Hope for Haiti? Our World

Our World. Two years on from the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we

have returned to find out how the country is coping.

January 12th, 2010. A powerful earthquake measuring seven on the

Richter scale devastates Haiti. More than 200,000 people are killed.

The heart of government is It has been painfully slow, but

Haiti is starting to recover. Half the rubble has been cleared. Those

made homeless are beginning to leave the camps. 80's new President,

President Michel Martelly, has ambitious plans. -- Haiti's. The

problems are profound. Poverty, the trauma of the earthquake, and a

cholera epidemic. Yet upbeat years of political violence and natural

It is late afternoon in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. The daily

rituals of life which have been suspended by the earthquake are

resuming. This park was a sea of tense immediately after the

earthquake. People who have lost their homes settled here. -- tents.

Now they have moved out and normal life is returning. It is a small

sign of progress. As you can see her body was washed under the

rubble. Talia Jacques is making headway to. We found her under the

rubble, here. This is where she was nearly killed and where her sister

and grandmother perish. That night, her father feared he had lost not

one but two daughters. Two years on, Talia Jacques has made a

spectacular recovery. Her father has moved his family to the

countryside, fearing another aspect. She is going well. Life is not as

great in Haiti. There are no jobs. I'm fighting. High in the hills

above Port-au-Prince lose the man who is determined to revive Haiti's

fortunes. -- leaves the man. It is a huge challenge in a country where

80 out of ten million people do not have electricity and half of the

population is illiterate. President Michel Martelly is a popular singer

turned politician. He campaigned on the slogan, Tet Kale, a Creole play

on words meaning both the shaven- headed one and all the way. How

much progress has been made in rebuilding Haidee? Definitely not

enough. -- Haiti. But since I have been in power I would say that we

have shown strong signals that things are changing and moving in

Haiti. We were slow to move the people out of the cab. Lately we

have been able to do it. I can say that is a huge step. These can near

the airport is virtually empty now. -- this can. The last few people

are packing up. The government held by aid agencies is giving grants to

5,000 families in the most visible camps so they can rent new homes

for one year. Nearby, I meet Jessica. With the crowd of $500

from the Red Cross, she has moved her five children into this tiny

apartment. It is better than living in a tent, she tells me. But I

don't have a job. So how will I pay my rent next year? There are still

500,000 people living under canvas. This is the notorious that sank

camp. The night before we filmed, and gang of criminals rate of five

women here. Marie Therese longs for the day when she has the chance to

move out. TRANSLATION: I live in fear every night. This place is

dangerous. What do you say to those people who are living in the camps

that you have not identified as a priority for moving people out of?

They are a priority. The thing is not match how long must they stay

there? -- the thing is... I wish I could do it. Encouraged by his

leadership, Canada's government pledged $20 million to help people

move out of one of the biggest cancer right to buy the

presidential palace. -- biggest camps. Welcoming the announcement,

the populace Haitian leader named all of the camps that have been

cleared including one where aid agencies say privately people were

forced out. That did not stop the President claiming it as a success.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, Haitian swerve urged to build back

better, to build houses that could withstand another earthquake. And

one proudly shows me his new house, built with the help of US aid

agencies. The concrete has been lined with steel and reinforced

with Ward to absorb the shock of tremors. It is very good. I'd feel

safe here. Now his focus is trying to find a job to provide for his

girls. For millions of Haitians, daily life is a struggle. Just

finding enough to eat is difficult, let alone finding a job. 80% of

people live on less than $2 and day. Four Patients to a state is poverty

they need jobs. But where are those jobs going to come from? --

fascinations. Many Haitians spend their days engaged in what is

called Petit Commons. Buying and selling. 70% of people here either

do not have a job or are under employed. Even before the

earthquake half of Haiti's children and did not go to school. The

Government is trying to change this, creating 900,000 free school places.

To develop Haiti you need infrastructure, roads. But we also

believe it is time to reconstruct the Haitian per signer. Send out

kids to school. Too many kids are on the streets. They have no access

to healthcare. Once the children have left school, where can they

work? Tourism is one possibility. Haiti is a beautiful Caribbean

island which once had a thriving tourism industry. And there is a

new industrial park in the north. The US has weighed the import --

has waived the import tax on goods from here. Have you intend to

create jobs? By showing the investors, whether they are Haitian

for foreigners, which will really - - remote debate patience to work

again. -- Haitians. Working the land... Work is what these young

men in the earthquake survivors camp want. And they want to believe

their circumstances will change. But they are cynical. TRANSLATION:

I have never seen hope. All of the President's make promises and

nothing ever happens. I do not have a job. I sit here all day, his

friend tells me. A few miles away on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince,

I find a dedicated group who are training for jobs that do not yet

exist. Meet Haiti's volunteer Army. These enthusiastic would-be

soldiers want to join the Army. There is not one right now.

President Michel Martelly wants to revive the military. These young

men and women pay for their own uniforms in the hope of one day

been called up. Would the Army help provided jobs? 80's security is the

responsible of UN peacekeepers now. A role Haitian want to provide for

themselves. -- Haiti's. Why have a foreign Army? The UN peacekeepers?

