Thousands of Haitians living in camps have been forcefully evicted by local authorities and face other human rights abuses, Amnesty International said on Jan. 12, the two-year anniversary of the quake.
Haitian authorities have forcefully evicted a number of people from camps near Port-au-Prince, left over from the January 2010 earthquake that displaced hundreds of thousands, the rights group said. Around 500,000 people still live in camps.
“Homelessness caused by illegal forced evictions is a preventable crisis that further traumatizes the victims and violates human rights,” said Javier Zuniga, an adviser with the London-based rights group.
On Dec. 20 and 21,2011, around 1,000 residents of a camp in Place Jeremie in Port-au-Prince were evicted by authorities. Around a dozen people with machetes and knives destroyed the tents at 4 a.m.
“I was sleeping, along with my 15-day-old baby. They tore the tent down on top of me, without any warning. I had no time to take anything. I could only save the baby. All the baby clothes are lost. I spend the night [outdoors] and I have nothing to cover the child,” a woman who lived there told the rights group.
Later, those who were evicted were paid a small amount, ranging between 1,000 to 10,000 gourdes ($25 to $250).
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