ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Im Robert Siegel in Washington.
MADELEINE BRAND, host:
And in California, Im Madeleine Brand.
Its been two weeks since a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti. The country has been flooded with emergency aid from foreign governments, the U.N. and lots of NGOs.
In the chaotic aftermath, it wasnt always clear who was in charge of the recovery effort until now. Yesterday in Montreal, the U.N announced a new coordination plan for Haiti. Tony Banbury had a hand in creating that plan. Hes the acting deputy head of the U.N. mission in Haiti.
Mr. TONY BANBURY (Acting Deputy Head, U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti): As of today, we open something called the Joint Operations and Tasking Center. That center will receive all the priority requirements from the humanitarian community: food, water, shelter, et cetera. And in that center, they will send someone from the humanitarian community, someone from the U.N. military, someone from the U.N. police, someone from the U.S. military and they will take on all those requirements and figure out how to meet them there.
Its the one place where all the operations will come together in Port-au-Prince. And with that in place as of today, Im confident that we are going to be delivering well-coordinated, well-planned operations.
BRAND: I supposed that youre at a very sensitive juncture right now when it comes to planning for relief because, as weve seen in other natural disasters, relief efforts can, down the road, end up actually harming the population when these relief camps become permanent.
Mr. BANBURY: That is a big concern for us and thats why its so essential to have this coordination architecture in place so the entire range of response from the capitals and down to the field is done in an intelligent manner with experts providing good advice. Shelter and camps is a great example. There had been a proposal to start building camps for 100,000 people. But the rainy season is coming, there are huge water sanitation issues, huge public security issues there. If we have a tent city that turns into a slum and we have to dedicate security resources to it and draw it away from, say, relief efforts, that has big and bad implications. And so we are determined to avoid all of the common mistakes weve seen in the past.
BRAND: So, even if it means that people would have to spend a few more days, maybe weeks sleeping on the streets, its better that that happens rather than tent camps are hastily put up that then turn into long-term slums.
Mr. BANBURY: One of the greatest challenges after a sudden-onset natural disaster is that the relief community, the United Nations, we have to do everything at the same time. The Haitian people dont have a day to wait. They deserve and need tents now, but we shouldnt rush to a longer-term solution until we have a very good one, and were discussing what the solution should be with the government now.
BRAND: Are all the NGOs on board with this plan or some of them just going to operate independently?
Mr. BANBURY: Im sure some will operate independently. And thats not such a bad thing necessarily. If there is an NGO thats long established in Haiti is perhaps focused on small geographical area, is very adept at delivery of certain kind of service, they dont necessarily need to be part of this much bigger complex operation that has been developed.
What needs to be avoided is the kind of thing that happened today, where someone sends in a ship and puts it off the port of Port-au-Prince with the best of intentions to provide relief supplies, but its not through an established organization. Theres no one to receive it. It clogs up the port. It disrupts distribution channels. And that type of initiative does complicate the smooth operations were trying to develop.
BRAND: I want to ask you what its like for you to personally work there. The U.N. mission building was destroyed in the earthquake and many of your colleagues were killed. Whats it like for you to come to work now in Port-au-Prince?
Mr. BANBURY: For a U.N. peacekeeper, I think Haiti is the worst place to be now and the best place to be now. And its so hard to be here because friends of ours were killed. I have replaced someone who died in the earthquake. And the people here have all lost a friend. And its difficult. But the Haitian people need our help and this is where we want to be.
And so, people are working until midnight every night. Were sleeping on cots in an office. There were about 80 of us sharing a shower. But spirits are high and theres a strong, strong commitment to do whatever we can to bring help to the Haitian people. And were getting the job done.
BRAND: Well, thank you very much.
Mr. BANBURY: Its been a pleasure speaking with you.
BRAND: Thats Tony Banbury. Hes the acting deputy head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti.