Finnish aid worker travels in convoy to chaotic Haiti

Panu Saaristo to get Red Cross operation started

Panu Saaristo

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Four experienced rescue workers of the International Red Cross started off early in the morning on Thursday from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, toward Port-au-Prince, the capital of neighbouring Haiti, which has been devastated by the recent massive earthquake.
      One of them is Panu Saaristo, health coordinator for the Red Cross in Latin America and the Carribean.
      He has worked as an aid worker in other areas, including Afghanistan and the Middle East.
     
The drive from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince usually takes six hours, but they were not certain how long it would take this time.
      “It is quite possible that it will take twice as long", Panu Saaristo says.
      The aim of the Red Cross vanguard is to reach the Haitian capital during daylight. Thieves are common on highways in Haiti even in normal conditions.
      There are four vehicles in the convoy. The other workers will fly in later.
     
“It is possible that frightened people have started to flee Port-au-Prince”, Saaristo said by telephone at about 7:00 AM local time.
      Spanish aid workers have told the newspaper El Pais that Haitians have been moving toward the border of the Dominican Republic.
      Saaristo’s group can expect chaotic conditions in the Haitian capital. Haiti’s Red Cross has been trying to do what it can in its limited resources.
      “The situation is very difficult, and the destriction is great. Large buildings have collapsed”, Panu Saaristo says.
     
Haiti’s Prime Minister has said that more than 100,000 people may have been killed. “It is approximately according to that figure that we need to plan our operation.”
      The first task in Port-au-Prince is to assess the damage and the needs that emerge from them. "In addition, we need to agree with the other organisations on how to divide up the tasks."
     
Saaristo had received some information about the situation in Port-au-Prince.
      “We will start with what people need to survive. People need to breathe, so the very first thing is to get them out of the rubble. Then they need clean water; without it, nothing else matters. Then people need to know where their families are”, he adds.
     
At about noon local time on Thursday, Saaristo’s convoy was at the border. They were waiting for the cars to fill their fuel tanks, as the availability of petrol and diesel oil is uncertain in Haiti.
      “There is a line of lorries at the border, part of which have aid supplies. They may be hesitant to cross, because there is no guarantee of security on the roads in Haiti. Nothing else out of the ordinary can be seen at the border.”


Links:
  Finnish aid organisations join international effort to help Haiti after massive earthquake (14.1.2009)

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