On Tuesday,12 January 2010, four years ago, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. killing more than 300,000 people and leaving countless numbers of people homeless. Memorial services were held in Haiti Sunday, and in the U.S. where there is a population of over 830,000 Haitian-Americans, and in other parts of the Haitian diaspora.
Please take a moment of silence in memory, and then be silent no more. Time for screams of outrage.
Amnesty International researcher Chiara Liguori, wrote:
Unsurprisingly, in the aftermath of the earthquake, Haiti was headline news across the globe. Yet four years on, with the cameras gone, the problems and suffering of the people remain.
It is estimated that almost 150,000 people are still living in 271 displacement camps, often in appalling conditions. The lack of access to basic services such as safe water, sanitation and waste disposal leaves them exposed to the risk of cholera and other diseases. Many still live in makeshift shelters, vulnerable to flooding, especially during hurricane season.
It’s unacceptable enough that people are still living like this. But many Haitians living in displacement camps also have to contend with the constant fear of being forcibly evicted. Since 2010, more than 60,000 people have been forced from their makeshift shelters, and it is estimated that almost half of those living in displacement camps face the ongoing threat of forced eviction.
Amnesty International denounced the situation in a report released last April in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. The country’s authorities reacted promptly and committed themselves to thoroughly investigating the evictions. Yet no perpetrator has, to our knowledge, been brought to justice. And while the evictions stopped for a couple of months, they have continued again since June.
