[ad_1]
Ermano Ndala Joseph Pairing*
Submitted to AlterPresse on July 15, 2024
Today in 2024, crime and poverty are omnipresent in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
Port-au-Prince, one of Haiti’s coastal cities, has been home to numerous camps for displaced persons for months due to terror and other violence by armed gangs.
Thousands of people live in dangerous conditions, fighting daily for survival in nightmarish conditions in what was once a land of natural beauty and a hospitable environment.
Lack of access to drinking water remains a major challenge in more than 85 camps for displaced persons in Port-au-Prince. For many, this basic human right has become an unattainable luxury.
“We live in a very small space. When it rains, we have to use acrobatics, especially at night, to sleep with the children because the rain brings floods,” testified Évelyne, a single mother of six orphaned by the murder of her father. During the bloody attack at Carrefour Feuilles, armed gangs carried out violent attacks.
Empty tap, empty stomach
It is now 10:00 AM (2:00 PM GMT).
No more water flowing from the tap. The tank is dry.
The two displaced persons settlements are located just 10 metres apart, on Avenue Christophe and Rue Roy, not far from the National Institute of Administration, Management and International Studies (Inaghei) of the State University of Haiti (Ueh).
The health situation there is critical. The shortage of drinking water is a serious problem.
For more than a year, these areas have lacked basic infrastructure, making it extremely difficult for residents to access drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities.
“We have no water or food. We have nothing. The country has to change so we can resume normal activities,” Tanya hopes.
Tania, a widowed mother of four, is struggling to survive. Her children have been dispersed in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as violence by armed gangs has increased since February 2024. Her children’s father was shot dead by an armed gang.
“I have four children, but the armed violence in Port-au-Prince tore them away from my arms. I don’t know where they are now,” Tanya whispered breathlessly, the silence swallowing up her memories of her past life and her children.
In mid-July 2024, hundreds of displaced people in several refugee camps in Port-au-Prince found themselves without access to drinking water for more than 60 days.
The daily life of these forgotten people is marked by a harsh reality: a constant search for water and the means to meet the most basic needs.
How long will it take for a glass of drinking water to stop being a nightmare for displaced people in the metropolitan area of the capital Port-au-Prince?
How long will it take for the authorities to hear the cries of these displaced people and respond to this humanitarian crisis by ensuring that everyone can meet their basic needs with dignity?
The most basic needs are not met
“I’m living in a very dire situation. I don’t know what to do. I can’t stand it anymore,” Junia blurted out, trying to hold back her bitter words.
Residents, including dozens of children under the age of one, are forced to live in poor sanitary conditions that experts say can foster instability and lead to oral diseases and other infections.
According to the United Nations (UN), at least 1,000 children die every day worldwide due to unsafe water.
This alarming statistic highlights how critical access to drinking water is to a child’s survival and health, a reality that is even more urgent in the displacement camps in Port-au-Prince.
Since 2023, more than 600,000 people have been forced from their homes due to terror and other violence by armed gangs in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
* Graduate student of the Department of Social Communication, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Fasch), State University of Haiti (Ueh)
[ad_2]
Source link
