Thousands Remain Homeless in Haiti Eight Years After Devastating Earthquake.
| Autor | Rodriguez, George |
Tens of thousands of homeless people, living in displacement camps eight years after an earthquake devastated Haiti's capital are evidence of this Caribbean nation's critical reality (NotiCen, May 20, 2010, Oct. 20, 2011, Jan. 10, 2013).
The 7.0-magnitude natural event that hit shortly before 5 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010, came to worsen the situation of the approximately 80% of Haitians caught in poverty--an estimated 25% of them in extreme poverty--and somehow surviving on less than US$2 a day.
Poverty and marginalization are historic features of Haiti, a country recurrently battered by destructive natural events and constantly affected by political instability, corruption, and violence.
The earthquake destroyed ample areas in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and hit other sectors in the country, killing over 200,000 people, displacing some 600,000 others, and rendering yet another 1.5 million homeless.
According to the World Report issued early this year by Human Rights Watch, "as of September 2017, authorities had failed to assist many of the nearly 38,000 individuals still living in displacement camps. in resettling or returning to their places of origin."
In a detailed account it ran on the issue in January, the Associated Press (AP) focused on Camp Caradeux, located in the northern Port-au-Prince district of Delmas, which is one of the shelters housing thousands of Haitians displaced by the earthquake.
"Promises of new permanent homes have failed to materialize, and Haiti's economy remains weak, leaving camp residents with nowhere to go," the AP reported. "The camp is transforming into a village as people build cinderblock homes and try to create more normal lives."
According to Chery Dieu-Nalio, an AP photographer in Haiti who visited the camp, Caradeux has about 3,000 temporary shelters and tents and about 50 concrete houses, with 100 more under construction.
"There is a school, police station, church, and Voodoo temple, and the camp is supplied with electricity and potable water," he said, noting that residents earn a living by "selling charcoal, cutting hair, and pursuing other jobs so they can slowly accumulate the money to build houses."
Abuse of women is prevalent
Besides providing information regarding the people in the camps, in its latest report, Human Rights Watch also highlighted the situation of vulnerability that women and children are facing.
"Gender-based violence is a widespread problem," the report said. "Haiti does not have...
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