That is right. They can be patient. We are looking for jobs for our

young people. - back Haitians. Why do we of are so many jobs to

foreigners? Despite the enthusiasm of these would-be recruits the

proposal to revive the Army is controversial. Because of this

country's violent past. Previous rulers have used militias to cement

their leadership and silence their opponents. Haiti's Army became a

symbol of coercion and intimidation under the rule of Papa Doc Duvalier.

I have been elected for President for Life. The Army was disbanded in

1995. Critics say if it is to be revived it must be different.

Army we used to have was involved in a lot of crime, Kuta and drug

President Michel Martelly now says he wants to create a Haitian

security force of Barker than an army. -- rather than an army. By

2014, this could be for real. As if Haiti did not have enough to

contend within the aftermath of the earthquake, they now have a cholera

academic -- epidemic. More than 7,000 people have died since the

outbreak began. We drove into the mountains north of the capital to a

town where the cholera outbreak began in October, 2010. People

blame UN peacekeepers from netball, where cholera is endemic, for

introducing the virus. -- Nepal. My feet were sprayed with chlorine on

the way into the village's, retreat and centre in an attempt to contain

the epidemic. Today, there was only one patient but half a million

people have been infected since the outbreak began. The disease is not

gone from here by any means and when the rainy season arrives, we

will see an increase in cases. does that happen? People take water

from the river that is contaminated with the disease. They take water

from contaminated sources. This is not a question of ignorance but of

access and people do not have access to clean water. Koller will

still continue to rise. The people of this village do not have clean

water but they do have a brand new state-of-the-art teaching hospital,

which will open soon. This was built by an American organisation

dedicated to providing medical care for the poor in partnership with

Haiti's government. David Walton showed me around the hospital, the

first of its kind in rural Haiti. If this place had been functioning

when the cholera outbreak began, what difference would it have made?

There would have been less vitality is. It would not have prevented the

disease from taking root but certainly people who died in the

community would not have died were this hospital in operation one year

ago. This village was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the cholera

epidemic. Dr Paul Phar Lap, who has worked here for almost 30 years,

explained how the disease has extended its reach. Haiti has the

largest, epidemic in the world today and that is staggering. But a

day and, not unforeseen. If you introduce a package and like

cholera into an area that is deemed the most water insecure country in

the world, it will explode and it did.

And missed the current troubles, it is easy to forget that Haiti has a

proud history. This is the first independent nation in the Caribbean.

Slaves rebelled against the French. There is no limit to what the

President's government may achieve but the shadow of the past,

political violence compound and by the effects of the earthquake is a

long one. Opposite the presidential palace, those in this refugee camp

will be leaving the only home some of them have ever known. They will

be given one year's rent to move but then what? Some do not want to

leave. Everybody will go back to the street to ones they cannot pay

their rent. Would you rather go back to the refugee camp? Many of

the aid agencies who came to help in the aftermath of the earthquake

are withdrawing, moving on to other emergencies around the world. The

crisis stage may be over but for the people here, there is still so

much to contend with. My family was just hanging around, watching TV...

Despite all he has enjoyed, astral is more optimistic. Seeing the

teddy bear they used to fight over brings back memories.

TRANSLATION: We would chase each other, we both wanted Fernando.

hopes that Haiti finally has a government in place which will do

what needs to be done. I do not know about rebuilding but the

process is very slow. President Mark Kelly is doing well. -- the

President is doing well. I hope that things can get done as soon as

possible but he is not doing it as fast as we hoped. I do hope he is

doing it. After all the turmoil and tragedy, a veteran observers of

Haiti also sees signs of progress. There is a sense of momentum at the

moment and the new government has focused on getting people out of

these refugee camps, getting children into school and creating

jobs. Those of great achievements. Could this be something of a

turning point if those funds that were pledged are released? If that

can be delivered and we can do the implementation side, get that here

and into the projects, there will be growth in the economy, creations

of hundreds of thousands of jobs. And yet the President has just

suffered a setback. His prime minister abruptly resigned.

Diplomats and aid agencies who thought this government was dynamic

now fear that aid pledged to Haiti will not be used until a new prime

minister is appointed. Some worry whether the singer turned

politician could be yet another strongman in a country that has

already seen too many. government has existed but never to

serve the people. If the President himself is realistic about the task

ahead. Haiti has a bit wound and that wind is deep. We cannot solve

everything in one day. You must plant the tree before you can enjoy

the shadow. You have got to let it grow, or five years, four years.

Changing the country, the lives of the Haitian people, it is not going

to be easy. We have so many problems, so many problems.

Problems in every sector. We have got to give everyone access to

healthcare. It is not easy when for the last 50 years, nobody cared. We

have to rebuild the school system. It is not easy when nobody cared

about it. We have got to be sustainable in terms of producing

rice and coffee. We paid for our independence with coffee. Today, we

import everything. How can things change overnight? Only somebody who

does not understand the complexity of the situation would make

promises like that. The ruins of Haiti's National

Cathedral are a place for cathedral -- reflection and remembrance.