Livewire – Amnesty International blogging for human rights

The atmosphere was heated at Amnesty International's report launch in Port-au-Prince © Garry Févry

By James Burke from Amnesty International’s team in Port-au-Prince.

We probably should have known something strange was happening when the room holding our press conference was already full 15 minutes before we were due to begin – the press are not always known for their promptness.

Unusual as that seemed, we never expected that barely minutes into the presentation of our new report on former Haiti President Jean-Claude Duvalier, our voices would be drowned out by the shouts of a number of protestors who had been sitting there quietly only moments earlier.
Continue reading ‘Haiti: Duvalier victims won’t be silenced’

Amnesty International’s expert on Haiti, Gerardo Ducos, reports on the grim living conditions at a camp for people displaced by the earthquake in Port au Prince.

By Chiara Liguori, Caribbean researcher for Amnesty International

Where is the state in Haiti? In the week we have spent here so far, we have been hearing this question again and again. Displaced people living in makeshift camps haven’t seen any improvement in their living conditions in the six months since the earthquake, and in some cases their situation has been deteriorating. They wonder if they still have authorities to address and if they will ever get any help. They feel abandoned and betrayed.

Dozens of people living in makeshift camps erected on private land are facing the threat of forced expulsion © Amnesty International

In most cases, the presence of the state is visible only through unpopular decisions. Since early April, the government announced the end of food distribution because it found that aid was creating dependency and blocking the national economy. Since then, more and more people have reported difficulties in acquiring adequate food. Reports of malnutrition are increasing and more and more girls are being forced into sexual exploitation in order to eat. Many parents face a hard choice between feeding their children or sending them to school.

The governmental decision to interrupt distribution of food aid has been widely publicized on radio. However, little or no information seems to have been available concerning state plans for relocation and resettlement of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people. Probably because a plan still does not exist. The large majority of displaced people continue to occupy public squares, football pitches and school yards without knowing if something (and what) is being prepared for them by the authorities.

Continue reading ‘Abandoned and betrayed – why Haiti’s displaced people feel neglected by the state’

By Chiara Liguori Caribbean researcher for Amnesty International

Victims are afraid to report cases of rape or sexual violence © Amnesty International

Since the first days of the earthquake, many humanitarian and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have issued warnings about the increased risk of gender based and sexual violence.

The risks are well founded. Thousands of displaced people are sleeping in public spaces in just one square meter or even less; women are obliged to bath almost naked under the eyes of the other residents and passers-by; children sleep alone at night because they are unaccompanied or their mothers are working outside the camps in order to feed them.
Continue reading ‘Sexual violence in Haitian camps of the displaced, beyond the numbers’

By Amnesty International delegates on mission in Haiti

The makeshift camps on Champ-de-Mars are home to more than 10,000 people © Amnesty International

It might be one of the most common dishes in Haiti but for the 5,000 persons camped on a football pitch in Jacmel, white rice and beans has been their only daily meal since the earthquake, complaints about the quality or lack of nutrients are rife. Despite the crunching feeling of an empty stomach, many decided not to queue under scorching sun for the three-spoons dished up in a bowl, a jug, even a plastic bag. However, the 34 vats of food were emptied in less than an hour. The distribution of meals attracted camp neighbours, mostly children.

Dozens of women and men were involved in the camp cooking site. The food items were delivered to the camp by the World Food Programme. One of the camp committees decided that instead of distributing food rations to every family, they would cook it and share it amongst everyone.
Continue reading ‘Haiti – Rice and beans, beans and rice’