Many of the 350,000 people living in makeshift
camps since the 2010 earthquake are also at risk
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 212-633-4150, @AIUSAmedia
(New York) – The Haitian authorities must urgently move to prevent illegal and
violent evictions of people living in makeshift camps and take meaningful steps to
provide them with appropriate housing, said Amnesty International today, after a new
wave of evictions affected hundreds of families across Port-au-Prince. Many of the
350,000 people still living in makeshift camps following the 2012 earthquake are also at
risk.
On January 22, police officers violently evicted 84 families from camp Fanm
Koperativ, in the municipality of Port-au-Prince.
According to information gathered by Amnesty International, families were not given
any notice of the eviction and were forced out of their makeshift tents by officers
accompanied by a group of men armed with machetes and hammers.
Suze Mondesir, a member of the camp committee, recounted their ordeal: “Around 10
a.m. a group of police officers accompanied by men armed with machetes and knives
arrived at the camp. They insulted us and began to demolish our tents. The men pushed us
around and the police waved their guns at us to prevent us from reacting.”
A few days before the eviction, residents had organized a press conference to
denounce the lack of action from the authorities regarding their situation. Residents
believe that the expulsion might have happened in response to that.
Women have been particularly affected by the eviction as they have not only lost
their homes and belongings, but also their small business initiatives. Cléane Etienne, a
resident from Camp Fanm Koperatif said, “They kicked over the pot of coffee which I was
going to sell. That was my livelihood. Now I need money to start over.”
“Not only did we lose our belongings, but we also had to buy wood and tarpaulins to
rebuild our shelters, because we have nowhere else to go,” said another woman.
“Evicting people living in make-shift camps inflicts yet more trauma on people who
have already lost everything in the earthquake. By not even allowing them time to gather
their things and by leaving them out on the street, the authorities are denying
earthquake victims their dignity,” said Javier Zúñiga, special advisor at Amnesty
International.
Earlier in the month, on January 12 – the third anniversary of Haiti’s devastating
earthquake – municipal officials and officials from the Civil Protection Agency forcibly
evicted around 600 families from Camp Place Sainte-Anne, also in Port-au-Prince.
The camp’s residents were informed of the eviction only five days in advance and were
promised 20,000 gourdes (approximately U.S. $480) per family. However, according to the
local organization Groupe d’Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés, 250 families have yet to
receive any money. On the day of the eviction, none of the families were given enough
time to gather their belongings before their shelters were destroyed.
“We saw municipal officials firing in the air, throwing stones so we would leave, the
police came later to back them up,” said Carnise Delbrun, a member of the committee in
Camp Place Sainte-Anne. “Four people were hurt including a one-year-old baby and a
five-year-old child who were injured by a plank of wood when the municipal officials
were destroying their tent. Other residents were hit by stones and a lot of us lost
money, mobile phones, and other personal effects.”
“Forcing people out of camps must be avoided at all costs, and there must be genuine
consultation and the provision of adequate alternative housing before any eviction takes
place.” said Zúñiga, “The Haitian authorities must prioritize the housing needs of those
people still living in dire conditions in displacement camps three years after the
earthquake.”
On January 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake in Haiti left 200,000 dead and 2.3
million people homeless. Three years on, it is estimated that more than 350,000 people
are currently living in 496 camps across the country.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist
organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than
150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and
exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever
justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied.