In the spotlight: the call for help from Haitians in Chile
Haitians deported from the United States arrive at Port-au-Prince airport on September 19, 2021. AP - Joseph Odelyn
Text by: Marie Normand Follow
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In Chile, a group of Haitians calls for help. The video
published on Saturday
is broadcast by the newspaper
El Ciudadano
. They are more than 20 migrants, detained at Santiago airport, to seek asylum in Chile because an expulsion would represent a “
risk for their physical integrity and their life
”. Many, the newspaper explains, have "
family ties or other roots in Chile, some are even relatives of Chileans
". According to the defender of migrants in Chile, quoted by
Ambito
, most of these migrants "
were deported from the United States, others were blocked by the pandemic
". Rodolfo Noriega adds that the rejection of their application for asylum by the Chilean Civil Investigation Police (PDI) violates the law on the protection of refugees.
Added to this, according to
El Ciudadano
,
are detention conditions described as “
appalling
”.
Some have been living for more than a month in this airport, "
without access to showers, with little food, without medical care and without contact with their families
".
A complaint has already been filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Ambito
points out that
“Haitians represent the third largest migrant population in Chile
,” according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
Haiti: victory for farmers in the Northeast
The independent media
Ayibopost
said on Monday that the farmers of the North-East department "
won a victory
". At least that's what their lawyer says. Twenty years ago, 174 peasants were chased from their land, with the aim of installing machines there to redevelop the textile sector, with the support of the World Bank. But the promised compensation took 18 years to arrive, "
some died
" in the meantime. It was only in 2020, "
after a fierce legal battle
", that these peasants obtained a relocation. Even today, “
they are fighting for the construction of the houses and for the support promised
”. This time there it is: the Haitian state
“provides them with a 520-hectare estate in Morne Casse, a locality located near the border. Each peasant receives one hectare. They have 38 hectares to practice collective agriculture
”. As for the lawyer, he won "
twenty hectares
" of land, which sparked controversy.
"
Textiles represent nearly 90% of the country's exports
", also underlines
Ayibopost
in this paper. Despite poor working conditions and wages that do not take inflation into account, “
the impact of the free zone on the economy in Ouanaminthe remains tangible
”. "
Observers note the creation of businesses, the installation of branches of private banks and a rising demand for housing
." But this “
demographic surge
” is not “
supported by the State
” and the “
environmental footprint
” has not been assessed or properly compensated.
“Despite the disputes, the factory plans to extend its tentacles to the other side of the Massacre River ,”
Ayibopost
informs us
.
"
Several dozen hectares of land have already been granted by the Haitian state
", but several peasants already maintain that they will oppose the plans of the factory, "
if they are not compensated before the start of the work
".
In Colombia, an assassination every two days
Already “
10 massacres in 20 days
”, alarmed
El Espectador
. This weekend, five murders were recorded in the department of Arauca, in the northeast of the country, on the border with Venezuela. "
2022 begins with clashes (...) between armed groups scattered throughout the country
", summarizes the daily. He recalls that "
since the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC rebels in 2016, the groups left out, such as the ELN guerrillas or the Gulf Clan have begun a struggle for control of land and activities such as such as illegal mining or drug trafficking
". And the violence is expected to worsen in the coming weeks, warns
El Espectador
,
because 2022 is an election year in Colombia.
Honduras: two presidents of Congress for one seat
“
Honduras plunges into a new political crisis with the election of two leaderships of the National Congress
,” headlines
El Heraldo
.
All this, three days before the inauguration of left-wing president Xiomara Castro in Honduras. By whom will it be invested? Nothing is less certain, because two presidents of Congress were invested this weekend, and each claims its legitimacy, explains
La Prensa
. A faction of deputies close to the future president elected Luis Redondo and another made up of dissidents allied to the party of the former president elected Jorge Cálix. Dissidents called traitors by Xiomara Castro. For
El Heraldo
it is these divisions within his party, the
Free Party
, which ended up tarnishing his election in November.
Peru: insufficient efforts to contain the oil spill
Specialists from the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment have reported their conclusions: between the sea and the coast, at least 893 hectares were soiled by the approximately 6,000 barrels of crude oil that spilled on the coasts north of Lima, the capital.
This is the equivalent of “
1,252
football fields
”, specifies the media
Gestion
.
The extent of the disaster prompted the executive to "
declare a state of environmental emergency, for a period of 90 days, in the damaged coastal marine area
", writes
El Comercio
.
The reaction of the Repsol company, which operates the refinery, is widely criticized, especially in the first hours of the accident. "
The efforts made (...) have been insufficient
", concludes
El Comercio
, which publishes this incredible photo. It shows “
two small boats holding booms
” over a tiny area. “
All around, there is oil, an inimitable black grease which is reflected in the photo taken by a drone
”, comments the newspaper. The Minister of the Environment announced that UN experts would arrive on site on Monday and that the armed forces would participate in the clean-up work. Repsol, for its part, continues to clear customs, and simply
admitted on Sunday
of not having become "
aware
" in time of
the "extent of the oil spill
".
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