ARTICLE - RUBBLE DISPOSAL

HAITI CONFRONTS A MONUMENTAL DISPOSAL PROBLEM

Six weeks after an earthquake reduced Port-au-Prince to ruins, Haitian and foreign officials who hope to build a new capital first have to confront — and remove — the wreckage of the old one.

By Ken Ellingwood
Los Angeles Times

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When a city crashes to the ground, how do you dispose of it?
Six weeks after an earthquake reduced Port-au-Prince to ruins, Haitian and foreign officials who hope to build a new capital first have to confront the wreckage of the old one.

The capital is a panorama of rubble: collapsed and half-fallen stores, banks, apartment buildings and homes, hillsides covered by broken shacks that fell like dominoes. Gnarled steel rebar lies all over in massive tangles, like a thousand Medusas.

The amount of debris is stunning. Officials estimate they will have to clean up as much as 25 million cubic yards of material — enough to fill the Louisiana Superdome five times over. By comparison, detritus from the destroyed World Trade Center amounted to about 1 million cubic yards.

Haiti's leaders, working with officials from the United Nations and United States, last week approved a rubble-disposal plan that is expected to take at least two years to complete.

The initial phase focuses on clearing debris from drainage ditches and around the most congested encampments in order to help shift people away from areas prone to flooding before spring rains arrive at the end of March.

"We don't have the luxury of stepping back and doing this in a relaxed way," said Mike Byrne, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official who co-chairs a multilateral committee on debris here.

The longer-term cleanup will involve an armada of front loaders, excavators and trucks. Haitian President Rene Preval has said the effort will require 1,000 dump trucks for 1,000 days — which U.S. planners say is fairly accurate.

"We're going to have to go 24-7 on this," said Byrne, who was the government's point man in the World Trade Center cleanup.

Haitian officials have identified a handful of possible disposal sites, which are to include facilities for hazardous materials, separating refuse and crushing the concrete chunks. Early assessments indicate 90 percent of the debris can be recycled into road-building material, melted or put to other uses, Byrne said.

Many Haitians are attacking the broken mounds on their own. Impatient homeowners and businesspeople with means have hired digging machines and workers to clear their properties. Concrete debris has been dumped hurriedly along the side of one of the main roads leaving the city.

Destitute Haitians have sought to turn rubble into opportunity. The destruction has spawned a new scavenging specialty in a city where jobs were already scarce. Around the city, residents clamber over the chalky piles with undersized hammers, shovels, hacksaws and, most often, bare hands.

"Everybody has to figure out a way to survive until things get back in place," said Demarseilles Nelson, who after half a day of scavenging with bare hands had piled his wheelbarrow with a 3-foot-high stack of metal scraps. His yield included a manual typewriter that appeared to date to the days of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, the 1960s-era dictator.

Impromptu scrap markets have sprung up where enterprising young men with homemade scales buy steel rebar they drag away by hand or in shabby wheelbarrows.

In one forlorn corner of the city, amid dust and truck exhaust, 16-year-old Nahem Inora was offering 4 cents a pound for the metal. He said he planned to resell it to big-time traders for about 7 cents a pound. He had arrived that morning with $20 and had burned through half of it within hours.

"I would be more successful if I had more money to buy steel," Inora said. Waiting to sell their treasure were two boys who had carried and dragged a grimy sack loaded with 2-foot lengths of rebar.

The piles of rubble entomb an unknown number of dead — a reality that will require sensitivity when it comes to clearing. That could mean digging by hand in places where bodies are believed buried.

photos - military project - part 1

Marie's hut took a good shaking in the earthquake. The guys took it down to rebuild it bigger and stronger.

Benson helped out with the sledgehammer. He is a strong boy!

Everybody lended a hand to tear down Marie's hut. It was fun!

Everything looks neat now!

The rubble was hauled across the street to form a new rubble pile! Hopefully the dump trucks will make a return visit to haul it away!

photos - military project - part 2

The children are enjoying their new picnic table!

The new playground looks great!

We just need to anchor in the new swing set.

We received some donated playground equipment too which was added to the playground.

The children played some basketball with a few of the soldiers. I did too!

photos - military project - part 3

Manu had fun playing football with the captain.

Manu isn't shy. He made a lot of friends with the military.

Junior designed a thank you letter from everyone here at Coram Deo.

Manu and Benson presented a thank you to the Lt. Colonel who is head of the Canadian military operations here in Haiti. There are around 2000 troops here from Canada.

One of the soldiers was putting on the finishing touches on the second wall.

photos - military project - part 4

Everybody checked out the rooftop view from our house. We are thankful that it is still standing!

Equipment was stored in the truck.

A photographer was there to take photos of the finished project.

Some took a break waiting for the officers to arrive.

We posed for a group photo in front of the Canadian flag. Yay Canada!

photos - military project - part 5

Everybody posed by the new wall!

The officers also posed for a picture in front of Coram Deo. It was great that they allowed a military work team to do a project here at our house.

It was good too for the military to meet all the members of our work teams from Canada that we have had stay here the last few weeks. It's been a busy time!

The soldiers are getting ready to leave after their visit.

Everyone boarded the bus.

photos - military project - part 6

It was busy in front of the house. People were curious to see who the visitors were.

At the end of the day, everyone packed up and loaded the bus.

The children made a lot of friends with the military!

We now have 2 new walls to help us with securing the yard!

Kim and Amos are striking a soldier pose!