Greely's International Rescue pitches in for Haiti

Greely's International Rescue pitches in for Haiti. A group of 25 hired Haitian workers studies an area of wreckage under the guidance of International Rescue in late January. Submitted photo

As executive director of Greely-based International Rescue, John Green has seen it all.

The non-profit charitable organization has been on the ground working with victims of 47 world disasters, including their 27 earthquake recently in Haiti – and Green has been there almost every step of the way.

However, even with his vast experience dealing with catastrophes, nothing could have prepared him for the events in Haiti.

“The period of just more than a week in Haiti was the longest year of my life,” he said. “It really was imposing in every sense of the word. Morally imposing, physically difficult, financially difficult – everything you can possibly imagine that would be difficult to perform a task, this met that definition.”

Green and colleague Bill Powers worked as the lead rescue team following the earthquake, arriving on the scene on Jan. 19 and providing first-hand assistance to those in need.

As a PhD chemist, Green spearheaded the explosives unit and allowed those around him to use their skills to their advantage.

“I’m a person who leads by example rather than by order. Every time there was entry into the debris, I was involved,” he said.

“All of the exploration, I let people come to us with a plan and they tell us what their priority is and we review it. Anytime they had a viable plan, we said ‘Yeah go for it.’”

And go for it they did.

Within three days, Green was told by the United Nations that the duo had positively affected 10,000 people after just five missions, a number that grew up to an estimated 21,000 by their departure.

While that seems like a big number, Green said that was hardly the case.

On the third day, Green and Powers were sent back to Hotel Montana and put in charge of the International Response team.

“We knew quite a few of the people. We made friends and we gained creditability with the people there very quickly,” he said.

Working mostly from the Caribbean Market and Hotel Montana with teams from all around the world including those from Chile, Venezuela, Brazil – and even hired working from Haiti – Green said the goal find as many bodies as possible.

While Green was only able to pull one live person out of seemingly endless rubble, the 100-odd dead bodies that were found could at least provide closure to distraught families.

“The (dead body) recovery is very forensic. We want to make sure everyone is as complete as possible. We take pictures of the environment, we take pictures of the articles adjacent to them, something they have in their hand.

“Just so after everything is said and done, it’s easy to say, ‘That’s Harold, we’ve recovered Harold’ and his family can now have closure.”

Green admits that the task was extremely difficult, especially with the emotion involved.

While International Rescue has a policy where workers cannot show their emotion in public, he said the work in Haiti was certainly a challenge mentally.

“At the time you’re doing a job,” he said. “It does us no good to be there and break down in front of somebody because we’re their strength at that time. It’s not the time to let it affect us.

“Later on when we get back, we sort of curl up in a ball and cry like a baby. That’s just a way to vent.”

Even with the all challenges psychologically, funding has been the hurdle for Green.

A vast majority of the money for the mission comes from his for-profit company, Prep Service International, which specializes in the clean up process of train derailments and chemical spills.

However for the Haiti mission, Green had to take out a $100,000 line of credit on his house, something he didn’t think twice about.

“You don’t do this for financial gain, you don’t do this for recognition, you don’t do this for notoriety,” Green said. “You do this because it comes from your heart. If you’re committed to it, you do it. If you do it, you don’t whine about it.”

It was that attitude that helped Green gain some financial support.

After a man who was a member of his church heard about his mission, Green was invited to the Greely Lions Club to make a presentation.

Because the Lions Club had already allotted $3,000 to the Haitian relief efforts, once they heard Green’s “gripping presentation,” it seemed only logical to donate their funds to his efforts with International Rescue – marking the first time in 18 years that an individual group has done so.

“When he came in and made his presentation and we actually found that he was on the ground doing this type of work, we decided to give him the bulk of the money,” president John McClelland said.

“There is an awful lot of emotion associated with contributing to Haiti – everybody’s doing it,” public relations chairman Gerrie Kautz added. “They can’t use the money fast enough. There’s also the stigma of possible corruption associated with it if you know Haiti.

“We felt that this is a direction use of a contribution. Here’s a guy that’s going to go down there and really do the work.”

Even though Green had to return to Ottawa, his tasks are not yet complete.

Phase one of his mission was to go down to Haiti and help, but Green still wants to return to the country with more supplies and equipment.

As the third-rated rescue team by the United Nations, Green feels it is imperative that he returns to Haiti as soon as possible.

 “We’re still in the middle of our mission, so we haven’t hit that stage yet,” Green said, while adding than he plans on bringing candy for the children next time as well. “We’re actually trying to back their now, but financially it’s been onerous.”

“We know that this isn’t a façade (in Haiti) – this is them.”

More information on International Rescue’s relief efforts can be found at www.hazmat1.net.

daniel.bowman@metroland.com