STANLEY Licet, 14, is among the hundreds of thousands of Haitian children now out of school at the mercy of the streets, following the January 12 earthquake that rocked the French-speaking country.

The teen has been living for more than one month under a tent in Place Saint-Pierre in Pétionville. The small house in which he lived crumbled to the ground during the January quake. His parents, a vendor and a carpenter, were unable to take to safety anything from the two-bedroom home which had been their home for 12 years — not even the little radio that was used for their entertainment.

Now, to occupy himself, Stanley spends his days sleeping or chatting with other children in the town square.

“Since I’ve been here, I don’t have anything else to do but play football or dominos,” he said, hiding his face as though ashamed of his new life. “At this time of the day, I would be in my classroom with my classmates. I would be at school.”

“I thought the situation was going to change,” he added, clearly referencing the passage of the months that have not heralded his return to the classroom.

But there are many hurdles to be overcome before schools in Port-au-Prince and other regions affected by the devastating event can reopen.

A preliminary damage assessment carried out by UNESCO on the education sector reveals that 8,000 educational institutions were destroyed and hundreds of others damaged, while more than 1,000 teachers lost their lives in the January 12 tremor.

“My school building was practically destroyed. Even if it had not been destroyed, I would not have been able to resume classes so quickly because there are still bodies around the school compound under the rubble that are giving off a foul stench and toxic gases that are dangerous to public health,” noted Rebecca, a teenage girl who lives in a temporary settlement in Delmas 62.

Like many other school children in these makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince, she has lost all her basic school supplies under the piles of concrete.

“I didn’t have the time to take my backpack. I don’t have anything to go to school, not even an exercise book,” she said.

Camblard Christiane, the mother of young Addoram Etilus, a seven-year old grade three student, said: “I can’t talk about school at the moment. My house and everything in it was destroyed. Moreover, the elementary school that my son was attending in Darbonne collapsed.”

Orphaned children are among the most vulnerable. Those who were orphaned by the quake may never return to school if they are not helped by government or non-governmental organisations. This is the reality for Bessitho Joseph, an eighth-grade student. His mother, a widow for several years now, who struggled to pay for his schooling and that of his little sister, lies dead under the rubble of their hovel located in Nerette.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get the opportunity to return to my classroom. I put everything in destiny’s hands, wherever that may lead,” he said.

Meanwhile, psychologist Bernadin Amazan has said that the children who lost loved ones to the earthquake are prone to post-traumatic stress syndrome.

“The symptoms include a sense of loss of interest and withdrawal into oneself. The individual tends to withdraw from others and no longer wants to get involved, under the pretext that he or she no longer has a reason to get involved or lacks the motivation to do so,” said Bernadin.

The feeling of loneliness and of retreat makes them even more vulnerable to social influences and bad morals.

“These children need to be taken care of immediately. They are fragile and susceptible to delinquency,” warned sociologist Jorel Rene.

“Without proper monitoring, these young people, especially the young female orphans, may become rape victims or victims of different violent or sexual attacks,” added Alix Andre, director of Phare National, an association involved in sexual health and reproduction in Delmas 49.

At the Institute of Social Welfare and Research, a support programme for the children was put in place shortly after the earthquake. For the moment however, only children living in charity institutions benefit from this programme.

“We do not yet have a programme for school children who have become orphans or who find themselves in difficulty. We currently assist orphanages and nurseries that are victims of the January 12 catastrophe,” noted Roosevelt Jean Louis, assistant director of social services at the institute.

— Panos Caribbean