Reflections on a Crisis: La Gonave Receives People Fleeing Violence
by Jessica Hsu and Charlie Estes
Published November 22, 2024
On Saturday, October 26th, the Roots of Development (Roots) team received the following message from Louino Robillard, the program director of Rasin Devlopman (Rasin):
“Due to recent gang attacks in the Côte des Arcadins, many people from Arcahaie and surrounding areas have fled to the island of La Gonâve. A large number of these individuals are currently staying at the main wharf in Anse-à-Galets and Magasin without access to adequate food, water, or shelter. This is a developing situation, and the Rasin Devlopman team is on the ground assessing the needs. Evaluations are being planned, and we will provide updates as the situation evolves.”
The message signaled an unfolding crisis situation on La Gonave. It was also an indication to the Roots and Rasin team that the violence which had mostly been concentrated in the metropolitan areas was spreading, directly impacting more communities outside the metropolitan Port-au-Prince area. It was now closer to home–the island of La Gonave, where Roots and Rasin support community-led, sustainable development. A crisis like this could threaten that work; in Haiti, long-term development goals have frequently been overshadowed by immediate humanitarian needs.
Haitian communities are not newcomers to crisis. Nor are they newcomers to the flooding of aid from international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and agencies that arrives during times of crisis or in the aftermath of disasters. From the devastating 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010 in the Port-au-Prince area covering headlines globally, to the less-covered 2016 category 4-5 Hurricane Matthew, and to another 7.2 earthquake in 2021, both in the Southern Peninsula. These are just some of the better known events, among numerous more that have besieged Haiti in the last 15 years.
After the 2010 earthquake, the motto of “Build Back Better”1 was repeated incessantly as a promise by international donors, governments and their politicians. What we witnessed was an appalling waste of resources as relief agencies and governments spent exorbitant amounts of money on overhead costs and short-term solutions, never addressing pre-existing vulnerabilities. In addition, all Haitians, even the State, were completely sidelined in the response. Despite the $16.3 billion2 committed to the relief and recovery efforts, Haiti was certainly not built back better.
The humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake and subsequent disasters has been largely characterized by a large-scale mobilization of foreign resources, an ineffective response rarely connected with community actors and leadership, an exit from communities, and little to no actual recovery. These injections of ineffective aid have played a significant role in creating the complex political and socio-economic crisis that we see today in Haiti, including the spreading insecurity, lack of elected State officials, and an exhausted and disenfranchised population.
It is these histories and experiences that consistently and so clearly reaffirm Roots’ work supporting the self-determination and collective strength of communities to lead their own progress–but the work requires constant reflection and dialogue to inform and improve our actions.
Just two hours after its initial message, Rasin was able to share more detailed information with Roots, including the estimated number of people that had reached the island, as communicated by the Mayor of Anse-a Galets, their immediate needs, and recommendations as to how to move forward. The update concluded: “The situation on La Gonâve is critical, with many displaced individuals in dire need of assistance following the violence in Arcahaie. The Rasin Devlopman team continues to monitor the situation.” As the situation on La Gonave continued to develop, these are some of the questions and reflections that informed our actions and provided insight into the dynamics and strength of our relationship.
Discussion Point One: Communication
The Roots team and Louino had a regular check-in meeting scheduled for the afternoon Monday, October 28th. After communicating regularly about the situation throughout the weekend, the teams turned their attention to whether and how to share the situation externally with Roots’ network via email and social media.
Though all agreed that a communication was necessary, several of the typical approaches of top-down humanitarian responses needed to be discussed and avoided:
- Traditional, often Top-Down, Humanitarian Response:
- Makes the communication urgent and attention-grabbing, sometimes with inflated numbers, to compel as much monetary response as possible, and capitalizing on the emotional response of their audience.
- Ignores the local response already underway so as to emphasize the need for external intervention.
- Normalization of the crisis narrative which rarely highlights the almost predictable solidarity Haitians show each other when navigating a crisis. .
- Roots decided to:
- Intentionally highlighted local response from groups with a permanent presence on the island, the local government, and individual residents. Highlighting that Haitians are the first and last responders, despite the conditions of marginalization that the majority exists in.
- Emphasize our values of sustainability, long-term impact, and Development without Dependency foundational principle even in the face of acute crises.
- Advocate for continued, nuanced understanding of the realities of the crisis
- Communicate the urgency of the situation without falling into the dominant narratives around crises in Haiti.
- Not make a strong push for funding while the situation and Rasin’s response was still being evaluated and decided on, but allow those who wanted to give an avenue to do so.
- Trusting and following the lead of local actors (the mayor, our partners), even if/when that meant not being in control and/or being a bit uncomfortable with the information being shared or ideas being proposed.
