The UPU International Bureau has set up a task force of postal experts from across the globe to coordinate efforts directed at helping the Post of Haiti, severely crippled by last week’s earthquake.
“We have lost everything: office supplies, computers, printers, documents…” said Margarette Emile, director general of the Haitian Post, in a message to regional postal authorities. “We need the help of the entire world to cover the necessities of my employees to they can survive. I do not have the means to help them. We lack basic products such as water, clothing, food, medicine, etc.”
She was speaking specifically about the postal infrastructure in Port-au-Prince. There are nine post offices in the Haitian capital employing 350 people. Another 20 agencies are situated in outlying areas. At this time, we know that the Post’s head office, the sorting centre and the EMS buildings have been destroyed. According to Emile, at least three post offices in the city are usable.
Nationwide, Haiti Post operates 60 offices and employs 600 staff.
Coordinating efforts
Task-force members will share information and coordinate efforts being offered in the short and long terms. They include International Bureau experts, postal authorities from the Posts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, American, Canadian and French postal officials, and experts from regional restricted unions such as the Caribbean Postal Union and the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal.
“Like everyone else in the world, the postal community is in shock and wants to help in a useful and structured way,” said the UPU’s director general, Edouard Dayan. “Of course, the priority remains saving lives and helping victims of this terrible tragedy. At the same time, we must see how we can help the country provide basic communication services now and what role postal services could play in the aftermath of this catastrophe.”
Dayan has personally assured the Haitian Post director general and the country’s minister responsible for postal services of the global postal community’s solidarity in their time of need.
As a UN specialized agency, the UPU will work through the United Nations network to help Haiti in a coordinated manner. The UPU intends to send experts to Haiti as soon as it can to provide assistance to postal authorities. The UPU has set up a special account to accept financial donations from member countries and other postal stakeholders (more information at assistance.haiti@upu.int).
Several Posts have already offered assistance or are launching actions to help Haiti. Among them, the French Post yesterday put a stamp on sale to generate revenues for the French Red Cross to help the disaster-struck island country. The Mauritius and Spanish Post are also working with the Red Cross, and the Post of Costa Rica is collecting non-perishable donations.