Haiti: Anti-corruption protesters burn tires, block roads
Protesters burned tires and threw stones during Sunday’s march in Port-au-Prince, blocking roads and bringing much of the Haitian capital to a standstill as they called for President Jovenel Moise to step down. At least one person was reported killed.
Many stores and gas stations were closed, and travel between some cities was disrupted. Police set up barricades near the presidential palace and fired tear gas at demonstrators.
The protesters are demanding further investigation into the fate of funds from subsidized Venezuelan oil shipments under the Petrocaribe program that resulted in parliamentary inquiries in 2016 and 2017.
Read more: UN ends peacekeeping mission in Haiti
Last week, judges of the High Court of Auditors laid out a litany of examples of alleged corruption and mismanagement in a 600-page report. One involved the state granting contacts to two firms — with the same tax number and staff payroll — for the same road-repair project.
One of the contractors, Agritrans, was formerly headed by Moise until his election as president in 2017. It received more than 33 million gourdes ($700,000 at the time) to do the road work, despite being nothing more than a banana farming venture.
Opposition parties, who opposed Moise’s 2017 election, have urged supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Sunday’s protest came after widespread riots in February in which at least seven people died.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Haitian migrants’ long journey
For Haitians who chose to leave the country after the devastating 2010 earthquake, exile often began in Brazil, which had a surplus of low-wage jobs and welcomed them with humanitarian visas. But political and economic turmoil there caused many to leave for the US, under the mistaken impression they would be taken in. Over 8,000 have found themselves stranded in Tijuana at the Mexican border.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
On the way to ‘Little Haiti’
In the Canyon of the Scorpions, the Ambassadors of Jesus church has started building “Little Haiti” to host 225 Haitian migrants now living in the church hall. Many of the Haitians complain the settlement is hard to access: It is almost 30 minutes from the city and people need to take two buses to get here.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Everyday life in Tijuana
A Haitian man gives another man a haircut in “Little Haiti.” The settlement is located next to a dump, which gives off an overwhelming smell. The Haitians find the unhygienic conditions and lack of clean drinking water alarming. Migrants have been living in slums here for around 20 years. Local media worry the canyon could become a vast ghetto.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Barely making a living
Most Haitians manage to make a living in Tijuana, although the informal jobs they find do not allow them to send money to their families, and their earnings are barely enough to pay rent in the city. Often they earn less than $1 an hour. Such economic hardship makes every day a struggle for survival.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Overcrowded shelters
Numerous churches opened new shelters for migrants at the height of the Haitian influx in the second half of 2016. Mexican media put the number of shelters in Tijuana at 33, none of which are run by local authorities. Were it not for the generosity of Tijuana’s residents, the shelters would have quickly run out of food, clothes and other necessities.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Local solidarity
Linda Romero is the director of the Juventud 2000 shelter, where around 200 Haitian migrants, deported Mexicans and homeless people receive material and emotional support each day. She believes her mission is to help people regardless of their nationality.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Warm welcome for all
Despite the scarcity of space and sanitary facilities, the Emmanuel Baptist Center has become home to around 100 migrants. The atmosphere is welcoming across cultures. Women and children especially feel safe here.
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Haitians uprooted by quake search Americas for a place to live
Hope in Canada
Haitian youth pray during a Catholic mass at the Desayunador Salesiano shelter, which serves around 1,500 meals to deported Mexicans and Haitian and Central American migrants each day. The Haitians here are relying on a Canadian priest to help them establish whether Canada might accept them as climate refugees.
Fuel, electricity shortages
Petrocaribe, in decline because of Venezuela’s political and economic crisis, was designed to benefit Caribbean and Latin American nations through discount prices.
In exchange for backing Caracas at regional forums against the US, Haiti took half of its Venezuelan oil repayable at low rates over 25 years. Earlier this year, Haiti was forced to buy oil on the global market, leaving power stations without affordable fuel and unable to deliver electricity.
In May, much of Haiti’s population was restricted to just three hours of electricity a day. Shops have struggled, people have been unable to get to work and or to school and hospitals have been forced to rely on backup generators.
Haiti ranks as the poorest country of the Americas, with 60% of its population of 11 million living below the poverty line. Partially collapsed buildings, damaged during Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, still line many blocks of downtown Port-au-Prince.
ipj/cmk (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/haiti-anti-corruption-protesters-burn-tires-block-roads/a-49123274?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf