LÉOGÂNE, HAITI // Seven months pregnant and with her broken leg bound in a makeshift splint of cardboard and bandages, Chantale Zamer groans after riding a motorbike pillion through the midday sun in a desperate search for doctors.
Like many Haitians from the port town of Léogâne - the epicentre of the devastating earthquake that levelled much of this Caribbean nation - the 22-year-old urgently needs to benefit from aid that has begun reaching the capital, Port-au-Prince, some 29km to the east.
The 7.0-magnitude quake devastated swathes of a coastline that was until recently a popular weekend beach retreat, pumping lava through the earth's crust and sending jets of boiling water steaming from the Canal de Sud metres into the air.
"We just need to see a doctor," said Ms Zamer's anxious boyfriend, 28-year-old businessman Antoine Louisant, while sprinkling water on the expectant mother's forehead. "We have nothing left. No money, only the little water that's left here in this bottle."
The Léogâne residents were among hundreds of earthquake survivors who headed to the College Crétien New Missions after a local radio station broadcast news that medics had reached an area hitherto blocked by quake-ravaged roads.
But arrivals quickly realised that the Christian mission offered "nothing but Band-Aids" and a water source deemed unsafe to drink. Dozens looked on as a screaming naked woman had tender wounds on her chest and thighs dressed by amateur medics.
"There is nothing here - no hospitals, no government, no police," said Alfonse Dieudsi, 22, a teacher heading from the capital to rural western Haiti. "The people here have passed many days without food, water or sanitation. Nobody is coming. The government does not care about them."
Léogâne was formerly a sun-soaked town renowned for its distilleries and stone sculptors, but on January 12 it became home to the 137,000 Haitians most badly hit by the nation's worst earthquake in 150 years.
More than 80 per cent of the town's buildings were destroyed, forcing survivors to salvage pots, pans and food from the rubble and build huts out of plastic sheets and sticks, forming a labyrinthine shanty town on the playing fields beside Anacaona College.
On Monday, Prof Anthony Paul, from the Alabama-based National Association for the Prevention of Starvation, said his six medics from Alabama were among the first aid workers to reach the wounded residents of Léogâne's sprawling camps.
"Everything has been focused on Port-au-Prince so far - but this place is 10 times worse," he said. "Look at the damage to the houses. All the hospitals have come crashing down. These people have wounds that need dressing, broken bones. They haven't seen anyone."
As he spoke, a Haitian woman in her twenties collapsed in the tropical heat - which doctors speedily diagnosed as the result of a head injury sustained during the earthquake before sending her for treatment in the capital.
Residents of Léogâne, a sugar cane town, describe the powerful roar of a merciless earthquake that buried hundreds of children under three collapsed schools, the École des Frères, the École des Soeurs and the École des Infirmières.
David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN's blue helmet operation in Haiti, known as Minustah, said 850 Canadian troops aimed to get aid workers into the earthquake epicentre zone by opening roads that were ripped apart by seismic ruptures.
"There is no miracle. Every disaster - a tsunami, an earthquake or a war - there is no such thing as instant aid for everybody," he said.
"It takes time to get in and get organised and reach the beneficiaries. And we're working non-stop doing everything we can."
But for anxious mother Carline Mervilus - and many others struggling to survive on the road that connects the capital with Léogâne - that support from overseas donors may arrive too late.
The 35-year-old from Montreal waited outside the UN's Sri Lankan-staffed base, Army Camp Brache, hoping peacekeepers could get her three young children, mother and father back to the nearby capital and onwards to Canada.
"The UN is not helping us," she said. "They're waiting for the commander to come. I'm angry at their lack of action. They're sitting inside with their food and water and they're OK - and I'm locked outside and cannot get in."
jreinl@thenational.ae
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Super Saturday race card
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
