Haiti, January 12 2010

It was a perfectly normal Tuesday until at 16:53 local time an earthquake with a catastrophic magnitude of 7.0 M changed the most densely populated part of Haiti into a disaster area of unparalleled scale in the history of mankind. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded, and as the situation is still not considered safe people do not dare to live in the few houses that remained erect. 90% of the school buildings collapsed and as in most of them lessons were still going on most casualties are amongst children up to 20.

Many of those that survived were severally injured and the day I arrived in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince (Jan. 31), they were still doing some 100 amputations a day in just one hospital adding to the 3.000 done there already, many of which were performed without anesthesia using a guillotine method. Including all other hospitals the total number of severally injured and now handicapped for life is immense. Most hospitals crumbled down at January 12 as well, so many patients and medical staff lost their lives as well, and field hospitals flown in from all over the world are trying to deal with a total number of 300.000 wounded.

The earthquake affected a total of 3 million people, over 212.000 (Feb. 8) have been counted dead, many more are still under the concrete, and 280.000 (some 75%) of all buildings in the area have collapsed or are severely damaged. Port-au-Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed; tens of thousands of bodies were buried in mass graves.

Those buildings that stayed intact were either traditionally built or under strict supervision as to the quality of concrete and cement, making this a disaster not only caused by nature, but also by poverty driven facets of human nature ranging from careless to criminal building practices.

As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Insufficient communication, transport, supplies of food, water and medicines were still frustrating relief work three weeks after the event. Despite of that news reports on looting and violence gave an incorrect picture of the real situation, as I have felt safe wherever I went.

Trauma relief

Shortly after the event - all Haitians speak of January 12, as that is when their internal clock came to a standstill - I realized that homeopathy, in particular a genus traumaticus remedy for Natural Catastrophe Trauma (PC305z), would be very valuable in treating PTSD in Haiti. But as rescue, first aid operations and supplies clearly had priority in the first weeks I considered it premature to visit Haiti. When I was invited by Diane Cotman of Volunteers of America to come and work in Haiti and set up a small clinic in the tent city on the Episcopal Church premises of College Ste. Pierre I complied, as in this setting we would not disturb or uses resources of those providing acute relief.

At College Ste. Pierre we treated hundreds of people from the tent city and instructed 40 priests and 10 deacons how to treat the people in the areas they represent. Diane is following up on this to realise the goal of treating al those connected to this church, so we hope that many thousands will receive the few drops that can get their internal clock into motion again, relief them from the past and bring them back in the here and now.

Similar to treating epidemics in Africa I've used the most simple approach possible so others can easily, safely and effectively disperse the remedy. 555 stands for banging the bottle 5 times, giving 5 drops in the mouth that should be kept there for 5 seconds. As this is not a chronic conditions but trauma from an acute event giving one dose is usually enough.

Results

The totality of symptoms related to the earthquake is very diverse, and include: palpitations; fear; the feeling the world is turning, moving or opening up; apathy with just lying or sitting and staring; no appetite or vomiting on trying to eat; restlessness with tendency to move or run; grief over loss; hopelessness; headaches or pain in the heart region or abdomen; pains related to injuries during the event; etcetera.

The usual response to PC305z Diane and I have seen is that in a matter of a day the symptoms clearly improve, and that only those that were severely traumatised either mentally or physically would need an extra dose. Others that we had instructed to got out into tent areas and treat people reported the same.


M.T. is a 62-y-o woman. Ever since the earthquake she has the feeling the earth is still shaking, so she is in continuous alert. She is depressed and looks miserable. Like many others she lost family members and her house. I see her again two after one dose of PC305z. She smiles and even looks happy; a totally different woman. When I ask her about the feeling that the earth is shaking she tells me it is completely gone.

O. is a 23-y-o man. Ever since the earthquake he is afraid, has palpitations, and can't sit still. All of the time he has the feeling he should run. One day later the fear has gone down a lot. He feels much more relaxed. He still doesn't like to be in a building for too long, as aftershocks are still expected; a healthy response I think.

J. is a 25-y-o man that has the feeling the world is turning. Besides that he wakes up with palpitations and fear at least three times per night. The next morning he tells me he slept all night long without waking up once. At 7 AM he woke up refreshed without any fear, palpitation or turning feeling.

Follow-up

It may be obvious that even if we have reached several thousands of people to treat their trauma, this is still a fraction of those that could benefit from it. Treating an as large as possible number is not only important to reduce current suffering, but also to bring Haitians back into the driver's seat so they can built up a new future for themselves and their country.

In the mean time another homeopath has travelled to Haiti with sufficient supplies to treat many thousands more, and we hope to send more homeopaths soon. Your help as volunteer or donor is therefore very much appreciated.