In mid-August, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake, which was quickly followed by a tropical depression. Buildings and infrastructure, including that for telecoms, were severely damaged, but are critical to support relief efforts. Gregory Domond, an ICT Consultant based in Haiti, and Sylvester Cadette, the Programme Officer of the ITU Area Office for the Caribbean, discuss the state of telecoms in Haiti from a local and international perspective.

 

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Around 7:30 a.m., on Saturday, 14 August, an earthquake with intensity of 7.2 on the Ritcher scale shook the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti. Then just two days later, Monday, 16 August, Tropical Depression Grace made landfall on Hispaniola, the island comprising Haiti and the Dominican Republic, causing considerable flooding and compounding the devastation experienced.

According to a Situation Report published by Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, much of the devastation occurred in three Departments on the Tiburon Peninsula – Nippes, Grand’Anse and Sud – which combined, have a population of around 1.8 million. Additionally, and since the earthquake, at least 600 aftershocks have been detected in Haiti’s southern region. Nevertheless, and following the earthquake, and as at 26 August 2021:

  • 2,207 people have died
  • 12,268 people have been injured
  • 320 people are missing
  • 52,953 houses have been destroyed
  • 77,006 houses have been damaged.

As we can all appreciate, in the aftermath of disasters, telecoms is crucial in supporting the response and recovery efforts by local, regional and international organisations, and in helping affected citizens to remain connected. In this episode, we discuss, among other things:

  • the state of telecoms and ICT in Haiti, particularly in the areas affected by the recent earthquake
  • the current telecoms and ICT needs on the ground
  • some of the international support Haiti has been receiving, in relation to telecoms and ICT; and
  • more generally, disaster and emergency telecoms in the Caribbean region.

 

Introducing our guests

Gregory Domond

Since 2012, Gregory Domond has been a Senior Consultant at the telecoms regulator of Haiti, CONATEL. In this position, he is in charge of International relations, mainly with ITU, and also leads training program for both employees of the regulator and the public. He previously served in management positions in the area of international relations for Haitel and Comcel, two telecoms companies in Haiti.

Currently, Gregory, is the Executive Director of an ICT incubator, Innovative Business Incubator. Since 2004, he has been a Telecommunications Professor at several universities, and has published more than 200 articles on ICTs. Additionally, he has founded a firm, PromoTIC, which is dedicated to the promotion of ICTs in Haiti.

Gregory holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications. He is fluent in Haitian Creole, French and English.

 

Sylvester Cadette is the Programme Officer of the ITU Area Office for the Caribbean, in Bridgetown Barbados. Prior to joining ITU, he served as Director of Telecommunications and Advisor to the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and helped shape Dominica’s domestic and regional Telecommunications policy at senior policy levels both nationally and regionally.

Sylvester Cadette

Sylvester was also a member of the five-member Project Implementation Committee in the World Bank funded Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States  Telecoms Reform Project, and was one of the key contributors to the formulation of the unique Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority/ National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (ECTEL/NTRC) structure.  He also oversaw the implementation of ICT policy and e-business strategy development and awareness and leadership development; legislative and regulatory framework; capacity-building, enhancing skills base of work force, business-oriented e-government initiatives, business skills development and e-business incubation in Dominica.

Sylvester is a national of the Commonwealth of Dominica, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications and Broadcasting from the Ukrainian State Telecommunications Academy and speaks fluent Russian. He is also an alumnus of United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), has received training from the United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC),  and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University.

 

Insights into our conversation

Discussing the state of telecoms and ICT in Haiti with Gregory and with Sylvester, following the recent earthquake, were sobering conversations for several reasons. First, the scope of the devastation is almost unfathomable, and more so when one appreciates that the recovery from the 2010 earthquake – over 11 years ago (!) – is still ongoing. Second, many other Caribbean countries could, almost at any time, experience a disaster along the scale of what Nippes, Grand’Anse and Sud are experiencing. Finally, we are still in the middle of the 2021 hurricane season, and historically, September tends to be a very active (and devastating!) month. So, although another 7.2 magnitude earthquake may not be in the cards for another Caribbean country, a severe hurricane can wreak havoc on almost a similar scale.

Below are key questions that were posed to Gregory and to Sylvester during our conversation:

Questions posed to Gregory

  1. Can you first start by giving us a brief overview of Haiti?
  2. What was the scale of the devastation experienced following the earthquake?
  3. What was the impact of Tropical Depression Grace after it made landfall in Haiti?
  4. In the aftermath of those two incidents, what is the current state of telecoms in the affected areas?
  5. What might be some of the telecoms and ICT needs of locals in those devastated areas?

Questions posed to Sylvester

  1. What is your perspective on the disaster Haiti is currently experiencing?
  2. How do international organisations begin to coordinate their effort, and get a good sense of what might be needed on the ground when a country’s telecoms infrastructure has been compromised?
  3. Can you give listeners a quick recap of what the Tampere Convention is, and has it been useful in providing assistance to Haiti?
  4. Has Haiti been on the radar of the ITU Caribbean Office to improve its disaster/emergency communications framework?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: G Domond; ITU; U.S. Geological Survey; Wikimedia Commons; Caribbean Community; Loop Jamaica

Music credit: Ray Holman