Peer reviewers: Brendan, Christina

Proposal 1
What is your rights issue? Who is the "victim" (whose rights are being violated?) Who/What is
doing the violating?
Lack of infrastructure, clean water, and housing after the 2010 earthquake. The government/
essentially the environment is doing the violating.
Where in time (history) and space (geography) is it located?
It is happening now, starting in 2010. The geography is in the country of Haiti.
What is the rights instrument that this corresponds to? why/how?
Political/civil rights. Political rights pertains to the lack of government action, and the civil
pertains to the lack of access to resources like housing and water.
What is the background and what are the historical roots of this human rights issue? (for
example, if you are investigating sex trafficking, this has roots in particular regional economic
issues, gendered issues, social issues etc. depending on the region and the localized context.
The background is an earthquake in 2010 that devastated infrastructure, houses, and politics for
the country. The earthquake pushed many issues that had been building over the edge.
How is this issue generally represented? Are there problematic tropes involved? For
example, using the language of "illegal aliens" rather than "undocumented migrants" can
change the terms of the conversation from the very beginning.
This issue has been covered slightly in news media after the quake occurred, but that has since
died down. There dont seem to be too many problematic tropes involved that I could find.
What groups are already working on or advocating for/against this issue?
Some nonprofits are taking action repairing wells in Haiti. On a larger scale, the UN is
supporting them attempting to encourage proactive lawmaking and enforcement. Their success
has been minimal so far, as many people consider their efforts poor due to not centering the
focus around the victims.
How does this issue relate to your current major/discipline (what is the disciplinary
perspective that you will take on this issue and that you will translate to a public audience)?
This issue relates directly to my major because Haiti is in need of the services my major can
provide. Clean water systems, non central power, and green buildings are all things that would
be beneficial in the rebuilding after the quake. Interdisciplinary action between humanities,
science, and technology is the approach I will take.
Where do you want to place your op-ed/? You may choose The Appalachian but it must be
relevant to the student body. Otherwise, choose one with a wider reach (consider medium.com,
the New Yorker, The Washington Post, Slate.com or any other journalistic venue that has a
public audience. Please include a link to the venue
I think placing it in the Appalachian could be very beneficial. With many people in our student
body being passionate about both the humanities and sustainability, I think it could be a good
blend of the two for students to read.
What is the standard audience of the venue? In other words, who are you speaking to?
Please try to be specific about this (the general American public is not enough) Think about
what we talked about in class here.
I am speaking to students who are very similar to me. I can use rhetorical strategies to relate my
values to theirs. Many students will probably find that they care about similar things as what
attracted me to the topic.
What are you hoping to achieve? Are you hoping to move your audience to action about the
HR issue that your discipline can help inform/guide? Do you want to inform your audience of a
different way of thinking about the HR issue that your discipline can provide? Do you want to
correct misinformation about the HR issue that your discipline helps to better understand? etc.
I want to move my audience to be able to look at the HR issue starting at a community level,

and working their way up from there. For example, the UN did not put the victim at the center of

their efforts and it ended poorly. Through my discipline, I can give a gateway for people to see a

new way of tackling this HR issue effectively.

Grant Shields

Dr. Belinda Walzer

RC 2001 - 410

17 September 2019

Project 1 First Draft

In January of 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale occurred on the

