Northern New Mexicans looking for a close way to help Haitians have a friend in Harold Salomon, of Los Alamos. He is the director of American Haitian Association for Medical, Economical and Educational support or Americhelp
Salomon, an accountant from Haiti, was already planning to make a trip home Feb. 16 when the earthquake Jan. 13 rocked his hometown of Port au Prince. He worked out arrangements and left Tuesday. He plans to return Saturday and take a volunteer group back with him Feb. 16 to Port au Prince.
Salomon owns two houses in Port au Prince. When he moved to New Jersey in 1993 he turned them into rentals. He was an accountant working for the Haitian government and couldn’t take it anymore.
“When I saw duplicate invoices to be paid to people for bribes I would not process them,” Salomon said Monday from his home in Los Alamos. “I got in trouble for that. Can you imagine?”
He had a friend in New Jersey who sponsored him into the country. From there his masters degree in accounting got him head-hunted by HYTEK in Los Alamos.
He converted his two houses into a medical center in 2007 and began sending medical supplies, drugs and other resources to the 11-person operation. When the hurricanes struck in 2008, he gathered clothes, toothpaste, soap and other personal items to be shipped to Haiti. But the corruption at ports and the airport proved too much for him.
“I had Mountain View Church here in Los Alamos gathering donations. We sent 46 boxes of supplies and they are still sitting in customs, waiting to be released,” Salomon said. He visited in December 2008 and tried to wrestle the boxes free but bureaucracy got the better of him as he only had a week in Haiti. The supplies remain at the port.
For that reason and many others Salomon said he hopes the government of Haiti gets no funding from anyone.
“I am hopeful the government of Haiti will be left aside,” he said. “Do not give them any aid or help because it won’t go to the people who need it.”
The Clinic Today
Salomon said his clinic is still standing and is stocked with supplies he shipped in December. He spoke with a neighbor, who is watching his properties. His neighbor said the neighborhood wasn’t hit that badly.
But the employees took a huge hit. Some have lost family members and Salomon said almost all of them had lost their homes. He spoke with one of the doctors and one of the technicians, a cousin, and they were trying to take care of themselves and their families.
The clinics are fully equipped with ultrasound equipment, an x-ray machine, pharmacy, lab and waiting room. Salomon just needs to get doctors there. He said he hopes to bring more supplies through the Dominican Republic and get doctors in Port au Prince already there, who are seeking a theater in which to work.
He’s also looking for people who have medical skills to go with him.
Traditionally, Salomon gathered medical supplies in Northern New Mexico, shipped them via UPS to Miami and then a Miami company, Perimedics, would ship them by boat to Port au Prince. His staff in Haiti would catch the shipment there. He has certified medical people in Los Alamos who obtain the drugs for him legally.
Fighting Corruption
He knows the corruption in Haiti is rampant, and works around it. Last trip a friend met him at the airport, grabbed his bags and took them outside before Salomon processed. He went through customs fine, bagless.
He’s a strong proponent of Non Governmental Organizations, upon which Haiti deeply depends. These are mostly churches and groups like Salomon’s who are helping Haitians directly, circumventing the traditional system because it skims so much or blocks help because corrupt officials didn’t get a cut.
“I sent 70 pounds of medicine almost two years ago and it was taken at customs,” Salomon said. “I went to try to get it six months later and the director of the airport asked, ‘Why didn’t you buy the drugs in Haiti?’ I didn’t think that deserved an answer.”
Salomon will circumvent the system now. He said everyone who goes Feb. 16 can take two bags weighing 55 pounds each. Medical supplies will dominate the luggage.
“The U.S. has control of the airport now so I shouldn’t have trouble bringing in resources to help,” he said.
Then he’ll go to the Dominican Republic and buy medical supplies and drive them over the border.
“I know the (Haitian) people,” he said. “I speak the language. I know who needs what and how to get it to them.”
Just keep the government out of his way.
Salomon said it will take years to recover and rebuild. The corruption is so bad, much of the funding going to the Haitian government won’t go to help the people. That will slow progress.
“I was told the Dominican Republic was going to provide tractors (to dig out survivors) and local government was against it,” he said. “But people took it upon themselves to save each other. They have to work against the government that is waiting for bribes. The officials and government of Haiti should be kept on the side.”
The situation in Haiti was dire a few years ago, in the best of times. Then the price of food skyrocketed with the oil crisis in the summer of 2008. That was followed by several tropical storms and hurricanes. When the country could not stand another hit, the earthquake struck.
“Everyone is just living with whatever they had on their back at the time,” he said.
Salomon welcomes donations at his website www.americhelp.org. He needs the money to buy medical supplies in the Dominican Republic. Volunteers wishing to go with him Feb. 16-23 can also contact him through that web site. He cannot take donations of food or clothes as there is no way currently to get them into the country. You can also mail checks to: AHAMES, 108 Agate Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544.