Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the massive earthquake which shook Haiti, leveling a substantial amount of the country, and leaving thousands of people injured or dead.  Thousands more are still living in tent cities, and struggling to reclaim their lives.

“The people of Haiti have been through so much in their history - hurricanes, extreme political upheaval, decades of widespread poverty, and this earthquake, followed by a very slow road to recovery.  The Haitian people are strong and resilient, but they need help from the international community.  

“This earthquake left over 200,000 dead, hundreds of thousands more injured, and tens of thousands of homes reduced to rubble.  The livelihoods of millions were destroyed, and have yet to recover.  I visited Haiti shortly after the tragedy and it was more horrible a situation than anything we could have imagined.  There were thousands of souls in the streets wandering – nothing to do, nowhere to go, everything lost. 

“There are still rows and rows of tents, shacks and temporary shelters for families.  This is no way for people to live.  As Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I urged robust and expedited aid.  The United States has provided over $1.1 billion for relief and reconstruction, including over 13,000 temporary shelters for over 68,000 Haitians until their country can stand again on its own. 

“We still must do more, a civilized society just cannot stand by and watch as millions still lack clean water, live in squalor and barely survive from day to day.  President Obama rightfully granted temporary protected status to undocumented Haitians in the United States – something which I have long called for – but that is just a first step.  There are 55,000 Haitians who have approved immigration applications to join their families in the United States – many in my district in Spring Valley, New York, located in the Town of Ramapo – but are delayed due to bureaucratic backlogs.  It makes moral sense, as recently stated by the Washington Post, to move them to the front of the line. 

“I attended an event on Monday in Ramapo, where a model tent city was created to shine a light on the humanitarian tragedy in Haiti.  I commend the Town of Ramapo, the Rockland County Haiti Relief and other Haitian-American organizations for helping our community remember what is happening in Haiti.  One year may have passed, but it seems like many more to the people still living in tents.  I urge the American people, and I call on Congress, to continue to help our neighbors to the south as they work their way out of this disaster.”

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