Haiti - Humanitarian : The chaos in Haiti affect Swiss NGOs

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Haiti - Humanitarian : The chaos in Haiti affect Swiss NGOs
10/12/2010 10:04:55

Under the patronage of the Chaîne du Bonheur, 8 Swiss NGOs are present in Haiti: Caritas, Handicap International, Medecins du Monde, Terre des Hommes, Armée du Salut, Swiss Red Cross, Medair and EPER (Entraide protestante suisse), fear that if roads remain blocked, refugee camps are experiencing supply problems "If the situation does not improve, the supply of food and drinking water in the camps will know a difficult time", said Annick Genson, spokesman for Caritas Switzerland in Port-au-Prince.

Since the announcement of election results Tuesday evening, the chaos is total in the quake zone. And because of roadblocks and riots, the situation around the capital Port-au-Prince was still very tense this Friday.

Representatives of Swiss NGOs in Haiti, were also blocked and could not access the areas where they bring their aid. "We must wait and hope the situation calms down," said Peter Eppler, director of Caritas operations in Port-au-Prince. "I've never been confronted in any country to a political situation as difficult as in Haiti".

According to Ms. Genson, the EPER staff does not run any risk, as long it does not go into the street. "We respect the rules of safety of NGOs and the UN and we have recommended for our employees to stay at home until the danger has passed". An evacuation would be impossible anyway in the current situation because all roads were blocked and the Dominican Republic is no longer accessible by land, explained Ms. Genson.

Last minutes: Yesterday early evening, we learned that an attack was under way against an office of Caritas.

HL/ HaitiLibre