Journal of Haiti and the Americas

Haiti: one year after the earthquake, the victims "abandoned"

Audio 7:30 p.m.

The city of Pestel, in Haiti, after the earthquake that hit the country on August 14, 2021. © Stefanie Schüler/RFI

By: Marion Cazanove

3 mins

On August 14, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in southwestern Haiti.

Thousands of infrastructures have been destroyed.

A year later, the victims deplore a lack of humanitarian and state aid.

Reconstruction operations are practically at a standstill.

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The departments of Nippes, Sud and Grand'Anse still bear the traces of the violent earthquake of August 14, 2021. And for good reason: almost nothing has been rebuilt and some have never seen any aid reach them. , like Marcel François who lost his house in Les Cayes: “ 

”.

The earthquake destroyed many infrastructures: schools, roads, bridges... the rare reconstructions are undertaken by international organizations.

But neither the state nor the town halls have been able to give money to help the population.

The national currency, the gourde, continues to lose value.

Questioned by Stefanie Schüler, Jinel Chérémond, technician for the Franco-Haitian NGO Haïti Futur, underlines the fact that the reconstruction of schools is slipping: “ 

 ”.

Rosa Paredes Canela is a program director at the NGO ASB: " 

 ”.

Added to this is insecurity, gang violence is on the rise.

In this context, Luis Almagro, president of the Organization of American States, said he was in favor, in an interview with the

, of the return of peacekeepers and a new Constitution in Haiti.

United States: the Minister of Justice speaks on the searches at Trump's house

Merrick Garland, the US Attorney General, says he "personally approved" the FBI's spectacular search of former President Donald Trump on Monday (August 8, 2022).

FBI agents entered Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, the reasons and results of these searches have still not been disclosed.

The former Republican president had hinted that the FBI may have planted incriminating evidence at Mar-a-Lago.

Faced with this accusation, Merrick Garland announced that he had requested that the warrant which allowed the search be made public, a very rare fact.

This Friday (August 12, 2022), the

understands that the FBI was looking at Donald Trump for “top secret” files, related to nuclear weapons.

Colombia and Venezuela get closer

After three years of rupture, Venezuela is normalizing its relations with Colombia, a few days after the inauguration of Gustavo Petro, who on Sunday (August 7, 2022) became the first left-wing president in the country's history.

Caracas has appointed a new ambassador to Bogota.

Relations between the two countries were tarnished in 2019 when Ivan Duque, the predecessor of Gustavo Petro, decided not to recognize the re-election of Nicolas Maduro.

On the contrary, he had supported the proclamation of opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

Moreover, the election of Gustavo Petro could lead to a peace agreement with the armed groups, himself being a former guerrilla.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the resumption of dialogue with the ELN, the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army.

A Colombian delegation went to Cuba, which intends to help in the holding of these discussions.

And on the front page of the Journal de la 1ère

In French Guiana, State and local elected officials “hand in hand” to fight against insecurity.

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• Haiti

• Earthquake in Haiti

• United States

• donald trump

• Justice

• Colombia

• Venezuela

• Guyana

On the same subject

Magnitude 7.2 earthquake shakes Haiti

Search at Donald Trump's home: the Minister of Justice denounces "unfounded attacks"

Colombia and Venezuela appoint new ambassadors after three years of rift