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International postal services resume in Haiti

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The devastated country starts to exchange mail with France and the United States

Haiti's mail exchanges with France and the United States resume today, paving the way for the full resumption of international mail activities at the provisional processing centre set up in Delmas, in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.

The first mail consignments from France and the United States will soon reach Haiti. On Friday, 30 April, the Universal Postal Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Berne (Switzerland), informed both countries that they could release the mail they had been holding since the earthquake of 12 January. Mail will be sent to Port-au-Prince, where it will be processed and delivered from Delmas.

Since the earthquake, all mail services to Haiti had been halted.

Full resumption of exchanges with UPU member countries is expected within two weeks. 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 UPU Director General Edouard Dayan. "In spite of the chaos and their personal losses, the Haiti Postal Corporation, in particular Director General Margarette Emile, never gave up. There has been exemplary cooperation between Haitian colleagues and the international postal community to restore postal services as quickly as possible, something long awaited by the Haitian people and their government."

For her part, 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 12 January disaster is alive and kicking. First and foremost, it is personally satisfying... But I also wish to express my gratitude to 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. A number of 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, retrieve mail buried under the rubble, and help the Haiti Postal Corporation to organize itself. 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.

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, which will be receiving new vehicles and new operational equipment. The UPU's Telematics Cooperative - a group of countries contributing to the development of software and applications for the benefit of UPU member countries - wrote off Haiti's debt. And over the next five years, the cooperative will make the International Financial System application available free of charge to the Haitian Post, enabling it to optimize its financial services, in particular electronic money transfers.

Basic services

The main post office in the capital as well as the building hosting the EMS service (the Post's fastest service) were completely destroyed by the earthquake, as well as the post office in Jacmel and others in the area. Other offices were severely damaged. 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 currently being processed every day. The Delmas post office receives and forwards dispatches to the nine main provincial offices and the post offices in Port-au-Prince. Some dispatches have also been sent to Miami, New York, Montreal and Paris.

Seven post offices in Port-au-Prince are functioning: Piétonville, Delmas, Bas Peu de Choses, Croix des Bouquets, Croix des Missions, Carrefour and Bel Air. These offices offer a basic service, including sale of stamps and franking of letters and small packets. Registered and parcel post are also available.

Over the coming months, 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.