coast of Haiti. The quake devastated the country in many ways, destroying infrastructure,
contaminating water supplies, and complicating government decisions . While many people are
aware of the earthquake itself and the physical damage that it caused the country, the deeper
effects that are still very prevalent are often overlooked. The earthquake not only had physical
damage, but economic, governmental, and humanitarian impacts as well. This sets the
framework for human rights violations to become more prevalent. Some of these rights that are
being violated in Haiti include the right to clean water and sanitation and the right to shelter.
More than 140,000 Haitians lack decent shelter today, the worst of these conditions
consisting of camps. Displacement camps were created after the earthquake to temporarily house
those who had their living situations compromised by the natural disaster in 2010. Nearly 38,000
people remain in the camps, with 70% of them consisting of women and children. Government
officials are taking little action towards permanent housing for the remaining people in the
camps. The displaced families have little voice in what decisions are being made for them by the
government. They are at the hands of those who are not in their position, and feel as if they are
powerless in improving their living situation. The displacement camps consist of far below par
living conditions. Many of the homes are made out of sticks and tarps. This leaves the residents
susceptible to other factors like hurricanes. This adds another level of complication to the issue,
as they were not only devastated by the earthquake itself, but also other disasters that were
especially intense for those who were already impacted the most. Two years ago, during
hurricane Matthew, approximately 1000 people died mainly due to lack of adequate shelter to
stay safe from storms.
The right to clean water and sanitation was already absent from many regions in Haiti
before the earthquake. After the disaster conditions greatly worsened. Both domestic and sanitary
water systems were destroyed. Wells and water systems were directly affected throughout the
country, and there is little support from the Haitian government to help fix the damages. 8 years
after the earthquake, 70 percent of all Haitians still lack access to potable water. Lack of efficient
sewage systems has caused the country to develop unsafe, unsustainable habits like open
concrete drains susceptible to flooding, or dumping raw sewage in pits or canals. Unclean water
sources and poor sanitation inevitably leads to the spread of diseases, especially when many of
the countries residents are in temporary living conditions out of their own control. Since 2010,
cholera has become a major problem for Haitians. Over 800,000 people have been infected and
10,000 people have died from the disease. Vaccinations have cut down on these numbers since
then, but that should not demote the fact that the way current water management is in Haiti is
unsafe and needs more sustainable, safe options.
The field of sustainable technology could have a large impact for Haiti. The Haitians
have stated that the government is not providing them with what they need. They have requested
assistance in building bathrooms, water tanks, and more permanent housing. Sustainable
technology would be able to take an interdisciplinary approach to the issues at hand, combining
humanitarian concepts with the knowledge of appropriate technologies to apply to the situation.
One of the key aspects of working towards a solution for the Hatians would be communication
before planning for action. By effective communication, we can get a deeper understanding of
the issues in Haiti straight from the victims themselves. By starting on a community level
directly working with the people we could create an effective strategy. Some of the efforts so far
by nonprofits and government organizations have done more harm than good. One of the reasons
for this is jumping into action with a purely western point of view. One incident involved sewage
spilling from a UN peacekeepers camp, spurring the cholera epidemic the country is still dealing
with today. This could have been an incident that could have easily been avoided through
community based sustainable technology initiatives, rather than large scale UN projects that are
not looking at the small moving parts, and are focused on the machine as a whole. Some
suggestive solutions that ST could provide would be housing for the displaced Haitians using
sustainable resources that would be resistant to natural disasters. A more resistant structure for
the people could include a concrete foundation and water resistant roofing to be more stable and
safe in storms. By teaching a group of the People about how to build more stable housing and
providing some funding, there would be a large possibility for widespread improvements of the
displacement camps. Integrating this with an effective sewage system like a closed loop,
fertilizer waste treatment system that could help grow crops in the country as well. With a
sustainable strategy that has been curated in collaboration with the community disease
spreading, displacement camp, sewage problems, and food shortage could all be combatted at
once.

● https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/haiti
● https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/humanitarian-aid-7-years-after-2010-earthquake-who-rem
ains-displaced
● https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-haiti
● https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/haiti-water-sanitation-wash-crisis-earthquake/
● https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/07/29/537945957/you-probably-dont-w
ant-to-know-about-haitis-sewage-problems
● https://ascelibrary.org/doi/book/10.1061/9780784409992
Peer Review: Adam Garrison

After reading your opinion editorial, I have a greater understanding of the issues faced
by Hatian communities in the present day. I did not know the lengths of the displaced families,
and the troubles they face on a regular basis. I thought that all people who were victims of
natural disasters eventually found their way to shelter sooner or later. Now I know that is an
incorrect assumption. Reading about the deaths caused by natural disasters, and the image of
people dying in hurricanes due to the lack of proper shelter prompted a genuine reaction for me.
The pathos of your opinion editorial is incredibly strong, with the aforementioned images of
death by hurricane and the threat of cholera. However, the strongest point of your paper comes
from the ethos. The sources used justify your claims throughout the opinion editorial piece, and
without such sources, all strength behind your essay would fail. I also appreciate the lack of
run-on sentences. You know when to keep sentences short, and when to use commas
appropriately. I think that the length is nearly perfect. The story is generally concise and strong.
You get the point of how sustainable technology can help with the human rights issues across
very effectively. The writing feels conversational, but informative. I love the style. Very well
written.
The first recommendation from myself would be to have a proper title. It was slightly
confusing trying to piece together if you were only talking about Haiti or if you were talking about
a single human rights violation. The second suggestion would be to add more to your
introduction to help the reader understand the exact nature of your paper. Knowing that you are
focusing on Hatian human rights violations as a whole would have been very beneficial during
reading. Third, I would also recommend in-text citations. Nothing complicated, but if I could click
on your source immediately after reading where you found it, that would be very beneficial to the
reader. My fourth suggestion is with the last paragraph of your essay. This paragraph needs to
be split into two pieces. Maybe separating the communication aspect from the sustainable
development aspects could help to make your argument more concise while also strengthening
your existing points. Finally, I might take a look at creating a new conclusion to the essay that
cleverly addresses the problems before (summary) and finds ends with your person opinion of
what should happen and what the local government should do to help in your innovations.
Peer Reviewer-Christina

