VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPU #0088/01 0261242
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 261240Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0260
INFO HAITI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000088 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA PGOV AID
EAID 
SUBJECT: TFHA01: EMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE EARTHQUAKE SITREP as of 1800, 
Day 12 
 
¶1.       (SBU)  Summary:  Street markets and grocery stores in 
upscale Petionville are operating.  Fuel is available, causing a 
return of the city's traffic-clogged streets - the congestion 
signaling movement toward normalcy.  But downtown Port-au-Prince is 
devastated.  The GOH has assigned ministers to regions for the 
purpose of coordinating relief efforts.  AID reports that all 14 of 
the GOH ministry buildings it inspected are destroyed or unusable. 
The airport terminal building is also severely damaged.  Banks and 
wire transfer companies are beginning to disburse funds; customers 
are orderly. 
 
 
 
¶2.       (SBU)  Summary continued:  Approximately 30-40% of the 
garment industry's production capacity has been damaged.  Garment 
factories that are operating will exhaust their raw materials in 
two weeks, and fear losing large buyers if materials are not 
received and production maintained.  Damaged port facilities in 
Port-au-Prince are forcing some producers to ship materials and 
finished products via the Dominican Republic, which adds 
significant cost.  End summary. 
 
 
 
ATMOSPHERICS 
 
 
 
¶3.       (SBU)  Street markets in the upscale suburb of Petionville 
are full of goods from the countryside, and supermarkets that have 
not collapsed are full of imported goods and customers.  Market 
prices have reportedly not risen significantly, which reflects the 
fact that the supply of produce from surrounding farms has not been 
disrupted.  Streets are full with traffic, worse now with large 
numbers of relief worker and military vehicles added to the mix. 
Fuel is readily available with few lines.  The second of the two 
fuel terminals will come on line in two days and thus will be ready 
to refill the tank farm before it runs out of fuel.  One can see in 
many places the return of Haitian street food, cooked over charcoal 
and sold to pedestrians. 
 
 
 
¶4.       (SBU)  None of this applies to downtown Port au Prince. 
With makeshift tents on the Champs de Mars (the equivalent of the 
National Mall in DC) and in every vacant lot, it is a very changed 
place from the overcrowded bustling commercial area it once was. 
Approximately one in three buildings are totally destroyed, with 
others teetering on collapse.  Piles of rubble fill the streets, 
which are devoid of traffic.  There are only a few dusty 
pedestrians wandering from ruin to ruin looking for something to 
salvage.  No established brick and mortar businesses have reopened 
downtown, and most of the sidewalk vendors have moved elsewhere. 
The government has a tough decision ahead on whether to rebuild the 
devastated city center or build a new one in another location. 
 
 
 
GOH ASSIGNS MINISTERS TO REGIONS FOR RELIEF COORDINATION 
 
¶5.      (SBU)  The GOH announced that it has assigned one minister 
to each area listed below for coordination of activity in support 
of mayors and relief teams: 
 
????         Port-au-Prince: Yves Cristallin (Minister of Social 
Affairs) 
 
????         Delmas: Marjorie Michel (Minister of Womens Affairs) 
 
????         Carrefour: Carol Joseph (Secretary of State for 
Literacy) 
 
 
????         P????tionville, Kenskoff: Josselyne Colimon 
F????thi????res 
(Minister of Commerce and Industry) 
 
????         Tabarre, Croix des Bouquets : Delisss???? (Secretary of 
State for Plant Production) 
 
????         Cit???? Soleil: Joseph Jasmin (Minister for 
Parliamentary 
Relations) 
 
 
????         Gressier, L????ogane, Grand-Go????ve, Petit-Go????ve: 
Jean-Marie 
Germain (Minister of Environment) 
 
????         Cabaret : Paul Antoine BienAim???? (Minister of 
Interior) 
 
*    Jacmel and surrounding area: Edwin Paraison (Minister of 
Haitians Living Abroad) 
 
 
 
ENGINEERS REPORT ON STATUS OF GOH BUILDINGS 
 
 
 
¶6.       (SBU)  An inspection team comprised of USAID and GOH 
representatives inspected 14 ministry buildings.  Twelve buildings 
completely collapsed and two buildings are partially standing and 
considered not useable.  The only building not inspected was the 
Ministry of Agriculture building, but reports indicate that it is 
sound. 
 
 
 
¶7.       (SBU)  The airport terminal building suffered extensive 
structural damage to concrete posts, beams and walls throughout the 
entire building, with the exception of the passenger area and the 
movable walkway tubes that connect the waiting areas to the 
aircraft.  The control tower sustained extensive structural damage. 
 
 
 
ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
 
 
 
¶8.       (SBU)  Western Union has agreed to waive all of its 
transfer fees for large NGO payouts, as well as smaller payouts to 
individuals.  USAID, in coordination with other agencies, agreed to 
move $2M to recapitalize Fonkoze, the remittance transfer agency 
that puts cash in hand for some of the most vulnerable populations 
in Haiti.  Upon arrival in Port-au-Prince, Fonkoze began to 
distribute cash to nine locations around the country.  Pursuant to 
President Preval's order, banks began to open on January 23.  Lines 
outside banks, as well as transfer centers, are long but calm, and 
the large crowds are orderly, with MINUSTAH soldiers on foot patrol 
at some locations. 
 
 
 
¶9.       (SBU)  EmbOff met on January 25 with Georges Sassine, 
Executive Director of CTMO-HOPE (the HOPE 2 Implementation 
Commission) at the SONAPI Industrial Park near downtown 
Port-au-Prince to assess the state of Haiti's apparel assembly 
sector.  Prior to the earthquake there were 25 factories employing 
28,000 workers in the apparel assembly sector in Haiti.  Eleven 
factories are located at SONAPI employing 18,000 workers.  Only one 
of the factories at SONAPI was badly damaged, and the other ten 
factories are starting to re-open.  Some re-opened on January 20, 
and all are expected to resume operations again on January 25.  A 
preliminary assessment of the 14 factories outside of SONAPI 
revealed that eight have sustained damage, three are undamaged, and 
three have not been assessed.  Mr. Sassine estimated that 
approximately 30-40% of the industry's production capacity has been 
damaged. 
 
 
 
¶10.   (SBU)  As of January 22, the factories had enough raw 
material to maintain production and fill orders for approximately 
two weeks.  After that time, producers must have raw material or 
they fear that large high-volume customers such as Wal-Mart will 
begin sourcing their orders from other production sites.  Because 
the port of Port-au-Prince is severely damaged and operating at 
only 30% capacity, the manufacturers are using the port of Rio 
Haina on the  southwest coast of the Dominican Republic to ship and 
receive their containers.  However, this has added an additional 
transport cost of about USD 1,000 per container. 
 
 
¶11.   (SBU)  Comment:  The apparel manufacturers in Haiti operate 
on a high volume, thin margin, low capitalization basis where cash 
flow is extremely important for the business to survive.  Sassine 
said that the industry would greatly benefit from a "soft loan" 
fund of USD 20 million for their immediate working capital cash 
needs.  The "soft loan" fund would grant concessionary loans with 
an extended grace period and affordable interest rates to enable 
manufacturers to operate at full capacity as soon as possible, 
retain the 28,000 workers already employed, and expand production 
to benefit under the special trade provisions of the HOPE II Act. 
End comment. 
 
 
 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
MERTEN