Ten days have passed since life changed for the residents of Haiti. With current estimates of up to 200,000 dead and a half million injured, the residents of Haiti find themselves in dire need of aid. Haiti was already suffering from a troubled infrastructure before the quake struck, but now even basic needs such as running water is in short supply.

The question has come up about what to do with the victims of the Haiti earthquake. There are injured people needing care, orphans needing families, and survivors needing a place to live and rebuild their lives. There has already been one planeload of Haitian orphans that have arrived in the US to be adopted; though these were children that were orphaned before the quake hit. Who knows how many more there might be now.

The USNS Mercy, a naval Hospital ship, has reached the disaster zone to provide medical aid to those who were seriously injured. With a large medical staff and modern equipment, the ship is the primary medical facility in the region. Those who are in stable condition have been flown out to receive care outside of Haiti. This frees up the services of the Mercy and private groups like Doctors without Borders to treat those that cannot leave.

There is only one option for us when it comes to these two groups – provide them all the help we can. But what about those that aren’t injured or those Haitians currently visiting in the US? What should we do for them?

Haitians currently residing in the US have the access to apply for Temporary Protected Status, allowing them to extend their visas 18 months. This will allow them to reside here, work, and send money back home to family members as they rebuild their country. If they have no family, this gives them time to wait until conditions back home improve before the return to Haiti.

The United States is also making the Guantanamo Bay base available for temporary housing if needed. In the past, Gitmo has been used to house Haitian refugees. During the 1990s, Haiti fell into turmoil as the democratically elected President was overthrown, an economic embargo was placed on the nation, and then an international military intervention to reinstate the President. Refugees were brought to the base fleeing the violence and chaos, so bringing quake survivors to Gitmo wouldn’t be anything new. The length of their stay will have to be decided before anyone is brought over though, since we don’t want to turn it into a permanent settlement.

How about bringing them to the United States? Canada has already considered this action. There is already a sizable Haitian population in Canada, primarily in Quebec. By easing the rules for reunification, Haitian citizens can move to the country and reunite with their families. This is an option the US could consider; though with our immigration system, it might be a slow and stressful procedure.

Ideally, we would be able to accept as many Haitians as possible, and bestow upon them the blessings our nation has to provide. But with a down economy with over 10% unemployed, as sudden influx of minimally trained adults would swamp an already struggling workforce. As it is, the US is already planning to deport Haitians who are here illegally once conditions in Haiti improve enough to make deportation practical.

For now, it is probably in our best interest to help Haiti coordinate their workforce to rebuild their nation. Ensuring their construction codes are updated to take into account strong quakes as the one 10 days ago, rebuilding their infrastructure, and supplying them with basic necessities should be our long-term goal. A population striving towards a national goal following such a cataclysmic event will help keep the population united while healing both the physical and emotional scars left by the quake.

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