Rescue and Aid

More help on the way for Haitians

By Chen Weihua and Huo Yongzhe (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-01-20 17:46

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Stefanie Zarych, a lawyer from Atlantic City in the United States, boarded the US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Santo Domingo on Tuesday evening. She has not booked a hotel and is trying to figure out how to get to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince

Zarych has brought boxes of medical supplies she purchased at her own expense and she wants to deliver it to a medical hospital in Haiti, which is desperately short of medicines and equipment.

Chen Weihua

"I plan to spend a week there to help out," Zarych told China Daily.

Zarych is not alone in her plight. Many of the passengers are not going to Santo Domingo to enjoy the sunshine on the beach resorts, but the west side of the island, Haiti.

Mike Hickey, a medical officer of PAW Government Services, is going to join the United Nations medical operations in Port-au-Prince. Wearing boots and dressed much like a soldier, Hickey, who has been on similar missions in Africa and other crisis zones, said he is going to spend a month there to help treat patients.

Hickey is also one of many on the plane chatting about how to get to Port-au-Prince since road conditions and security still pose a threat from time to time. Hiring a car would cost $400 to $500 a person, almost 10 times higher than normal.

People affiliated with big organizations such as Hickey will be picked up by helicopters, while some try to go with ambulances which return to Haiti after rushing patients to Santo Domingo hospitals. Still others have to try the limited bus services going to the border area.

Huo Yongzhe

The scene both on the plane and the international airport is a reminder to the Haitian people that more help is on the way.

People outside the airport arrival gate hold signs showing various international organizations, such as Physicians for Peace.

"I am waiting for a whole group of medical doctors to arrive tonight," said Ramon Lopez, director of The Americas for the organization.

According to airport officials, most passengers arriving in Santo Domingo these days are heading to Haiti. There have also been many more planes delivering relief supplies to Haiti this past week, since the small and damaged airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, still cannot handle the flights coming into the country, despite an already increased capacity compared with the days before the earthquake.

After the quake, the Dominican Republic opened up its border to Haitian victims. As a result, many of the hospitals on the Dominican side of the border are overcrowded with Haitian patients.

Special Coverage:
Major Earthquake Hits Haiti

Many Haitians, including top government officials injured in the quake, are receiving treatment in Dominican Republic hospitals.

Land access via the Republic has also been granted for aid groups. Many trucks carrying water, food and with mobile kitchens are also starting from there, supplying meals to Haitians. A logistics center has been set up in the border town of Jimani to help aid groups.

In a restaurant near the central Zona Colonial of Santo Domingo, people carrying the bag of Doctors without Borders were seen getting ready to go to Haiti.

While some in the Dominican Republic have still not forgotten their bitter past of being ruled by Haitians more than a century ago, Dominicans have shown great generosity this time after the earthquake.

On Monday, Santo Domingo hosted a preparatory meeting prior to the World Summit for Haiti, with the attendance of Haiti President Rene Preval, along with representatives from many countries and international and regional organizations.