Haiti today opened its mail exchanges with France and the U.S., paving the way for the resumption of international mail activities at a post office in Delmas, near Port-au-Prince.
The first mail consignments from France and the United States will soon reach Haiti. The UPU has informed both countries they could release the mail held since the January earthquake.
All mail services to Haiti had been halted since the earthquake.
Full resumption of exchanges with UPU member countries is expected shortly. The UPU, which coordinates international postal aid, is building a 600-square metre structure in the SONAPI industrial park, near Port-au-Prince airport, which will operate as an international office of exchange.
International effort
“The resumption of postal exchanges with the international community is essential because millions of Haitians living abroad have been longing to send aid to their compatriots, who were affected by the catastrophe,” said Edouard Dayan, the UPU’s director general.
For her part, Haiti Post’s director general, Margarette Emile welcomed the return of postal services with the outside world. “This resumption of service, albeit partial, shows that a sector that many people gave up for dead after the January disaster is alive and kicking. First and foremost, it is personally satisfying… But I also thank all UPU member countries for the solidarity they have shown with the Haitian Post. Without your support, we would be cut off from the rest of the world,” she said.
The resumption of international postal services was made possible thanks to the hard work of the international postal community and the Haiti Postal Corporation. Many Posts made donations in cash or in kind and, since January, teams of international postal experts have twice visited Haiti to assess the earthquake’s impact on postal operations and help the Haiti Postal Corporation to organize itself. Thanks to the donations it received and funds from its own budget, the UPU has prepared a major project worth around 600,000 US dollars for the Haitian Post.
Five experts from Canada, France, Senegal and the United States are currently in Port-au-Prince to supervise the construction of the new office of exchange and help the Haitian Post restart its operations.
Basic services
Since the disaster, basic postal services have been provided from the home of the Post’s director general. These services will now be run from the Delmas post office. Between 1,500 and 2,000 items are processed every day, and functioning post offices sell stamps and frank letters and small packets.
The UPU will continue to support the restoration and improvement of Haiti’s postal infrastructure. One of the aims is to use new technologies to upgrade the country's postal services, as these could help this developing country’s economy to start moving again.