Another Haiti is Possible

By Deepa Panchang
May 31, 2012

“Cholera is something they sent,” says graffiti on Port-au-Prince walls, “to finish killing off the rest of us.”

Scientists have shown that the cholera pathogen came to Haiti with foreign UN troops who carried the bacteria in their bodies, and whose military base was dumping its sewage into a nearby river. The imported disease has claimed more than 7,000 lives and continues to ravage communities across Haiti. Despite billions in post-earthquake aid dollars and hundreds of humanitarian NGOs, the country still faces a dearth of water and sanitation services, further fueling the epidemic. Nearly half a million internally displaced people (IDPs) still live since the 2010 earthquake in makeshift camps under tarps, torn tents, and pieces of old fabric and cardboard, an ideal environment for cholera. The situation raises serious questions about the humanitarian mechanism and its priorities. Why do so many people still lack the most basic of services? What factors are guiding humanitarian agencies’ decisions to provide or withhold them?

Human rights defenders in Haiti are concerned with a recent upsurge in violence against displaced people. One camp was arsoned over the weekend and others face imminent, illegal eviction. Over the course of the past week, Amnesty International, who has been working closely with the Haitian right to housing movement, has released two urgent action alerts regarding camp evictions. Take a moment to read and respond to the alert below. 

URGENT ACTION: FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION IN HAITI
Alert from Amnesty International

Hundreds of families living in a camp for internally displaced people in Carrefour, in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, are being harassed and intimidated and are at imminent risk of forced eviction.

Interview by Beverly Bell and Alexis Erkert

April 24, 2012

In honor of Earth Day, we run an interview with Yves-André Wainright, who discusses ways that poor governance and the role of foreign donors have contributed to the country’s environmental catastrophe. He also lays out a blueprint for what could turn the situation around, effectively mobilizing both government and the population to begin restoring the environment.

Yves-André Wainright served twice as Haiti’s Minister of Environment. Trained as an agronomist, Yves-André’s work has focused on environmental management, especially management of natural resources and waste.

By Alexis Erkert
March 28, 2012

When police and the landowner commanded Michelène Pierre to vacate her tent on a Sunday afternoon so that they could light it on fire, she responded: “If you want to light me on fire along with this entire camp, go ahead. I’m not leaving.” The police bypassed her tent, but continued to threaten other residents of Camp Kozbami, setting flame to six tents.

Camp Kozbami is the fifth camp to be arsoned in two months. As landowners and the government push to close camps inhabited by those displaced by the earthquake that rocked Haiti 26 months ago, a reported 94,632 individuals are facing forced eviction.

by Alexis Erkert, photos by Ben Depp

March 14, 2012

“As activists, we commemorate this as a day of struggle, a day to make our voices heard until someone pays attention and helps provide solutions to our problems." Facing the Haitian parliament with a throng of banner-waving and singing women at her back, Rachelle Fondechaine of Women Fighting for the Development of Haiti continued, "Today is March 8th! It's a day when women workers in New York first took to the streets in to demand their rights in 1857. This day is marked in our memories, and as women in Haiti, we have no support, we are left in the street, our children don't have access to school...”

March 6, 2012

The images of devastation in Alabama and surrounding states as a result of last week’s tornadoes have sincerely touched Haitians that are still recovering from the effects of the January 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The following message of solidarity from the Haitian housing coalition, FRAKKA, goes out to all those who have been affected by the storms in the US:

February 15, 2012
Contact: Mark Schuller, mschuller@york.cuny.edu

A newly published survey indicates that a majority of residents of Haiti’s capital have a negative opinion of UN troops stationed in Haiti. The survey of over 800 households throughout Port-au-Prince shows that less than a quarter of respondents considered that the presence of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (or MINUSTAH) is a “good thing” while a majority feel that the troops aren’t providing adequate security.  A large percentage (43.9%) of respondents believed that MINUSTAH agents are or have been engaged in criminal activities such as violence, theft and rape.