After reading this article, there are many human rights violations that really struck a chord with
my emotions that I commend the author for mentioning them. Some of them include water insecurity and
shelter insecurity because they are issues that no one recognizes as an issue in the twenty-first century. I
really enjoy how the author brought in statistics and dates to reiterate the crisis that is occurring in Haiti
and enhance the argument through the mode of logos. It allowed the reader to see the visual impact of the
earthquake on the Haitian people and how it impacts them currently. I also really enjoyed how this article
brings light to a topic that people thought was a dissipated issue globally because water insecurity
continues to be an issue even in developed nations. The solutions that the author mentioned were also
sustainable and innovative which I really enjoyed as well because they were environmentally conscious
and logical. With so many human rights issues, people often think of law disparities or social issues, but it
is very interesting to read from the perspective of an environmental advocate and sustainable technology
major. Not many human rights articles often mention physical environment which is underrepresented so
I really enjoyed that element.
Although there were many great elements of this article, there are a couple of critiques that I
have. I feel as though the audience is a little unclear and could be improved by adding a little bit of focus
to the article. An example could be changing the vocabulary to be a little bit more persuasive to appeal to
environmentalists. Another element that could be improved is the concept of the western view point. By
including more opinions of what the western audience thinks could vastly improve the argument at hand.
Something worth mentioning could be the economic benefits of using sustainable resources as well as
American solutions to the water crisis. Although developing nations may not have access to these
solutions, it describes the western view point and discusses the need for western nations to step in and
take action to help in the shelter and water crisis. Therefore, more elaboration on the topics discussed
could be beneficial because it fully develops the argument and leaves little room for counterargument.
But, the argument did include a very personal and sustainable approach to water insecurity and had many
more ingenious insight that mistakes. There are very minor critiques that should be revisited but I
thoroughly enjoyed this piece.
Joe approves
● In text citations
● Add more call to action for my particular audience.
● I may change my audience to be maybe a tech journal? Change the vocabulary to match that.
Seems better for my topic and discipline.
● Joe mamma
● Make it more cohesive.
Grant Shields

Dr. Belinda Walzer

RC 2001 - 410

17 September 2019

Human Rights Issues Following the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

