Haïti

Benoît Aurenche, 28, no stranger to working in difficult circumstances, was present when the earthquake struck Haiti, where he was running the inter-agency logistics platform. During the days following the disaster, the whole Haiti team redoubled its efforts to respond to the emergency. Six months on, there's still a huge amount of work to be done. This is his account.


How did you react to the earthquake on 12 January?
I'd never experienced anything like it and I think I didn't understand what was happening straightaway. I'd worked in Sri Lanka for three years before this mission and I was more used to armed conflicts. So the first thing that came to my mind was a bombardment, and I looked through the window to see where it was coming from. And even once I'd understood what was going on, I could never have imagined the extent of the damage or the repercussions that it was going to have on the country and the population. I could only stand back and grasp the situation once I'd returned to France for a break in February. I was really anxious to get back to Haiti and in the end I cut short my holidays to get back to work.

What was your role in Haiti after the earthquake?
I was the project manager of the Inter-Agency logistics platform managed by Handicap International in partnership with the WFP (World Food Programme) for the transport and storage of humanitarian aid. More than 200 people, including eight expatriate staff, and 70 lorries are spread over four operational bases (Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Gonaïves and Jacmel) and a 5500 sq.m. warehouse. This allows us to transport humanitarian aid, particularly to areas that are difficult to access, using six-wheel drive lorries, for some 90 partners, including UN agencies (World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation), international NGOs (Action Contre la Faim and our own Handicap International convoys), and local associations (the Fraternité Notre Dame, for example).

What was your working day like?
There was no such thing as an average day and the pace was always very hectic. Transport requests are generally processed within 24 hours. So it's essential to provide our partners with a rapid response to ensure they can concentrate on their activities and supply appropriate aid within as short a time as possible. Early in the morning, we had to supervise the departures and loading. Late in the evening, we followed-up transports and returns and planned the following day.
I also acted as a representative within the clusters [a coordination system organised by the United Nations that groups the most relevant humanitarian aid partners by theme to ensure a practical and operational response]. And I saw our partners on an almost daily basis to organise the platform's activities.

What do you think the hurricane season will be like in Haiti?
There are already heavy showers every other evening. Displaced persons living in camps are starting to suffer from flooding, and given the number of people who are still without a roof, the situation will be really disastrous if the hurricanes hit. Handicap International's teams are working really hard as they continue to distribute shelters and build up a stock of aid to be ready to respond to a new humanitarian disaster. The threat is very real because the first tropical storm passed extremely close to the island last week.

What does the future hold for Haiti?
Before the earthquake I felt that, despite the instability and the country's difficult history, the situation was going to improve. Farming reforms were starting to take effect and held out a lot of hope for the future. Then suddenly it turned into chaos. But the Haitians are a proud people and they are not going to let themselves be beaten. People quickly organised themselves to overcome this huge challenge. Six months on, there's already much less rubble in the streets and businesses are returning to normal: the markets and stallholders are up and running again. But now we need to prepare ourselves to face the threat posed by the hurricanes. 

To read : "The Haitian population made us feel very welcome"