{"id":59011,"date":"2024-05-25T22:28:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-25T22:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/25\/why-do-aid-groups-stay-in-lawless-haiti\/"},"modified":"2024-05-25T22:28:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-25T22:28:16","slug":"why-do-aid-groups-stay-in-lawless-haiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/25\/why-do-aid-groups-stay-in-lawless-haiti\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Aid Groups Stay in Lawless Haiti?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/25\/multimedia\/25haiti-explainer1-kfgb\/25haiti-explainer1-kfgb-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Why Do Aid Groups Stay in Lawless Haiti?\" title=\"Why Do Aid Groups Stay in Lawless Haiti?\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Haiti\u2019s bleak humanitarian situation is once again in the spotlight <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/24\/world\/americas\/haiti-gang-attack-missionaries-dead.html\" title=\"\">after gangs on Thursday attacked<\/a> an Oklahoma-based missionary group working in the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing two Americans and the Haitian director of the organization, Missions in Haiti.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The attack left many asking why American missionaries are still working in Haiti considering the immense violence that has paralyzed the country and the grip gangs have over most of Port-au-Prince. Thursday\u2019s incident follows the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/17\/world\/americas\/what-is-christian-aid-ministries.html\" title=\"\">2021 kidnapping of 17 missionaries<\/a> who were working in Haiti with Christian Aid Ministries. A Haitian gang kidnapped 16 Americans and a Canadian in that attack; weeks later, 12 of the hostages escaped and the others were freed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Haiti is no stranger to violence and instability, the situation has worsened considerably since the 2021 assassination of the country\u2019s president, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/02\/01\/us\/politics\/haiti-assassination-court.html\" title=\"\">Jovenel Mo\u00efse<\/a>. Since then, the state has collapsed and gangs have proliferated, filling the vacuum.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The killings this week come as Kenyan-led forces are set to arrive in Haiti in the next few weeks to confront the gangs and help stabilize the country. They are being funded by the United States and other members of the international community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/21\/world\/americas\/haiti-gangs-weapons.html\" title=\"\">gangs now control much of the capital<\/a>, including vital infrastructure, like national highways and seaports. They are able to hold up imports of basic food items and other necessities for a country that produces very little and relies heavily on foreign goods.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-3f74cba4\">What is the current humanitarian situation?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gangs now control or can exert their influence over about 90 percent of the capital, according to research groups. In many respects, Port-au-Prince is a giant, open-air prison, with much of the population of six million unable to move freely, gang violence dictating their everyday lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">From March 1 to May 20, gang-related violence has killed 1,160 people across Haiti, including 136 women and 35 children, according to the latest figures from the United Nations. There were also 294 kidnappings, including six children, in that time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than 160,000 people are currently displaced in the capital\u2019s metropolitan area, according to the International Organization for Migration, or I.O.M.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The organization <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iom.int\/news\/waves-violence-storm-port-au-prince-haiti-further-displacing-thousands\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">reported in March that 15,000<\/a> Haitians were displaced within a single week, many of whom were previously displaced from earlier gang violence. The I.O.M. counted 10 displacement sites that were entirely emptied during a period of a few weeks, from February to March, by people fleeing \u201csuccessive waves of violence,\u201d according to a statement from the organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">About 59 percent of the country lives below the poverty line and nearly one in four children suffer from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=malnutrition+in+haiti&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_en&amp;oq=malnutrition+in+haiti&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyCAgBEAAYFhgeMggIAhAAGBYYHjIICAMQABgWGB4yCAgEEAAYFhgeMggIBRAAGBYYHjINCAYQABiGAxiABBiKBTIGCAcQRRhA0gEIMzUyN2owajSoAgCwAgE&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">chronic malnutrition<\/a>, according to Unicef, the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-55c278af\">What is the history of aid groups?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid groups have been active in Haiti for decades, but their presence ramped up after a devastating 2010 earthquake that leveled entire parts of the capital and killed some 300,000 people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since that earthquake, the international community has pumped roughly $13 billion into Haiti. But instead of helping the country get back on its feet, Haitian institutions have weakened, contributing to the current collapse of the state, according to some experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIndividual aid projects can be fine and offer help, but they are still part of a broader system that has undermined the state, reduced capacity and has partially led to the current situation that is unfolding,\u201d said Jake Johnston, a Haiti expert at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank, and the author of the book \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Aid-State-Disaster-Capitalism-Control\/dp\/1250284678\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat has led to the rise of violence and insecurity is in many ways the lack of state presence \u2014 the lack of capacity \u2014 and that is largely the result of aid programs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid groups say that they are preventing an already bad situation in Haiti \u2014 mass unemployment, rampant sexual violence, malnutrition and more \u2014 from spiraling further. Some aid workers blame international governments for Haiti\u2019s current instability, claiming they have rallied behind the corrupt politicians whose poor governance has led the state to collapse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the earthquake struck in 2010, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/2009-2017.state.gov\/p\/wha\/rls\/rm\/2010\/136658.htm\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">nearly half of all American families<\/a> donated to Haitian relief efforts, according to the head of USAID at the time, Rajiv J. Shah. Wyclef Jean, the famous Haitian-born musician, ran a massive donation drive, collecting some $16 million, but was <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/10\/12\/world\/americas\/quake-hit-haiti-gains-little-as-wyclef-jean-charity-spends-much.html\" title=\"\">accused of squandering much of it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When U.N. peacekeepers deployed in Port-au-Prince from 2004 to 2017, they were accused of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/12\/18\/world\/americas\/haiti-un-peacekeepers.html\" title=\"\">fathering hundreds of children<\/a>, then abandoning them and their Haitian mothers. Other peacekeepers were accused of running a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/africa-arrests-united-nations-only-on-ap-e6ebc331460345c5abd4f57d77f535c1\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">child sex ring<\/a>. The U.N. peacekeeping mission was also responsible for sparking <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/08\/18\/world\/americas\/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html\" title=\"\">a deadly cholera outbreak<\/a> that killed at least 10,000 people and sickened hundreds of thousands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Haiti is teeming with aid organizations, the almost wide presence of Christian aid groups in the country \u2014 often managed by missionaries \u2014 has been among the most controversial.