ARTICLE - REFUGE CAMP - VIOLENCE, FEAR

VIOLENCE AND FEAR AT REFUGEE CAMP IN HAITI
(Prensa Latina) -

An assault at a shelter for refugees from the Jan. 2010 earthquake claimed two lives and provoked tens of wounded, denounced today Plataforma de Derechos Humanos.

The incident at Gaston Magron de Mariani camp, on the periphery, makes the displaced panicky, fearing new assaults, reports Alterpresse news agency, while the humanitarian organization reminds that the refugees, now living in tents, are frequent victims of threats, rape, assaults, arson or eviction by estate owners.

Nearly one third of the 500,000 quake victims live in 660 camps located in regions declared disaster areas, said the International Organization for Migrations.

The UN Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the refugees live in destitute conditions and are in urgent need of relief; over $231M, to meet the needy basic necessities.

Data from Haiti's Human Rights Network (Réseau National de Défense des Droits Humains -RNDDH) rates as 48% access to clean water, one single latrine for 112 refugees, and just 18 percent of those facilities have a sink.

The situation is worse in Petit-Goave (south) with one latrine per 141 persons and one shower per 185, and no medical office nor a pharmacy.

Sanitary conditions are also critical nation wide, says OCHA, because almost two years after the disaster the streets remain packed with debris, filthy water pools and garbage.

Although the United Nations announced the removal of debris, some five million cubic meters have not been cleared and the volume matches 2,000 Olympic swimming pools.