Fear lurks in the obscure. It resides in the shadows. This is why we call upon the police to solve crimes. This is why we call on doctors to identify our ills. This is why we call upon engineers to explain building failures. We look to shine the light on the cause so that we can fight fear with knowledge. With knowledge we can possibly prevent it all from happening again.
In a place like Haiti, that endured a devastating earthquake that killed in the order of 200,000 people, we need to understand the reasons behind such widespread structural collapse. Haiti is one of, if not the, poorest country in the world. Infrastructure is non-existent. It has a system of government so corrupt that it lacks the ability or the will to enforce any sort of building standards. The process of instituting and enforcing building policies takes money, which Haiti lacks. Consequently, the approach needs to be more deliberate, more realistic and able to account for the true life conditions for the majority of the population in Haiti itself.
It would be easy to, for example, write up code requirements for enforcing material qualities; cement mixes to be tested and approved or for reinforcing steel to be installed in block walls and grouted properly or for roofs to be properly anchored, for foundations to be to be placed without debris in the excavations and for them to be properly dimensioned. But too many of the dwellings there are built without guidance, or proper supervision. They are built outside any potential enforceable safeguards.
Suggested solutions have included providing container housing or prefabricated homes. Both of those are ways to create business for the companies providing them under the guises of goodwill. Although it may assuage the immediate housing problem, these solutions ignore the long-term sustainability of Haitian society. The companies that produce them will make money, Haitians get temporary housing, but the Band-Aid does not stop the root cause, it merely masks it.
We need to approach this with the knowledge that the realities on the ground in Haiti are not going to change overnight. Government will not avoid blatant corruption. People will not place trust in a system that has failed them time and again. People trust only themselves and will do what they must to survive on their own. They will build using the limited resources that they have available. This is where building policy and the responsibility of the engineers must begin. This is where our volunteer efforts must start.
Think about all those contests and class assignments we had in engineering school: building bridges out of toothpicks, canoes out of concrete, dropping an egg from a rooftop and coming up with a way to keep it from breaking using limited materials. We need to think like Robinson Crusoe when we contemplate rebuilding in Haiti and imagine utilizing only those materials accessible to the poor majority, with rudimentary tools and limited craftsmanship. We must dedicate ourselves to coming up with ideas that we can offer people in Haiti, about how they can construct safer dwellings- simply and economically. With a bit of creative thinking and will, we can, as a community, provide them the proper guidance.
One possible solution is to distribute easy-to-understand instructions that the average Haitian citizen can follow to create simple dwellings. The makeshift structures destroyed in the earthquake may be re-built using similar materials and construction techniques, but with better instructions on what to avoid and what to implement. This should not preclude efforts to build a governmental infrastructure system that can institute and enforce more stringent building regulations, but it’s a way to begin to instruct the people on basic seismic and wind construction practices. It is a way to shine a light on the causes of this massive destruction and to arm all Haitians with knowledge. It is a way to build trust in the engineering community and a way to have the general population understand that our intent is neither politically nor business oriented, but only to help insure public safety even to those people who may be perceived as undeserving.
Every life saved brings with it the possibility of hope and a better future. The best way to proceed is to initiate and participate in a true assessment of the building materials used in these communities. To evaluate the resources that are readily available and begin to work out potential solutions making use of those limited resources. We ought to not be driven by potential personal gain, but for the betterment of global society at large. As structural engineers, ensuring public safety is after all, our unwritten oath.
Posted by: Jesus Sierra, S.E.
