by H. E. LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA
www.brazilemb.gov | www.brazil.gov.br
In 2004, a major challenge brought us to Haiti.
Brazil, with a U.N. mandate and welcomed by the Haitian government, arrived to help establish security and stability.
Above all, our objective was to sow the seeds of a longstanding peace.
The U.N. Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) sought to create a new paradigm for peacekeeping missions.
Our intent was to show that security can only be assured by achieving development and social justice.
The Jan. 12 earthquake struck a terrible blow: 220,000 lost their lives.
Much of the physical infrastructure of Port-au-Prince was destroyed. Houses, universities and hospitals vanished.
A nation that previously endured precarious conditions now faces the challenge of struggling to survive.
I will visit Haiti on Thursday.
My presence in Port-au-Prince expresses Brazil's fraternal solidarity with the long-suffering people of Haiti.
Brazil shares the pain of those who lost family members and their possessions, but we will also help to rebuild lives and homes.
I will reaffirm Brazil's commitment to cooperate in order to once again lift up a country that has already demonstrated its determination to find its way back to development, political stability and democratic participation.
Before the earthquake, the endemic violence in the Cité Soleil neighborhood had become a memory.
Businesses were resuming production, agricultural recovery projects were advancing, schools were full of students with dreams for the future.
No earthquake can shake our confidence in that promising future.
Now we are taking in Haitian university students, so they can complete their studies in Brazil.
They will return to Haiti fully prepared to work on rebuilding their nation.
Heroism and solidarity
Brazil and MINUSTAH must persevere because we know the Haitians themselves will not give up hope.
We are certain of that after witnessing the countless demonstrations of heroism and solidarity in the wake of the earthquake.
The sacrifice of our heroic soldiers who lost their lives reinforces our commitment to Haiti.
We are inspired by the unyielding determination to survive by those who endured days, or even weeks, under the rubble.
They never ceased to believe in being rescued, nor did the rescuers lose hope, as they relentlessly dug, even with their own hands, in search of signs of life.
With that same sense of urgency and dedication, Brazilian Air Force flights have been delivering humanitarian assistance to Haiti daily.
Brazilian ships weighed anchor immediately, transporting doctors, civilian volunteers and helicopters, as well as tons of food, medicine and water.
I dispatched three of my cabinet ministers to Port-au-Prince to oversee these actions.
The total funding allocated by Brazil in emergency assistance to Haiti has now reached $210 million.
We are also ramping up our presence, sending an additional 1,300 soldiers to strengthen MINUSTAH and assist in reconstruction.
This is a joint national effort. Brazilian companies and representatives of civil society are also deeply engaged.
Their work is inspired by the example set by Dr. Zilda Arns, the founder of the ``Pastoral da Criança,'' who, along with hundreds of other Brazilians and foreigners who perished in Haiti, embody a model of love and devotion.
At the Haiti Donors' Conference in March, we will have the opportunity to mobilize this renewed solidarity internationally.
Brazil has redoubled its coordination with the world community to ensure that its assistance arrives promptly to those who are most in need.
Once the current emergency is behind us, Haiti will continue to confront the challenge of creating productive capacity adequate to sustain the country's development.
In order for Haiti to find new ways to develop its potential fully, we should avoid the proliferation of disconnected stand-alone projects that would fragment the country.
We need long-term responses that will enable Haiti to implement, with sovereign control, programs that are truly in its national interest.
Supplying water, energy
With this goal, Brazil conducted a viability study for a hydroelectric power plant project that will supply water and energy for the reconstruction of Haiti. We are prepared to contribute financially to this project.
Toward the same end, an emergency meeting of the South American Union of Nations, held in Quito with the participation of Haitian President René Préval, decided to strengthen regional solidarity with Haiti.
We invite Haiti's principal trading partners to give privileged access to exports of Haitian manufactured products.
We call on the business community and investors to resume their investment plans for Haiti.
For this purpose, it is essential that we all grant access to our markets for Haitian goods.
I am not afraid to say that the destruction caused by the earthquake was exacerbated by the international community's longstanding lack of engagement in Haiti.
I am certain, however, that the international community also needs Haiti.
Our planet is undergoing an unprecedented crisis. We now face the imperative of finding genuinely global solutions to the threats we have in common.
The world yearns for examples from people -- such as the Haitians -- with a strong determination to live and the readiness to confront adversities with a spirit of serenity and generosity.
A popular Haitian saying captures this spirit perfectly: ``The victory belongs to those who perform miracles, not to those who wait for them to occur.''
We need to see Haiti return to being the nation that inspired generations and gave birth to heroes, such as Tousaint L'Ouverture, who led Haiti to independence and empowered peoples around the world.
Haiti is now rising up to fulfill its destiny. Its people and government have already shown us that they will not succumb to powerlessness and fatalism.
The international community now has both the opportunity and the duty to assist them in performing this miracle. Without losing sight of what is truly essential, it is worth noting that the Haitian people continue to recognize their legitimately elected officials as the true leaders for the reconstruction of their country.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is president of Brazil
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glad to hear. I havr a architect friend in brazil looking to find a way to aid her self. maybe they cn send her to rebuild the presidents mansion.
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