The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that more than 165,000 people are internally displaced in Haiti due to the gang violencehampering humanitarian relief efforts.
The country faces additional pressure due to the severe flooding caused by torrential rains, which have affected more than 46,000 people and displaced another 13,000, and earthquake of 4.9 degrees on the Richter scale on June 6, which has further aggravated the situation.
bands vs. vigilante groups
Gang attacks, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and gender-based violence have become part of daily life for Haitians, forcing locals to flee their homes.
In addition to gangs, the activities of parapolice groups give rise to hundreds of lynchings. Further 1,630 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in the country in the first three months of 2023, an increase of 30% compared to the previous quarter, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.
“We are deeply alarmed by the escalation of the protection crisis,” said the Organization’s head of mission in the country. Philippe Branchat noted that the safety and well-being of displaced populations remain their top priority. “We stand with the Haitian people and are committed to standing by and helping whenever and wherever possible.”
5.2 million people need humanitarian aid
The Organization estimates that almost half of the country’s population, around 5.2 million people, needs humanitarian aid.
For this reason, he has made a call for increased international support, urging donors to help address the nation’s most immediate needs, as well as find long-term solutions. The UN agency has stated that the situation is urgent, as Haiti’s Humanitarian Response Plan is currently only 20% funded.
cyclones and earthquakes
The Organization explains that the beginning of the hurricane season on June 1 has added additional stresses to the response to the crisis. Already in the first week of June, heavy rainfall has affected some 46,000 people in the country and similar or more severe weather events are expected in the coming months.
In addition, the earthquake in the south of the country on June 6 occurred less than two years after another of magnitude 7.2, which killed 2,200 people. Experts in the country point out that people who lost their homes are still displaced in camps.
Shelter and other aid
Despite the challenges, the migration agency and its partners continue to provide a humanitarian response, including the shelter supplythe distribution of personal hygiene items, solar lamps, kitchen utensils and other essential itemsand protection measures for people who, overnight, have had to go live in spontaneous places due to violence.
Access to clean and safe water is always a concern, since cholera outbreaks have been recurrent in places of displacement. In this context, the Organization leads a camp coordination and management thematic group, which advocates for a response in areas of displacement, including relocations with host families.
Despite the precarious situation in the country, the Organization reports returns of Haitian nationals; has identified 61,600 Haitian returnees who have arrived in the country by land, sea, and air so far in 2023. Most of them (93%) come from the Dominican Republic, but also from the United States (2%), Bahamas (2 %), Turks and Caicos (2%) and Cuba (1%).