This is despite the fact that Haiti’s government is struggling to provide basic services.
Many relief workers are reluctant to talk on the record about cuts, perhaps because they fear that the attention will be drawn to the October kidnappings of 17 Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries employees — 12 of whom remain hostage.
Several confirmed that they had sent staff out of the country, but did not give details. They were forced to temporarily reduce aid operations.
Aid groups have been prevented from reaching parts of Port-au-Prince and beyond due to gang-related kidnappings or shootings.
Agency operations have been hampered by a severe fuel shortage.
Margarett Lubin (Haiti director, CORE), a U.S. non-profit organization, said, “It’s just gotten worse in every way possible.”
Lubin stated that “you see the situation deteriorating every day, impacting lives at all levels,” and added that aid organizations had entered “survival mode”.
BUSINESS
G7 warns Russia about’massive consequences’ if Ukraine invades
Is there a new law on bacon? California grocers seek delay
Austria lifts restrictions on vaccinations
German ship carrying burning timber cargo was towed to a Swedish port
Haiti is one of the most dependent countries in the world on aid groups. Billions of dollars have been channeled through hundreds, some even several thousand, of aid organizations while the government has become weaker and less efficient.
Ariel Henry, the Prime Minister of Israel, assumed the leadership of a country that was still struggling to achieve political stability shortly after the assassination on July 7. Nearly all of the seats in parliament have been lost and no date has been set for long-delayed elections. Henry however stated that he expected them to take place early next year.
A country with more than 11million people has less than 12 elected officials.
The gangs are the rulers on the streets.
According to the United Nations Integrated Office Haiti, Haiti’s National Police has reported more than 460 kidnappings this year. This is nearly twice what was reported last.
According to the agency, Haitians “live in hell under armed gangs’ yoke.” Rapes and murders, thefts and armed attacks continue to be committed every day on populations often left to their own devices in marginalized and disadvantaged neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.
The agency stated that they were unable to access the areas controlled by gangs. They are far from being able measure the extent of the abuses and what Haitians actually experience every day.
It said that humanitarian actors had also been limited in their intervention due to security risks and access problems.
U.N. World Food Program, a large organization, has found other ways to help people. They use barges to transport goods from the capital to the southern region of Haiti. However, smaller organizations may not always have the resources to do so.
World Vision International, a California-based charity that aids children in Haiti, said that it had relocated at most 11 of its 320 employees due to violence. It also disclosed that it is taking unannounced security measures for the rest of its staff.
Water Mission, a South Carolina non-profit, stated that it is exploring the possibility of moving to Haiti. It also said that kidnappings, violence, and other factors have caused it to alter its staffing plans in order to protect people.
The organization stated that “these issues sometimes result in slower progression in our ongoing safe-water project work.” “We will continue our work regardless of any interruptions.”
These difficulties occur at a time when there is a growing need for assistance. Mid-August saw a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that destroyed thousands of homes and more than 2,200 people. It is also struggling to deal with more than 12,000 Haitians who were recently deported from the U.S.
UNICEF estimates that more than 20,000 people fled their homes this year due to gang violence. Many are living in temporary shelters under extremely unhealthy conditions and the pandemic. According to the U.N. agency, it will need $97 million in order to assist 1 million Haitians next year.
Martin Jean Junior, a 50 year-old man who used to resell scrap steel, is one of them. His house was set ablaze in June by police and gangs, he said.
He said, “I have been on the streets since,” as he laid on a blue sheet that he had laid on the hard floor at a Port-au-Prince school.
Things could get worse: Haitians are warned by a prominent gang leader to stay clear of Martissant, the troubled community. Rival gangs are likely to fight in the coming days.
“Even dogs and rats will not be saved. Anybody that moves, trucks or motorcycles, and people will be treated as allies by Ti-Bois,” Ti-Bois’ gang leader, “Izo,” said in a video. He was referring to a rival gang. “Martissant has been declared a combat area, and anyone who ignores this warning will be punished with their lives.”
Many people avoid the area because they fear being kidnapped, killed or having their cargo stolen. Because the main highway runs through this area, it has effectively cut off access to the country’s southern peninsula.
Martissant saw the deaths of a nurse, a seven-year-old girl, and five people on a bus. Doctors Without Borders, an aid group, closed the emergency clinic that had been serving the community for 15 year because of the violence.
Liman Pierre, a forty-year-old mechanic, stated that he had recently crossed Martissant to get to work. He saw four dead people including two elderly neighbors as well as the driver of the motorcycle transporting them.
He said, “The criminals murder with impunity and leave the dead to dogs.” “Those who don’t get devoured by dogs will be set on fire. This cannot be.”
Pierre is currently sleeping on the streets in Port-au-Prince, as he fears crossing Martissant to return home. “You don’t even get to visit your parents or friends who are in trouble,” he said.
Pierre stated, “The state does not exist.” Pierre said that criminals have been at the helm for more than six months. We are in December and do not see the end of this tunnel.