In January of 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale occurred near the
coast of Haiti. The earthquake devastated the country in many ways, destroying infrastructure,
contaminating water supplies, and complicating government decisions. While many people are
aware of the earthquake itself and the physical damage that it caused the country, the deeper
effects that are still very prevalent are often overlooked. The earthquake not only had physical
damage, but economic, governmental, and humanitarian impacts as well. This sets the
framework for human rights violations to become more prevalent in the weakened country. Some
of these rights that are being violated in Haiti include the right to clean water sanitation and the
right to shelter. It is not difficult to lay out the circumstances and identify the human rights
violations, but it can be difficult to devise an effective intervention to apply to said violations.
The Haitians have stated that the government is not providing them with the resources that they
need to survive. They have requested assistance in building bathrooms, water tanks, and more
permanent housing ​https://www.globalcitizen.org​. Sustainable technology can provide an
interdisciplinary approach to the issues at hand, combining humanitarian concepts with the
knowledge of appropriate technologies to apply a long term solution to the situation.
More than 140,000 Haitians lack decent shelter today, the worst of these conditions
consisting of large camps. Displacement camps were created after the earthquake to temporarily
house those who had their living situations compromised by the natural disaster in 2010. Nearly
38,000 people remain in the camps, with 70% of them consisting of women and children
https://reliefweb.int​. Government officials are taking little action towards permanent housing for
the remaining people in the camps. The displaced families have little voice in what decisions are
being made for them by the government. They are at the hands of those who are not in their
position, and feel as if they are powerless in improving their living situation. The displacement
camps consist of far below par living conditions. Many of the homes are made out of sticks and
tarps ​https://reliefweb.int​. This leaves the residents susceptible to other factors like hurricanes
and flooding. Two years ago, during hurricane Matthew, approximately 1000 people died mainly
due to lack of adequate shelter to stay safe from storms ​https://reliefweb.int​. This adds another
layer of complication to the issue, as they were not only devastated the most by the earthquake
itself, but also leaves them most vulnerable to other disasters that can occur in the future.
The field of sustainable technology could have a large impact on the temporary, unsafe
shelter problem stemming from the earthquake.Some suggestive solutions that sustainable
technology could provide would be creating more permanent housing for the displaced Haitians
using sustainable resources that would be resistant to natural disasters. A more resistant structure
for the people could include a concrete foundation and water resistant roofing to be more stable
and safe in storms. By teaching a group of the Haitians about how to build stable housing and
providing some funding, there would be a large possibility for widespread improvements of the
displacement camps. Rather than just building sustainable housing for the people, this strategy
would provide knowledge to share with others, and lead to a larger probability of large scale
improvements.
The right to clean water and sanitation was already absent from many regions in Haiti
before the earthquake. After the disaster, these conditions greatly worsened. Both domestic and
sanitary water systems were destroyed ​https://thewaterproject.org​. Wells and water systems were
directly affected throughout the country, and there is little support from the Haitian government
to help fix the damages. 8 years after the earthquake, 70 percent of all Haitians still lack access to
potable water ​https://www.hrw.org​. Lack of efficient sewage systems has caused the country to
develop unsafe, unsustainable habits like open concrete drains susceptible to flooding, or
dumping raw sewage into pits or canals. Unclean water sources and poor sanitation inevitably
leads to the spread of diseases, especially when many of the countries residents are in temporary
living conditions out of their own control. Since 2010, cholera has become a major problem for
Haitians. Over 800,000 people have been infected and 10,000 people have died from the disease
https://www.globalcitizen.org​. Vaccinations have cut down on these numbers since then, but that
should not demote the fact that the way current water management occurs in Haiti is dangerous
and they require sustainable, safe options.
Sustainable Technology has a wide range of influence over many types of technology,
including waste water management. Integrating some of this expertise into the Haitian people’s
repertoire of skills to bring about change could be largely beneficial. With technology like an
effective sewage system with a closed loop, waste management could become less dangerous,
and even benefit by providing fertilizer to grow food ​https://ascelibrary.org​. Again, teaching the
Haitians how to build sustainable wastewater systems could potentially provide a mode of
income and create a catalyst for change spreading from communities to a large scale. Some of
the solutions provided by NGOs were lacking severely on the sustainability front, which cannot
be ignored when dealing with disasters in the natural environment. For example, when aid
groups provided clean water and temporary toilet systems after the quake, they did not consider
where that waste would be disposed of. They were forced to make a last minute decision, which
ended up being the landfill next to the city with a permeable boundary as the site for waste. To
sum that system up: people use the temporary bathrooms, the waste is dumped into the landfill,
and raw sewage quickly runs into the groundwater and ocean water supply ​https://www.npr.org​.
While the NGOs had good intentions, they did not think about the long term impacts which
included money lost, disease spreading, and water sourced becoming extremely dangerous.
One of the key aspects of working towards a solution for the Hatians would be
communication before planning for action. This is where the humanitarian aspect of sustainable
tech integrates with the action taking aspect of the discipline. By effective communication, we
can get a deeper understanding of the issues in Haiti straight from the victims themselves. By
starting on a community level directly working with the people who were impacted, we could
create an effective strategy. Some of the efforts so far by nonprofits and government
organizations have done more harm than good. One of the reasons for this is jumping into action
with a purely western point of view, rather than asking the people what they need. One incident
involved sewage spilling from a UN peacekeepers camp, spurring the cholera epidemic which
the country is still seeing the impacts of today. This incident could have easily been avoided
through community based, sustainable technology initiatives, rather than large scale UN projects
that are not looking at the small moving parts of the issue at hand. With a sustainable strategy
that has been curated in collaboration with the community, there is a large probability that
effective change that will truly benefit the people will occur.
RC 2001
Project #1 Public Writing Reflection and
Self-Assessment
Instructions: Please ​copy and paste​ this worksheet to the bottom of your Final of your Project
1. Then, complete the worksheet. Please do not type directly into this document--remember to
copy and paste it into the end of your own document and then fill it out.

