The Foreign Service Journal, April 2010

18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 1 0 from a Middle Eastern country. Told that the minister wanted to convey a serious concern, the diplomat assumed that it must be related to a difference over policy. “No,” the minister said, “whatever policy differences we have had with the United States, there always was a presumption of competence. Your mishandling of the Katrina tragedy has badly tarnished your reputation in this part of the world.” The challenge our government and the international community faced in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 was even greater than that of Hurricane Katrina. Haiti, the poorest nation in our hemisphere, did not possess the support sys- tems of the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana or the United States. While 1,863 Americans died in the Ka- trina disaster, the latest death toll in Haiti is 230,000, and the crisis is not yet over. The government of Haiti nearly collapsed along with its ministry buildings. The United Nations building came down on its 140 occupants; its director, deputy director and many others were killed. Nongovernmental groups that might have aided in the response were devastated, their staffers and families killed or badly wounded. The new U.S. embassy remained intact, but the staff mourned the loss of one of its own, FSO Victoria DeLong, a cultural af- fairs officer who died when her home collapsed. DART-ing to the Rescue President Barack Obama immediately ordered an “all- government” response and named USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, confirmed only the week before, coordinator of the effort. Dr. Shah and the entire U.S. government were well served by USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, which immediately deployed to Haiti. Its key ele- ments were in place within 24 hours. The DART was led by an experienced veteran, Tim Callaghan, director of USAID’s Office of U.S. ForeignDis- aster Assistance’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Callaghan and his Costa Rica-based staff have helped governments in the region develop strategies to mitigate the worst effects of natural disasters. He has also advised the United Nations on the development of a search-and-rescue protocol and a certification system for relief units that are deployed by the international commu- nity. Callaghan “pulled in” the two search-and-rescue teams that regularly work with USAID—and are certified by the United Nations as international search teams — from Los Angeles, Calif., and Fairfax, Va. The 17-member DART and 72-member search-and-rescue team (with six canines and 48 tons of equipment) arrived in Port-au-Prince at 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 13. They were saving lives and assessing the desperate needs of Haitians that same evening. A day later, they “called forward” another certified team from Miami- Dade County, Fla. A disaster of this magnitude, affecting some three mil- lion people, is as complex a challenge as any the DART has seen. Moving supplies was nearly impossible until debris- strewn roads could be cleared. The airport, not the most efficient facility even in normal times, had to be repaired and equipped to handle much more traffic. The port was in ruins, whichmade the import of heavy equipment a chal- lenge. Movement from across the Dominican Republic border was the best option, but this had to be handled sen- sitively. The U.S. Southern Command provided crucial logisti- cal support, responding to needs determined by the DART. U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten, who immediately declared the situation an emergency, and General Ken Keene of SOUTHCOM comprised the leadership team, along with Callaghan. Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton, USAIDAd- ministrator Shah and Cheryl Mills, Sec. Clinton’s chief of staff, were soon on the ground, Sec. Clinton having re- turned early from a visit to Asia. She personified the level of attention the tragedy was receiving from the U.S. gov- ernment. In such disasters, the media play an important role: that of the messenger/critic. Graphic accounts both encourage generosity and keep pressure on governments to respond. InHaiti, the media presented a special challenge, however; part of their mandate was to report all that was going wrong. And in the early days of a disaster response, there is no shortage of bad news. The initial news fromHaiti focused on inadequate med- ical facilities, where doctors performed difficult operations F O C U S J. Brian Atwood served as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1993 to 1999. A former FSO, Atwood also served as under secretary for management and assistant secretary for congressional re- lations. He was the U.S. government coordinator during the Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo crises, and for the federal responses to Hurricanes Mitch and Charles. He is now dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Af- fairs at the University of Minnesota.