Stunning photos of makeshift homes Haitians hope will protect them during hurricane season.

[babylonsister]

:cry: Hurricane season? :(

Shelter From the Storm
Stunning photographs of the makeshift homes Haitians hope will protect them during hurricane season.
By Emily Troutman
Posted Thursday, April 15, 2010, at 7:00 AM ET



Since the earthquake struck Haiti in January, 1.5 million people have been left homeless. Distributing shelter material is one of the slowest and most complex problems facing aid organizations. As the rainy season begins, Haitians are learning to make do with what they have. Hurricanes usually appear in May or June, and many meteorologists are predicting an especially active season.

Three months ago, seen from above, the city looked like a patchwork of colorful, flimsy tents made of sheets and sticks. If you fly into Port-au-Prince today, you will see a landscape dominated by gray and blue tarps. People are also trying to create semi-permanent shelters, which incorporate found objects including metal sheeting, scrap wood, plastic garbage bags, cardboard boxes, and articles of clothing.

The tarps are folded, tucked, nailed, sewn, or taped in infinite configurations. Because the architects of these structures have no access to raw materials or tools, shelters are sometimes made with rusty nails, using rocks as hammers. The aid community is now working to distribute "fixings"—duct tape, screws, nails—and tools.

Photographs at link~

http://www.slate.com/id/2250791/

[greencharlie]

1. wow...

no words.

[Cant trust em]

2. My $50 donation to a relief organization feels pretty paltry right now.

This thread made me feel exactly how I thought it would when I was debating if I should open it.

Crappy.

[Swamp Rat]

3. this is so terrible!

:(

:kick:

[FirstLight]

4. People were NOT given tents on purpose...

..."to avoid encouraging them to stay longer in the camps." (from one of the phopto captions)

:wtf:
Like there is ANYWHERE ELSE to go? So they didn't want people to stay in the camps for "too long" even though there are really no other options?

We may need to relocate many of these people to either temporary housing in neighboring areas or other countries.
Then maybe the demolition & cleanup crews can really DIG IN and rebuild. Otherwise I think the temporary huts will be more permament than you would think, and it will look like the slums of Johannesburg with no hope for change :(

Even in our own country, look at Katrina victims still displaced, some permamently...
Money doesn't help so much anyway, when the world forgets and there are other disasters to look at...

The story of Haiti is not even close to being over :(

[polly7]

5. So sad,

I realize heavy equipment is probably unrealistic and this may be a stupid idea, but I'm wondering why these shelters couldn't have been dug into the ground and the tarps used for roofs .. even temporarily? Wouldn't that be safer for them next time? I think I did read though even small tools weren't left behind, so possibly they don't even have anything to dig with anymore. Kudoes for all the relief efforts helping Haiti and the people themselves ... can't imagine what they're going through day after day, the pictures are heartwrenching.

[izquierdista]

7. Drainage

It's hard to keep a hole in the ground from filling up with water. A hole with a tarp over it works in places like the American southwest, but on a Caribbean island with hurricane season coming on, it's not a good idea.

[polly7]

8. Ahhh. Yes, should have thought of that. Thanks. :) n/t.

[Kadie]

6. : (

:cry:

K&R