Earthquake in Haiti: in Pestel, the fear of the diversion of international aid
Audio 01:20
The city of Pestel, Haiti, after the earthquake that hit the country on August 14.
© RFI-Stéphanie Schüler
Text by: RFI Follow
7 mins
In Haiti, in some areas affected by the earthquake of August 14, international aid is still slow to arrive.
This is the case of the municipality of Pestel, in the department of Grand'Anse where even more than insecurity, some fear the misappropriation of this aid.
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From our special envoys to Pestel
,
Stefanie Schüler, Nicolas Benita
and
Marc Kingtoph Casimir
Heavily affected by the disaster, Pestel awaits deliveries of water, food and materials for reconstruction.
This weekend, four trucks destined for Pestel were looted on the road.
►Also read
: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shakes Haiti
In Grand'Anse, many people living in remote areas still have bad memories of aid distributions after
Hurricane Matthew
five years ago.
Hélin Dorvilnet, the Civil Protection representative in Pestel, is hardly optimistic for the coming weeks.
"
The most remote people in the town, our peasants ... aid never reaches them,
" he said.
"
The people of the town hall make their butter with misery
"
And it is not only the isolation of these villages that is the cause. The director general of the town hall of Pestel, Roldy Gilles, does not have enough harsh words to denounce the misappropriation of international aid in his city and elsewhere. “
Usually, the people of the town hall make their butter with the misery of the most deprived,” he
assures us.
Because there are people in the life of the community who would like to share the help that is going to arrive.
The authorities, more often than not, profit from disasters.
The authorities will store and resell these products which arrive for the poorest.
This is what happens in Haiti, most often.
Once the cameras are there, everything is fine.
From the cameras, everything is sold on the market.
But we are against this situation.
Maybe we can be killed, because the system is really tough in Haiti.
"
♦ Makeshift camps in the mountains
After the earthquake, the provisional government wanted to avoid cost and cost the appearance of disaster camps.
However, the survivors of the disaster are gathering more and more in public places and vacant lots.
This is particularly true in cities, but the phenomenon also exists in rural areas.
It protects us from the dew.
But when it rains the children cannot sleep here.
Water goes everywhere.
It is a real ordeal.
Earthquake in Haiti: in Moline, a makeshift camp
Stefanie Schüler
Makeshift camp in Mouline, in the town of Pestel, after the earthquake that hit Haiti on August 14.
© RFI-Stéphanie Schüler
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Haiti
Natural disasters