Haiti president’s murder deepens woes of displaced people
By Maria Montecelos
Port-au-Prince, Jul 15 (EFE).- The plight of thousands of Haitians ejected from their homes as a result of escalating gang violence in Port-au-Prince has been exacerbated in the wake of the shock assassination of the country’s president Jovenel Moïse.
Many sought refuge in makeshift camps after they fled with only the clothes they were wearing, when their homes were burned down almost a month ago.
Gang violence in the capital spiked in early June, forcing about 18,000 people in the neighborhoods of Martissant and Delmas to abandon their homes, in addition to thousands of others who were already sheltered in camps due to the clashes that broke out last year.
In one of those shelters in Delmas, some 1,496 people, including 236 children, are crammed in an orphanage still under construction, meaning it has neither electricity nor drinking water.
Among the residents are Fabianne and her one-year-old son. He lies drowsy on the floor with no clothes on, suffering from an ear infection and a fever.
They do not have the necessary resources to buy him medication, according to Fabianne.
Like the rest of her neighbors, Fabianne made it to the shelter on June 17, the same day she fled her home that was stuck in the crossfire of several gangs, with the added chaos of tear gas fired by police.
Anna, a 68-year-old grandmother, is trying to feed her 10-year-old granddaughter, Catalia, in a separate room of the shelter.
Her entire family was forced to leave their home before it was set on fire.
