related to the fundamental human rights that people have to live… to live like human beings, in conditions for human beings.

The reconstruction they are talking about is still a long way off.

Return to introduction page for January 12 Dossier, with texts and video