The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster

One year later, Haitians honor the dead and celebrate the living. Many bodies are still buried under rubble, most of which remains to be cleared. 90 percent of the money pledged by the U.S. has yet to be dispersed. While Barack Obama praises the rescue effort, Katz argues that the President's Haiti policy contributed to political inertia. Préval is angry about the OAS report excluding Celestin from the next round of elections. The day of the runoff, on top of all of Haiti's other woes, former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returns to Haiti after 25 years in exile. Far from anger, Katz finds among the people a strange nostalgia for Duvalier, a strongman who Haitians hope might actually get results. Katz speculates that Duvalier's return may simply signal an effort to line his pockets with recently unfrozen assets. Allowing Duvalier to reenter the country suggests that Préval may attempt to pave the way for the return of his old ally, Aristide, whose populist policies are a slap in the face to the U.S.

Three days after Duvalier's return, the CEP rejects the OAS report and insists that Celestin and Manigat are indeed the top two runoff candidates. Adhering to the OAS script, the U.S. threatens to withhold aid unless the government respects "the will of the Haitian people" (268). While Katz claims the election is too flawed to recognize any front runner, the U.S. prefers Manigat or Martelly, both of whom hold policy positions favorable to American businesses. After facing resistance from the Unity Party, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells the Haitian president the OAS report must be implemented. Préval finally concedes. With only 20 percent of the electorate casting votes, Martelly emerges as the clear winner, declaring in his acceptance speech that Haiti is "open for business, now" (272).

As Katz's assignment ends, he plans to move to Brooklyn, NY with Payton. Reflecting on his time in Haiti, he realizes that he doesn't know the island nation as well as he thought he did. He reports on the lingering psychological damage from the quake and from life in the camps: post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, anxiety and fatigue. As he departs the country, Katz remembers most fondly his relationship with Evens and promises to return one day.

Living in the relative comfort and stability of Brooklyn, Katz looks back on his time in Haiti and contemplates lessons learned. Preemption is the key, he argues governments must fix systemic problems before the next disaster strikes. Two years after the earthquake, he and Payton return to Haiti and reunite with old friends including Evens, Twenty and Rosemide Chery. The Nepalese peacekeepers were replaced by Uruguayan soldiers who rerouted the Artibonite River away from the U.N. military base. A class action suit is pending on behalf of the cholera victims. Martelly is a popular president, albeit one with little support from a Parliament dominated by Unity Party members. As promised, he is a strong advocate for foreign investment, offering tax incentives to foreign businesses that leave almost no revenue for the government.

The camps are slowly cleared, but little long-term housing exists. Meanwhile, poverty still plagues the country. In its review of the IHRC, the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds the commission "did a poor job in its central task of coordinating with the Haitian government" (279). The garment industry, anchored by South Korean manufacturer Sae-A Trading, becomes a fixture in the country's economic recovery. A cloud hangs over Sae-A, however, amid allegations of workplace violations in Guatemala. While NGOs like Penn's are still present in Haiti and some construction is underway, much of it will benefit tourists and wealthy Haitians. The poor, just as before the earthquake, must fend for themselves.