Rows and rows of people lined along Port-au-Prince's narrow streets. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do.

That's the image that will stick with Rep. Michael Burgess from his recent trip to Haiti's capital, where hundreds of thousands of people are still suffering from January's magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

"It was startling," Burgess said. "They weren't mad. They just didn't have anywhere to go."

The Lewisville Republican joined five other lawmakers on a congressional delegation last Friday to determine if Haiti's remaining infrastructure and institutions are capable of effectively administering international aid.

The United States government has given about $636 million in earthquake assistance, according a report last week by the U.S. Agency for International Aid. That number only figures to go up as time goes along, and Burgess and others wanted reassurance from the State Department and USAID that the money would reach those in the greatest need.

"That's the one reassuring message," Burgess said. "I won't say the State Department and USAID are doing everything perfectly, but they are doing the job that we want them to do in getting the aid to those who need it."

Other lawmakers on the trip were Rep. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.; Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis.; Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass.; and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and the earthquake only added to the problems. The natural disaster killed an estimated 200,000 people, and in the capital of Port-au-Prince, it displaced nearly 700,000 people. It leveled cities and crippled the national government.

"There is the significant amount of psychological damage, too," Burgess said.

Burgess, who is an OB-GYN, said he had been trying to go to Haiti ever since the catastrophe. He wasn't able to do any doctoring while he was there - the delegation was there for a day - but he met a group of doctors who suggested he come back another weekend to give medical treatment.

The U.S. government has sent nearly $50 million to fund health activities in Haiti, according to USAID. Burgess said the medical problems remain significant, with one of the biggest needs being for low-cost prosthetics to help those who had to receive amputations.

"The problems are different than it would be in this country," he said. "They need a lot of the low-tech, low-cost appliances and solutions."

But Burgess said there are success stories, too. New shelters are starting to go up, he said, and so far, a major food crisis has been averted.

Most of all, Burgess said he was amazed by Haitians' positive attitudes.

"I'm not sure I would be as tolerant as they are with some of the things they are being asked to put up with," he said. "But it is startling how resilient they seem to be in the face of an overwhelming catastrophe."


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