Part 1:
Please write 300ish words below reflecting on your process of composing this project and
what you learned in that process​. (some of these questions are repetitive to spark ideas in
different people so you don’t have to answer all of them)
Address issues including (in no particular order) how completing a peer review for your peer
helped you revise your own project; how your peers’ feedback helped you revise your project;
how this project has helped you better understand the discourse of your field and profession;
how composing a public genre helped you become more aware of your audience and the
genre; what you might still revise in your project if you were able to do it again; what about
your process of composing (brainstorming, drafting, revising, polishing) was helpful and what
might you change in the future about your process; and other points about your process that
you think are relevant for reflection. Be sure that you are primarily reflecting on your process of
composing and not only on what you learned about the content about which you produced
(although you can address that also). Additionally, be sure you spend some time on this and be
honest with yourself. It is not enough to say “I didn't learn anything from my peer review” or “I
didn’t learn anything about my field or profession”. You will want to spend some time reflecting
because you will be asked to use this reflection again at the end of term.

Overall I thought this was a beneficial assignment for me and the development of my writing. I
learned how to make my paper’s structure more efficient. From my first to second draft, I
completely changed the order of my article other than the intro. This was sparked purely
through the peer review. I reviewed one paper that had a logical structure and one that was the
complete opposite. This showed me the importance of structure in a short article like this, and
allowed me to greatly improve my draft. This assignment showed me that just about anything
can be applied to one’s field of expertise. I was skeptical at first on how to connect my major,
but throughout the project I began to understand the broader range that it could cover. The
process of composing and revising my essay in parts spread out over time was highly beneficial.
It gave me time to remove myself from the paper and then return to it, which made revising,
and what exactly to revise, way easier to see. My process of revising over several days made me
able to break my original draft up into pieces, and rearrange my best points. After I had done
 this, I was able to build better paragraphs around those quality points that I had isolated. THis
led to a far better structure of my paper. One of the biggest benefits from this was bringing in
my proposed intervention on my topic far earlier. Before revising, I had an intro, a paragraph
with statistics on my issue, and a final paragraph proposing some possible solutions through my
major’s perspective. After revising, I have a paper that integrates my major, human rights, and
statistics throughout the entire paper, rather than an obvious 3 step paragraph form. I feel as if
it made my information far more cohesive, and easier to read.

Part 2:
Please complete the self-assessment below, including the points and comments section.
​ ith points and comments​. I will also
Please spend some time on this and complete it honestly w
use this when I grade your final product.

