The manifestations of refugees living in camps have increased in recent weeks. While some observers see only isolated cases, without consequences, precarious social balance in these camps makes fear one day a rising much more important if nothing is done quickly to bring, at least a temporary relief, while waiting for the installation of durable solutions.

Monday was the turn of a few dozen refugees from Camp Corail Cesselesse to organize, near the Presidential Palace, a sit-in for claiming the government to respect its promises. The protesters pointed out that, when they were led to the Camp Corail, the government had promised to them that it would be provisional for one duration not exceeding 3 months.

So most claims which are expressed in the demonstrations and of the sit-ins are legitimate, we must note today that several of these social movements are organized [handled] with political goals and that many claims rest on contexts which reflect generally only partially the facts. Thus in this case the government had engaged not so that the refugees do not remain that 3 months to Corail but so that they do not live under the tent more than 3 months [promise very partially held]. At Coral, 5 months later, the first transitory shelters were delivered to the refugees and other shelters are in constructions, but all that does not go rather quickly and the majority of the refugees must still live, under very bad conditions, under tents.

Other protesters stated that it is panic each time the rain starts to fall, "we are installed in a zone exposed to strong winds, when it is not the rain or the gusts of wind, it is the sun which strikes us, in a desert environment and without shade"

A claim all the more true since the latest floods [Corail should not be a flood zone] and the violent storm, which destroyed mid-July, several hundred tents. Today, fears were expressed that some IDPs during their displacement of Petion City last April 10, proved to be founded "We are far away from downtown Port-au-Prince as well as possible, we can find odd jobs, but there, what's next? Nothing [...] The government intends to provide food rations for a month and after, where will that happen to us? "

Camp Corail [like many other camps] are failures that the government does not recognize or begins to recognize we have unceasingly denounced in our articles. Lack of work, problems of food, health, homes, schools, insecurity, conflict with NGOs, theft, rape etc...

But beyond their legitimate claims, people in displaced camps have now become a "reservoir" of people easy to handle by political organizations who have any interest in provoking social disorder in the electoral process or they have nothing to gain by the ballot box.

S/ HaitiLibre