"Communication and coordination are fundamental"

What is your task?

"I have been seconded - which means "loaned" to the Church of Sweden by my employer, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in order to facilitate the coordination of ACT Alliance operations in the country. ACT is a coordinating organisation for churches and church-related organisations all over the world. The Lutheran World Federation, with its own field office and good contacts with local organisations in Haiti, is leading ACT's disaster operations on site."

What will you be doing specifically?

"The Church of Sweden/ACT will address water and sanitation, food distribution, provisional housing and psycho-social measures. This may be done in tent schools for children. This gives parents more time and the children a social context in which to talk about their experiences and share their grief with others."

You lived and worked in Haiti before. How will your previous experience be of use to you?

"Between 1997 and 1999 I led the work of building up the Lutheran World Federation regional office in Haiti and worked for example with the political dialogue between actors who had not spoken to each other for 10 years. I believe that I can possibly contribute something in this situation, since I speak the local language, French Creole, and I know how the civil society works. And I can find my way around Port-au-Prince."

What do you expect to find when you are there?

"The UN has called it the worst disaster in the history of the organisation. In addition, it should be remembered that already before the earthquake Haiti was a country in ruins, economically, politically, ecologically and physically. At the same time the country was really on its way. After years of political instability, military coups and hurricanes the situation in the past two years had slowly started to improve."

Tomas Brundin mentions that investments in the textile and assembly industry increased in 2008-09. The UN Special Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, arranged a meeting in the country last year with 600 investors. Last year debt cancellations and inflation reached very low levels with occasional negative inflation. The presence of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) with a staff of about 9 000 had also contributed to an improved security situation. Haiti was starting on a process towards reduced dependence on development assistance, he believes.

"When I lived in Haiti you could see car stickers with the text 'No electricity, no water, no telephone. But I still love Haiti'. After the major earthquake those words have taken on a new meaning. I hope the content of the message is still true, despite the many reports of the shocking state of the country."

What are the greatest challenges for Haiti's future development?

"Bringing about political stability so that the country is not torn apart from within. Here the UN has an important role to play. A new leadership in Haiti must emerge to take broad responsibility for the entire country's development. In addition there are the environmental issues. Almost all forests have been felled and the concept of ecological refugees comes from Haiti. Now long-term efforts are necessary and measures must be designed to strengthen the social capital."

Tomas believes that an enormous amount is already being done with good results.

"The problem is that the needs are so much greater than are possible to achieve with the poor capacity that exists in Haiti. A disaster means chaos. The logistical obstacles are insurmountable. So it may appear that coordination is much worse than is really the case."

Sweden, the EU, the UN, countries around the world, organisations and private individuals are now channelling money and other resources to Haiti. What possibilities does this open for the future?

"The great commitment in Sweden and around the world is extremely gratifying. I am overwhelmed by the commitment and solidarity with Haiti. We learned a lot in Sweden from the tsunami in 2004 and this seems to apply to countries around the world."