Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


10 Years After Deadly Haiti Quake, Survivors Feel Forgotten

Agence France-Presse

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - Ten years ago, Herlande Mitile was left
   disabled by the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti. Today, she
   uses a wheelchair jury-rigged with a piece of string, which means she
   cannot go far.

   Result: she is trapped in her village outside Port-au-Prince. It was
   meant to be a model for reconstruction of the country after the
   disaster.

   Instead, the 36-year-old Mitile -- who once worked in the capital -- is
   dependent on her neighbors to survive.

   "The doctor told me that if I went to physical therapy, I might walk
   again, but you have to go into the city for that. You need money for
   public transport and I don't have any," she explained.

   "That's how I have become even more handicapped than I was to begin
   with," added Mitile, who has metal plates screwed into her hip and
   spine.

   Before January 12, 2010, she did not know a thing about earthquakes or
   the damage they can do.

   But on that Tuesday, more than 200,000 Haitians were killed by the
   roaring temblor, many of them crushed to death when substandard
   concrete buildings crumbled on top of them.

   Mitile was rescued from the debris eight days after the 7.0-magnitude
   quake. She was alive, but gravely injured.

.