LONDON (AlertNet) – When Chelsea footballer Florent Malouda scores a goal he celebrates with a quirky hand sign – it’s his way of urging the world not to forget the people of Haiti as they try to rebuild their lives after last year’s devastating quake.
The hand gesture – combining a flat palm and victory sign – represents the logo of a charity run by his friend the Haitian-born hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. Malouda is an ambassador for the singer’s Yele Haiti foundation.
Speaking on the eve of the quake anniversary, the Chelsea winger paid tribute to the amazing resilience of the survivors he had met and said their determination gave hope for the country’s future.
“Since the earthquake they have been through hurricanes and a cholera epidemic,” he said. “It’s still a state of emergency even after one year. My message is don’t forget the Haitian people and don’t think that everything is fixed. It’s a really, really long-term process.”
The Jan. 12 quake killed some 250,000 people and left around 1.5 million homeless. Most are still living in appallingly crowded and dangerous camps around the shattered capital Port-au-Prince.
“I don’t like it when people call it an anniversary because an anniversary is a reason to celebrate,” Malouda added. “I’d rather say a memorial when I think about this date.”
The footballer, who comes from French Guiana and plays for France’s national team, visited Haiti six months after the catastrophe and the trip had a profound effect on him.
“My daughter was one month old when I visited and I was seeing babies with injuries. It really hurts. But you have to be strong. To see me crying doesn’t help them. That’s not what they need,” he said.
Malouda is particularly haunted by the memory of one elderly woman who had lost her family and hadn’t eaten for days.
“She had seen more than I will ever see,” he said. “I was sitting there wondering what can I say to bring comfort … and what will happen when we’re gone. How will she survive? I still wonder about her.”
FOOTBALL CRAZY
But amid the terrible suffering, Malouda said he witnessed great dignity.
“We went to Port-au-Prince and it was chaos. People were trying to rebuild their lives but there was no water, no electricity. Some of the first tent camps on the road from the airport had already been destroyed by the wind. I wondered how they could live in such difficult conditions.
“But when you spoke to people you could feel that, no matter what happens, they were still positive and they still believed in life. It was really inspiring.
“They’ve been through such difficulty but they are not aggressive, they are not complaining. When you distribute food or kits everyone waits their turn. I don’t know if I would be like that. It teaches you a life lesson.”
Malouda’s visit to Haiti coincided with the World Cup and he was amazed to see people glued to TV sets amid the devastation.
“I’d say football must be their second religion,” he added. “They know everything about football. They just love it. That’s the power of football. It’s all about joy and passion, and it lets them forget their problems.”
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS
Malouda has been friends with Jean since inviting him to perform at a musical festival in 2009 to raise funds for his own foundation which helps people in French Guiana. After the quake he offered to release Jean’s concert on DVD to raise funds for Yele’s work in Haiti.
The footballer says he has thrown his weight behind Yele because it is focussing on long-term solutions for rebuilding the country as well as providing emergency aid like clean water.
Education and jobs are key to Haiti’s future, he said. Yele is already paying people to carry out sanitation work which gives them an income and restores their self-esteem. And there are plans to set up schemes to train people in skills like carpentry and plumbing.
“The purpose is to give them the tools so that they can help themselves so that they are not always dependent on external aid,” Malouda added.
The footballer himself is helping Jean with an ambitious project to set up a school providing first class education with an emphasis on sport and music. Malouda will be in charge of the sports. Many of the students will initially come from the 1,000 or so camps in and around the city.
During his trip Malouda also helped Yele launch a major tree-planting programme. That may sound an odd thing to be doing when the country is on its knees, but he says reforesting Haiti is crucial for its recovery.
Over the years, Haiti’s trees have been cut down for charcoal. The near-total deforestation threatens food and water supplies and means the country often suffers serious flooding and landslides when hurricanes strike.
“When you arrive by plane it’s quite striking. On one side you have Dominican Republic – it’s green all over – but when you arrive over Haiti you see this huge difference … it’s an ecological disaster,” Malouda explained.
“DON’T GIVE UP”
The post-quake aid operation in Haiti has been slated for its slow progress and a lack of co-ordination, but Malouda said you have to remember the enormity of the task.
“It’s unfair to criticise all the aid work because some people make mistakes. You also have people who are really helping. It’s important to speak about what has gone wrong, but you have to make a distinction. You cannot put everyone in the same bag. That’s why I say keep the trust.”
Malouda admitted it was sometimes difficult to change people’s perception that Haiti is a country which will always struggle.
But he added: “I think if they have hope on the ground, we should not give up when it comes to helping them.”
For more about Florent Malouda’s DVD for Haiti visit his website
