NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – "Deplorable" is the first word North Miami Mayor Smith Joseph used to describe what he saw in post-Hurricane Matthew Les Cayes, Haiti, on Friday, just after returning to Miami International Airport.
Joseph was among a contingent of public officials, including North Miami police Chief Gary Eugene and newly-elected Florida state Rep. Al Jaquet, who spent the previous 48 hours speaking to Haitian government officials in Port-au-Prince and touring the worst hit southern cities by helicopter.
The group described an agricultural sector decimated by the hurricane and a new outbreak of 200 cases of cholera because contaminated rivers and ocean waters breached drinking water wells.
Joseph said they saw a team from Miami distributing 1,100 small water filters, capable of cleaning three years' worth of drinking water.
As for relief supplies being collected around South Florida, Joseph said Haitian officials asked for discretion and restraint from inundating the country with used clothing and supplies.
"They learned from the earthquake in 2010, when they were flooded with used products," Joseph said. "There are companies there that sell those goods, and if the goods come in for free, they will go bankrupt. They want the merchandise to be purchased there to stimulate the economy."
Joseph represents a city with a significant Haitian-American population and with family and business ties in Haiti. He said he has drafted a resolution to take to the North Miami City Commission to approve a city-funded aid package for Haiti.
He also called on President Barack Obama to cease deportations of about 300 Haitian nationals held in detention in Southern California after illegally crossing into the U.S. over the Mexican border.