Category and Goals Points Student Comments Professor Comments

Structure:
● Uses resources of platform to
author’s advantage
● Cohesive aim with a logical
organization that achieves the
aim
● Meets the word count
Content:
● Addresses a specific human
rights issue from a disciplinary
perspective
● Reflects and translates the
author’s discipline (ethos)
● Varied sentence structure to
engage the audience and get
the point across more
effectively
● Should include strong
interpretation that is based on
fact and evidence
● “Call to action” at the end --
tells why the audience should
4/4 Before revising I would have given myself a
far lower grade in this category. After
however, I think I used the structure to
create logical, cohesive argument that had a
clear aim.I feel like I used the resources of
the platform efficiently, including hyperlinks
and keeping paragraphs short and to the
point. I met the word count, but did not go
too close to the maximum due to the nature
of OP eds being short and concise.
4/4 I addressed the human rights issue of Haiti’s
water and shelter insecurity after the
earthquake in 2010. I reflected my discipline
throughout the entire paper. I built ethos by
using my expertise and reputable sources
including peer reviewed sources. I varied
sentence structure well, preventing run ons,
using commas effectively, and mixing up
how long sentences were to keep the
audience engaged. Almost all of my paper is
based on factual evidence from sources9
that are hyperlinked in, or based on
knowledge directly from what i have learned
being in the ST program so far. I cited in
every spot that I was able to to build ethos. I
have a summary of my call to action at the
end, but introduced what we can do about it
after each informational paragraph. I
thought that this was better to build their
knowledge throughout the paper and have a
small reminder at the end. I feel as if A clear
message and was able to communicate this
to the audience through different rhetorical
strategies. I had six sources, Including two
academic journals to support my claims.
Some good work here, but see my
comment below regarding this being
structured as a report rather than a
public op-ed. Some restructuring of
your focus could help to address this
problem. 3.5/4 revision: 3.8/4
Some really great work here! I thought
you provided some good insight into
the general problems in Haiti as well as
some insight into how sustainable
tech/development could help.
However. I do think that the tone is
more appropriate for a report or an
academic piece rather than a public
op-ed. You have a “thesis” at the top
and then you talk in somewhat
non-specific ways about general ways
to help the problem. One suggestion
for revision would be to foreground a
problem that folks might not know as
much about, like the point you make in
your final paragraph and then focus the
entire project through that. This would
enable you to make it less like a general
report and more the genre of
contributing to the conversation
around something that the general
public might not know. 3.5/4 revision:
4/4
 care and what they can do
about it
● Must have a clear aim and
message and provide context.
● At least 5 sources included,
utilized, and cited (at least 2
academic journals)
Audience/Rhetoric
● Must have a clear audience
and must appeal to that
particular group
● Gives points of action
applicable to the audience
● Translating discipline terms to
general audience/ language
● Appeals to audience through
logos/pathos/ethos
● Utilizing the appropriate
grammatical conventions for
the audience
Reflection /Revision /Peer Review
/Drafting
● Takes advantage of the peer
review letters and considers
the advice given
● Reflects and self-assesses
honestly and thoughtfully
TOTAL:
3.5/4 I feel like my first audience I chose was too Good work here, but I agree with your
vague, as it was “college students my age.” self-assessment. This is where I think
After rethinking who I wanted to write for you might have not anticipated your
and ending up with WIRED magazine article, audience quite as well as you could
I was able to appeal to an audience better. I have since I’m not sure you’re offering
would be writing to an audience who knows as much insight from the perspective of
a lot about technology, but can sometimes your field as you could - you get there
lack in the front of connecting that to the at the end, but then that needs to be
humanities, which is necessary for my more throughout. 3.5/4
human rights issue. That's what Sustainable
tech perspective is extremely important, as it
links the two and introduces how they can
work in unison. I felt as if I was proficient at
using rhetorical strategies to strengthen my
argument. I used small anecdotes to relate
pathos, statistics to create logos, and the
perspective of ST to build logos on the issue.
I used the appropriate grammar for a tech
journal, as it was formal with some tech
lingo, but not as sophisticated as an
academic essay.
3/3 I took the advice given from my peers and
instructors and molded my final draft with
their suggestions as a catalyst for how I Good work here. 3/3
altered my paper. As I listed in the 300 word
summary, structure was a major issue that
was made aware to me by both peers and
instructors. THis was what sparked my
drafting process in the first place, and all
other changes I made grew out of that. I feel
as if I was honest and thoughtful while both
peer reviewing and self assessing.
14.5/15 13/15 Revision: 14.3 = 95
Grant Shields

Dr. Belinda Walzer

RC 2001 - 410

17 September 2019

Human Rights Issues Following the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti

