But a desire to get money to help tide things over and resume life soon got the better of everyone who fell into a single file and entered and left the banks one by one.

Five hours passed and there were still long lines in front of the banks. The customers were patient and quiet, however, as they awaited their turn.

Among those lining up was a youth wearing a popular T-shirt and with a gold chain around his neck. He told Xinhua that relatives in Miami had sent him some money right after the quake, but due to the closure of the banks here he could not immediately receive the remittance.

Statistics show that about 3 million Haitians reside abroad, mainly in North America, Dominica, the Dutch Antilles and France.

Overseas remittance is one of the major sources of the country's foreign exchange. After the earthquake, many overseas Haitians donated money and raised charity funds for the victims. The amount of overseas remittance was also on the increase.

Forty-two of Port-au-Prince's banks have started to re-open since January 21. Those banks even worked through Sunday to serve their customers. Still, each customer was allowed to only withdraw US$2,500 at most.