Yolette Etienne has now lived and worked through both of Haiti’s most violent and damaging earthquakes in recent history. And still, “tragedy”, “misfortune” and “catastrophe”, are not words you will find in her lexicon. Driven by deeply personal experiences, she has channeled them into her work as a humanitarian expert, and now as MI Americas’ Country Coordinator in Haiti.

We had the privilege of interviewing her a month after Haiti’s most recent earthquake in August 2021.

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Q: You were in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake. How is this earthquake different?

Yes, I was here. The main difference is location: in 2010, Port-au-Prince (Haiti’s capital) was the epicenter, now the epicenter was in the rural areas in the south. The size, impact, and loss of life in 2010 was enormous, we were all overwhelmed at the national and international level. We didn’t know where to start.

This time, it’s not only about human loss, it’s also about cultural loss. Many churches and monuments of our patrimony were lost. Beyond their symbolic and spiritual importance for the population, these could have generated income through tourism, but now, all of this is lost.

In 2010, there was a feeling of invasion of international organizations. Everyone was doing whatever they wanted, completely marginalizing the population of Haiti, the government of Haiti, and local organizations. Now, there seems to be a change, at least in how we discuss aid in Haiti. We seem to have understood that it’s better to leave space for local organizations. Time will tell how coordination efforts will affect the response this time, and how that will play out in the long-term.

Q: As you mention, there has been much criticism about the way aid has been handled in Haiti. Are cash distributions – a rising trend in humanitarian aid – the best way to get aid directly to the Haitian people?

For me, cash, in and of itself, is not a solution. But cash as a component of good programming is a dignified way to aid the people whom we serve. It also makes economic sense.

If we accompany people and show them how to invest this cash to make it work for them in a sustainable way, we can help them regain their livelihoods, which is fundamentally why we’re here.

The first cash distribution we did in the earthquake’s immediate aftermath was symbolic in quantity. But it showed the population that we trust them to know what they, as individuals, need better than we do.

It also makes economic sense for Haitian markets, many of which (in Les Cayes, Jérémie, and Miragoane) remained intact. By giving them limited cash instead of large food distributions, we are sustaining these local markets.

The important thing is transparency, access, and accountability. From the very beginning, we made sure everyone was aware of the criteria we were using to distribute aid: that we were going to focus on women, the elderly, and those with disabilities. Another difference is that we’re bringing the cash to them. Many NGOs will set up their distributions in larger cities, making it more difficult and dangerous for those who live in rural areas to access this aid. When we localize, we work with the local authorities who give us the list of recipients in their municipality. But while we respect them and their knowledge, we’re also aware of how rampant corruption is at this level. To increase accountability, we’re the ones distributing the cash with our local partners AHAAMES, and we make sure all the criteria are respected. We’ve also built relationships with the local population over many years, we know their situations.

Q: I imagine the insecurity in Haiti has an impact on humanitarian efforts overall. How has it affected our work particularly regarding cash distributions?

The short answer is yes, it’s certainly an issue, and we need to step up our security efforts.

Gangs have the power to limit our movement, they attack convoys and aid workers. Our general feeling is that the government and the police are not in control of this insecurity, so we cannot rely on them for assistance. While gang violence is normally concentrated in urban areas, we’ve witnessed a rise in insecurity in rural areas, which is a concerning trend.

Q: Going forward, what is MI Americas’ plan in Haiti?

We will focus on education, facilitating access to safe drinking water, supporting medical centers, and widespread mental health support for communities and school children, as well as cash distributions.

We’re combining the mental health and educational aspect of our programming because we’re afraid many children will not return to school. Many of those affected – children and families – have never experienced this kind of deep trauma. By both rehabilitating the physical school structures and providing mental health support in and around schools, we’re hoping this will attract children back to school.

To close, I wanted to touch on something more personal.

In the early days of the emergency, our team had created an internal group chat to coordinate our efforts and share information. At one point, Yolette mentioned that one of the 2,200 casualties of the earthquake was one of her dearest friends, a priest named Emile Beldor. In the heat of things, we quickly moved onto logistical and security tasks, but I hadn’t forgotten about that message and wanted to follow up.

Q: This is your home, these are your friends, your family. How are you coping?

It was the same thing in 2010. In 2010, I lost my mother in the earthquake, as well as kids I considered my own. It was very painful, and the only way I found to overcome such things was by supporting others. If you don’t have that, I don’t think you can deal with this kind of situation, and it’s the same thing now.

The friend I lost in this most recent earthquake was a friend I’d known for over 40 years. He was a priest, completely dedicated to the population. And if he was alive, he would have been the first to support hundreds, thousands of people too. That’s also it, every single life is important. Tomorrow, his funeral will take place, and I will not be able to attend because it will be in an area where insecurity is dominant, and I need to do my job. It’s the best way to honor him.

That’s why I thank MI Americas and appreciate the type of work I do: I get to put all my energy into ensuring we are doing this right.

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The conversation lasted for well over an hour, and if it wasn’t clear before that she is an expert and a professional, it certainly was afterwards. But it was only until these last few minutes of our conversation that it became clear what makes her such an effective leader and humanitarian.

We are all touched by loss and grief. In this field, we are often faced with desperation and loss of life at unimaginable scales. But when it is someone else’s life or home that is affected, it’s easier to separate from your own experience.

This was not possible for Yolette. Haiti is her home. She has lost family and friends in the earthquakes, floods, and insecurity that has so deeply affected her country. And still, she forges ahead despite “such experiences”, as she calls them, with grace, fortitude, and steadfast dedication for the good of the people.

*A shorter version of this interview was previously published on the Order of Malta American Association website, which you can find here.