How humanitarian aid is impacting Haiti — and how locals are helping one another
Haitian residents and their advocates say humanitarian aid should focus on supporting the work Haitians are already doing locally.
Monique Clesca lives in a suburban area in the mountains just above Port-au-Prince, away from the center of violence in the flatlands below. But Clesca said she fears the armed groups that control much of the capital city of Haiti will make good on their promise to go up into the hills and wreak havoc.
Clesca said she is largely confined to her home.
“A lot of stores have been closed. I went to the supermarket last Saturday, half an hour, just in and out. I rushed out,” she told NBC News. She said farmers and fishermen based in the rural areas outside the capital have not been able to bring their goods to Port-au-Prince for weeks. “There is a lot of poverty,” she said.
Haitian residents facing poverty and even starvation are desperate for food, shelter and medical supplies as political tensions grow and violence continues to escalate. Much aid is needed, but advocates and residents say the best humanitarian aid is one that supports the work of grassroots groups already established and helping civilians every day. Foreign aid, they say, usually falls into the hands of armed groups.
Haiti’s decadeslong political crisis and dire humanitarian emergency have come to a head since its de facto leader said he would resign. Amid the uncertainty, residents live in fear of armed groups who control everything, from where people can go safely to what resources they can access. But people have been trying to flee Port-au-Prince, the epicenter of the violence, for well over a year, and about 160,000 people have been displaced in the last several months, according to the U.N. Violent armed groups have occupied the Autorité Portuaire Nationale, the country’s largest port, obstructing access to most humanitarian aid.
Rating: 5