Following the 2010 Haiti's earthquake the Preval government has issued the "Plan de Reconstruction et Refondation d'Haiti" (Plan of Reconstruction and Rebuilding of Haiti). Although limited this plan went beyond the rebuilding of physical infrastructures to a plan tied to restricted national development aligned with the established plan for Haiti during the last decades. The Haiti Reconstruction actions were characterized by the struggle of the different state bodies to control the apparatus of the Reconstruction and the inefficiency the Haiti Reconstruction Interim Commission. President Michel Martelly during his campaign stated clearly that one of his priorities if elected would be the relocation of the earthquake victims out of tents. However his first actions as the head of State demonstrated that he has no housing resettlement plan and strategy to move all the victims out of tents. His plan is part of the demagogy of local and international organizations of a faux semblant or apparency of Reconstruction. President Martelly praised himself of two initiatives: the Central bank loan program and the the plan to move out people living in six tents back in their neighborhood. The loan program seemed to favor those who are not living in the tents to build their homes. Even in this case it would be difficult for low income working people to get a housing loan when we know that bank loan conditions are not lenient for this category. The second plan has come under criticisms of evictions out the camps with violence and lack of participation in the decision-making process of the directly concerned people.
Jacqueline Charles in the Miami Herald reported that families have been moved out of the camps according to this plan. They have been receiving $500 in rental subsidies according to this plan. However people living in several of these camps have been brutally evicted.. This is in stark contrast of a humanitarian and compassionate effort of helping people who suffered of all kinds of tragedy (natural and human). According to an expert even in a scenario of success of the program its effectiveness is limited:
" If the program succeeds it will touch only 5000 families or 4% of the camp population. One hundred and ninety families have already moved out of the first camp at place Saint-Pierre. Five thousand families are expected to move out of the two camps Place Saint Pierre and Place Boyer at the and of November. Four percent of the current camp population are expected to move in to permanent housing by March 2012".
The Institute Justice and Democracy in Hait (IJDH) and the University of San Francisco School of Law stressed in their report the lack of progress of this plan and the evictions taken place in six camps involved in the plan:
The Sylvio Cator camp was closed in July and the Saint Pierre camp has been partially closed. The Sylvio Cator camp has been closed without a court order according to the law and people's belonging have been destroyed.. Another camp across Saint Anne's church is subject of the same fate in the next days.
According to the report of the two institutions mentioned above the conditions of living in the 5 other remaining camps are desperate with lack of food and drinking water. The report also stated that 82% of people living in the camps said they were not consulted about their opinion in the closure of the camp.
Concerning the victims evicted from Sylvio Cator stade the report stated that violence was used during the eviction by the Haitian authorities. They described that the living and security conditions in the Bicentenaire new camp are worse than those of Sylvio Cator.
The lack of adequate solutions to the housing crisis led Mark Schneider of the International Crisis group to tell the Miami Herald " Haiti's failure to adopt a national housing resettlement and integration strategy stands as the most glaring failure of the past year".
The IJD and USF recommend participation of the people in the housing decision making process, accountability to those who are more affected and more durable solutions.
The report concluded that from the international perspective of aid that Haitians at all levels from the government to the communities should have the opportunities to participate in the decision-making processes affecting their lives.
Yves Simon, Educator
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/relief-and-reconstruction-watch/
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