1 Answer

Three years after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we’re joined by Jonathan Katz, author of "The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster." The earthquake on January 12, 2010, ultimately resulted in the deaths of roughly 300,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless in what was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. A cholera epidemic, widely blamed on international U.N. troops, killed almost 8,000 people, making more than half a million sick. Today, despite pledges of billions of dollars in international aid, rebuilding has barely begun, and almost 400,000 people are still living in crowded camps. After four years of reporting in Haiti, Katz joins us to discuss where the reconstruction effort went wrong. [includes rush transcript]

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to Haiti, where, almost three years since a 7.0 earthquake devastated the country, rebuilding has barely begun. Almost 400,000 people are still living in crowded camps. A new report by Amnesty International says the housing situation in Haiti is "nothing short of catastrophic." The earthquake on January 12th, 2010, killed roughly 300,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless in what was already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. A cholera epidemic, widely blamed on international U.N. troops, spread shortly after the earthquake and killed almost 8,000 people, making more than half a million sick.

AMY GOODMAN: According to reports, only about half the $5.3 billion in promised funding from international donors has been paid out. Critics point out that even of the money that’s been delivered, very little has made it directly to the Haitian people, going instead to international non-governmental organizations, private companies involved in the relief effort.

Well, to talk more about the situation in Haiti, we’re joined now by author and journalist Jonathan Katz, the only full-time American reporter in Haiti when the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince. His new book is called The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster, explains where the massive international relief effort in Haiti went wrong.

We welcome you to Democracy Now!>>>>http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/11/three_years_after_the_quake_how