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-21d67bcb\">What is the controversy around missionary groups in Haiti?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although missionary groups in Haiti have launched some successful projects to feed, cloth and educate the population, particularly children, they are often viewed by Haitians with extreme mistrust.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the aftermath of the earthquake, some missionaries were caught running orphanages that were accused of trafficking children illegally. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/WN\/haiti-earthquake-american-missionaries-arrested-kidnapping-children-proper\/story?id=9736257\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ten missionaries were jailed<\/a> for trying to take 33 children to the United States without documentation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The customary practice of many mission groups to send in outside volunteers \u2014 often from the United States \u2014 has opened them to criticism. Critics claim these groups leave Haitians entirely reliant on foreign help, doled out by Americans, in a patron-like arrangement that only perpetuates the country\u2019s poverty by failing to build up local capacity.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4fae4404\">How dangerous is the country for aid organizations?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Very.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In some other places, armed groups are often ideologically driven and tolerate or assist aid groups in their efforts to help the population. Instead, the gangs in Haiti exist to enrich or gratify themselves by preying on civilians \u2014 through extortion or rape, for example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gangs used to have somewhat more of moral code, allowing aid workers to carry out their work largely undisturbed. But that changed in 2021, when the state collapsed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTen years ago, if you were an aid worker, Haitian or foreign, or a missionary, people would largely respect you,\u201d said Pierre Esp\u00e9rance, the executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network, a Port-au-Prince organization. \u201cNow, the gangs don\u2019t have respect for any institution in Haiti, not just aid groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the last three years, gangs have attacked and occupied aid distribution centers, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/lac\/en\/press-releases\/haiti-armed-violence-against-schools-increases-nine-fold-in-one-year-unicef\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">schools<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/17\/world\/americas\/haiti-gang-violence-health.html\" title=\"\">hospitals<\/a>. In a few instances, schoolchildren have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/02\/07\/world\/americas\/haiti-protests-President-Jovenel-Mois.html\" title=\"\">run fund-raising drives to pay for their classmates\u2019 ransoms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the gangs\u2019 grip on seaports has complicated aid efforts as well. Gangs control not only some of Haiti\u2019s most important docks, but also the roads leading in and out of the capital\u2019s seaports. That has held up the delivery of fuel, crippling the entire country and frequently leaving aid groups unable to distribute vital supplies of essentials like food and medicine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That has led to rampant inflation across Haiti. The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/haiti\/haiti-cereal-supply-and-market-outlook-november-2023\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">price of basic food items, like rice, is skyrocketing<\/a>. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7c2553b7\">Will the recent killings push aid groups to withdraw?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unlikely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Aid groups have continued to work in Haiti despite the challenges and danger many groups have faced over the years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhen there is a need, that is when we are expected to work,\u201d said Allen Joseph, a Haitian who is the program director for Mercy Corps, one of the largest international aid groups operating in Haiti. \u201cAnd in Haiti, there is always need.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Joseph and other aid workers said the latest violence targeting Missions in Haiti would most likely prompt their own aid groups to take on more security precautions, which will cost more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As violence intensified last year, Mr. Joseph said Mercy Corps had to adapt its operations to provide security to its staff, most of whom are Haitian. Each Mercy Corps office in Haiti now has a \u201chibernation kit,\u201d he said, in case staff members get locked down by violence and are unable to go home. Each kit includes mattresses, sheets, cooking materials and hygiene essentials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Earlier this week, the living quarters that houses Mercy Corps\u2019s international staff was caught in the crossfire of gang violence. Staff had to dive to the floor, lying on their stomachs or taking shelter in bathrooms \u2014 often the safest place in a building as there are few windows \u2014 as bullets flew.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNo one is spared. We live and work day by day with fear of being kidnapped or killed by an armed group,\u201d Mr. Joseph said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/25\/world\/americas\/why-do-aid-groups-stay-in-lawless-haiti.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Haiti\u2019s bleak humanitarian situation is once again in the spotlight after gangs on Thursday attacked an Oklahoma-based missionary group working in the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing two Americans and the Haitian director of the organization, Missions in Haiti. The attack left many asking why American missionaries are still working in Haiti considering the immense violence that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/25\/multimedia\/25haiti-explainer1-kfgb\/25haiti-explainer1-kfgb-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,726,1418,57445,125],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59013,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59011\/revisions\/59013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}