A common way of approaching problems in developing countries today is to jump right
into action, and execute whatever seems like what has worked before in seemingly similar
situations. Not separating the western point of view from what the community itself wants or
needs can be extremely problematic in the long run. Sustainable technology can be an excellent
field to approach human rights violations from. This perspective seamlessly integrates
humanitarian values with action taking to help guarantee success in a project. By starting on a
community level directly working with the people who are in need, we could create an effective
strategy. This interdisciplinary perspective is an extremely efficient approach to complex human
rights issues and violations. Some efforts by nonprofits and government organizations today can
end up doing more harm than good. These negative effects can be minimized through effective
communication mixed with expertise in the sustainable technology field.
In January of 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale occurred near the
coast of Haiti. The earthquake devastated the country in many ways, destroying infrastructure,
contaminating water supplies, and complicating government decisions. While many people are
aware of the earthquake itself and the physical damage that it caused the country, the deeper
effects that are still very prevalent are often overlooked. The earthquake not only had physical
damage, but economic, governmental, and humanitarian impacts as well. This sets the
framework for complex human rights violations to become more common in the country. Some
of these rights that are being violated in Haiti include the right to clean water, sanitation, and the
right to shelter. It is not difficult to lay out the circumstances and identify the human rights
violations present, but devising an effective intervention to apply to said violations is a different
story. This is where an interdisciplinary, community based approach, which sustainable
technology can provide, comes into play. Sustainable lays the framework for an effective
approach to the issues at hand, combining humanitarian concepts with the knowledge of
appropriate technologies to apply a long term solution to the situation in Haiti..
More than 140,000 Haitians lack decent shelter today, the worst of these conditions
consisting of large camps. Displacement camps were created after the earthquake to temporarily
house those who had their living situations compromised by the natural disaster in 2010. Nearly
38,000 people remain in the camps, with 70% of them consisting of women and children
https://reliefweb.int​. Government officials are taking little action towards permanent housing for
the remaining people in the camps. The displaced families have little voice in what decisions are
being made for them by the government. They are at the mercy of those who are not in similar
positions, and feel as if they are powerless in improving their living situation. The displacement
camps consist of far below par living conditions. Many of the homes are made out of sticks and
tarps ​https://reliefweb.int​. This leaves the residents susceptible to other factors like hurricanes
and flooding. Two years ago, during hurricane Matthew, approximately 1000 people died due to
lack of adequate shelter to stay safe from the storm ​https://reliefweb.int​. This adds another layer
of complication to the issue, as they were not only devastated the most by the original
earthquake, but they are also left the most vulnerable to other natural disasters that can occur in
the future.
The field of sustainable technology could have a large impact on the temporary, unsafe
shelter problem stemming from the earthquake by creating more permanent housing for the
displaced Haitians using sustainable resources that would be resistant to natural disasters. Again,
This would need to be curated in unison with the people, but coming from the field of ST, these
are base level strategies to build upon. A more resistant structure for the people could include a
concrete foundation and water resistant roofing to be more stable and safe in storms. By teaching
a group of the Haitians about how to build stable housing and providing some funding, there
would be a large possibility for widespread improvements of the displacement camps. Rather
than just building sustainable housing for the people, this strategy would provide knowledge to
share with others, and lead to a larger probability of large scale improvements. Starting with the
basic concept of sustainable building materials allows us to create a system that can be altered to
fit best in Haiti based on the needs of the community. By practicing effective communication,
we can get a deeper understanding of the issues in Haiti straight from the victims themselves.
The right to clean water and sanitation was already absent from many regions in Haiti
before the earthquake. After the disaster, these conditions greatly worsened. Both domestic and
sanitary water systems were destroyed ​https://thewaterproject.org​. Wells and water systems were
directly affected throughout the country, and there is little support from the Haitian government
to help fix the damages. 8 years after the earthquake, 70 percent of all Haitians still lack access to
potable water ​https://www.hrw.org​. Lack of efficient sewage systems has caused the country to
develop unsafe, unsustainable habits like open concrete drains susceptible to flooding, or
dumping raw sewage into pits or canals. Unclean water sources and poor sanitation inevitably
leads to the spread of diseases, especially when many of the countries residents are in temporary
living conditions out of their own control. Since 2010, cholera has become a major problem for
Haitians. Over 800,000 people have been infected and 10,000 people have died from the disease
https://www.globalcitizen.org​. Vaccinations have cut down on these numbers since then, but that
should not demote the fact that the way current water management occurs in Haiti is dangerous
and they require sustainable, safe options.
Sustainable Technology has a wide range of influence in the field of waste water
management. Integrating this expertise with the knowledge and specific needs of the
communities in Haiti could lead to widespread success. With technology like an effective sewage
system in a closed loop, waste management could become less dangerous, and even benefit by
providing fertilizer to grow food ​https://ascelibrary.org​. Again, teaching the Haitians how to
build sustainable wastewater systems could potentially provide a mode of income and create a
catalyst for change spreading from communities to a large scale. Some of the solutions provided
by NGOs were lacking severely on the sustainability front, which cannot be ignored when
dealing with disasters in the natural environment. For example, when aid groups provided clean
water and temporary toilet systems after the quake, they did not consider where that waste would
be disposed of. They were forced to make a last minute decision, which ended up being the
landfill next to the city with a permeable boundary as the site for waste. To sum that system up:
people use the temporary bathrooms, the waste is dumped into the landfill, and raw sewage
quickly runs into the groundwater and ocean water supply ​https://www.npr.org​. While the NGOs
had good intentions, they did not think about the long term impacts such as the spread of
infectious disease. Integrating well accepted strategies in the field with community and culture
specific alterations can help us create effective strategies to avoid these long term negative
effects.