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Six-months after a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, most people are still struggling to survive. The January 12th quake killed between 230,000 to 300,000 people, made over a million people homeless, and destroyed an estimated 230,000 homes and 50,000 businesses. Three point one billion dollars in humanitarian aid flowed into Haiti in the months following the quake, but there are still 1.6 million people living in relief camps. According to the New York Times, at the current rate that rubble is being removed, it will take over 20 years to just clear the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Clean-up at the quake’s epicenter of Leogane is moving particularly slowly as all the work is being done by hand without the help of any machinery. For their backbreaking work residents are being paid $5 a day. According to the town’s mayor, Alec Santos, “I heard there was [sic] so many millions going to Haiti, but I haven’t seen it. I’ve heard a lot of promises. Promises, promises, promises. I’m hoping in the next few months I’ll see some results.” Meanwhile, the Haiti Reconstruction Commission, a UN agency being chaired by President Clinton, will soon oversee the first installment of a nearly $10 billion aid package to help with long term rebuilding. Reconstruction could yield a brighter future for Haiti but with high unemployment, a history of exploitation, and limited land, real progress is anything but assured.

GUEST: Brian Concannon Jr, Director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti

Find out more at www.haitijustice.org.