The communication, titled “The Critical Situation on La Gonave: An Urgent Call for Support and Solidarity,” was drafted by Louino and the Rasin team, then agreed upon and published by Roots and Rasin on October 29th.
Discussion Point 2: The Roles of Roots and Rasin as Partners During Crisis
Following the publication of the communication, the attention of the Roots staff focused on how it could best support Rasin through the crisis by facilitating connections to other groups, making funds available, and holding a space to reflect and strategize together in order to determine best steps moving forward.
Top-Down Humanitarian Response:
- Imports foreign resources and “experts” to respond to the crisis.
- Does not tap into existing local aid networks.
- Bypasses and undermines local authorities.
- Undermines naturally occurring mutual solidarity.
- Compromises long-term self-sufficiency.
Rasin:
- Stayed in constant contact and dialogue with local authorities, CBOs, and other NGOs on the island, creating transparency around decisions that impact the island. Ultimately, the actors decided collectively to undergo a process led by the community to survey the situation, despite an offer from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to send outside surveyors. These actions will ultimately bolster the Mayor’s office and other local authorities despite the lack of the support from the central State.
- Offered information to the Mayor’s office on the ways in which the humanitarian system and NGOs function, in order to support navigation of the system.
- Challenged the instinct to think only about traditional forms of humanitarian aid such as food and hygiene kits and invited collective reflection on sustainability, social cohesion, and solidarity.
- Connected with the UN World Food Program, which was looking to respond with emergency food distributions. Rasin advocated for more sustainable interventions, like Rasin’s already existing programs that reinforce local food systems in order to improve long-term food security.
- Organized a “Reyaji” community dialogue session in collaboration with Beyond Borders to better understand the crisis and the needs of the authorities, which included representatives of the people who have been displaced.
Roots:
- Made ourselves available as a sounding board and constant resource. Provided guidance based on our shared values, when requested by Rasin.
- Made funding available for Rasin to support activities they believed would enhance community solidarity and strengthen local systems.
- Amplified the decisions and actions of Rasin, other local groups, authorities, and the community.
- Assisted in external information sharing with Rasin’s other funding partners, which also inspired additional reflection around the crisis.
- Remained focused on long-term goals for both organizations to build a stronger La Gonave, especially construction of the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center.
La Gonave was more prepared for this crisis than it might have been in years past. In 2021, Roots connected Rasin to the Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF), which eventually aided in the creation of a Communal Development Plan for Anse-a-Galets. The creation of the plan meant that Anse-a-Galets now had a Communal Development Committee–a collection of leaders and groups from the area that are committed and have been collectively working for the island’s wellbeing. Also, Rasin had trained a network of 31 current and 35 former Volonte pou Chanjman (Community Change Agents) across 8 of the 11 communal sections of the island that will be mobilized to help conduct the survey.
Moments of crisis can and should be opportunities to strengthen social cohesion and solidarity to build towards community self-sufficiency and sustainable development.
Rasin Devlopman has spent years building trust and respect among the communities of La Gonave, the local authorities, and the international community present on the island. This includes investing in structures that make the island better prepared to handle crises. This influx of people was a test of the growing strength of these structures–and a moment to build further trust, transparency, and collaboration.
Under traditional, top-down humanitarian response, international organizations often jump in headfirst with immediate aid and relief efforts. This did not happen on La Gonave this month, in part because the Communal Development Committee (CDC) took a slower, more thoughtful approach–allowing the community on La Gonave to be the first responders and absorb the shock of the arrival of the displaced people. Residents across the island handed out food and water and took people into their own homes. Though Rasin and the CDC, in collaboration with local authorities and other INGOs on the island, are continuing to work on performing a thorough census of those staying on La Gonave, the acute needs of the displaced people have largely been met by community solidarity. Many have already returned home to Arcahaie.
The crisis narrative has become all too common for Haiti, painting an image of Haitians as passive victims and beneficiaries waiting for external aid and support. The Haitian culture of solidarity and collective responsibility is always present and rarely shown. In every circumstance, Haitians are the first and last responders, despite the conditions of marginalization that the majority exist in.
As the population of La Gonave continues to collectively address this crisis, Roots and Rasin will continue to support the development of systems that will strengthen their ability to do so in the future.
1 Johnston, Jake. ‘Evaluation of Donor Response to Haiti Earthquake show ‘Build Back Better’ Nothing but a Slogan’, CEPR.k March 12, 2012.
2 Katz, Jonathan. ‘The Big Truck That Went By: How the world came to save Haiti and left behind a disaster’, Palgrave MacMillan. 2017.
