[Epoch Times, October 15, 2022]Haitians are experiencing catastrophic starvation as gangs block a major fuel depot, UN officials said on Friday (October 14) , there are more than 4 million people facing severe food crisis.
According to comprehensive foreign media reports, a powerful coalition of gangs known as the “G9 and Family” surrounded a key fuel depot in early September, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry and protesting that oil prices soared after the Prime Minister announced that he would stop fuel subsidies. .
Gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former Haitian national police officer, has laid out his plans for Haiti’s future, which include the creation of a “Council of Sages” consisting of 10 Haitian provinces. Send a representative, he even hopes to serve in the cabinet.
Cherize also asked the Henry government to declare an amnesty and cancel the arrest warrants for members of the organization, a request that has not been responded to so far.
Gangs have blocked the distribution of diesel, gasoline for more than a month, most deliveries have stopped, and looting and gunfights have become more common. The move, along with thousands of protesters blocking streets in the capital Port-au-Prince and other major cities, has left a severe shortage of supplies, forcing hospitals to cut services, gas stations to close and banks and grocery stores to limit hours.
For the first time, catastrophic hunger has emerged in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
“Gang violence has cut off the capital from the south of the food-producing region, which means we are now experiencing increased food insecurity,” she said.
Richardson said other countries need to do more to support Haiti, as the Caribbean nation has received less than 30 percent of the needed funding for its humanitarian response plan this year.
“Even if we address the multiple crises that Haitians are facing right now…security and fuel crises, we must also ensure that we invest in addressing long-term root causes such as impunity, corruption, etc.,” she said.
Some 19,200 people in Haiti’s Soleil region are in famine conditions, according to an analysis by United Nations agencies and aid groups on Friday. Famine is declared when at least 20% of households in an area are in a state of famine.
A total of 4.7 million people, almost half of Haiti’s population, are experiencing severe food insecurity, the analysis said.
Jean-Martin Bauer, the head of the WFP office in Haiti, told reporters earlier that the situation was “on the verge of collapse”.
Henry and his 18 cabinet members called for foreign troops nearly a week ago to quell the violence and end the fuel blockade. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed the creation of a “rapid action force” to help Haitian police. It is unclear which countries would participate in such a force.
Next Monday, the UN Security Council meets to discuss the proposal.
According to a report released by the United Nations on Friday (link), there have been many incidents of gang sexual assault in the area. Children as young as 10 and older women have suffered sexual violence, including mass rape for hours in front of their parents or children, the report said.
“Sexual violence is used by gangs to instill fear, and it is alarming that the number of cases is increasing as the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Haiti deepens,” said UN Human Rights Acting High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif. “
The United States has dispatched a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Haiti, Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said on Friday.
The team is dispatched in response to natural disasters and complex emergencies and typically includes infectious disease specialists, nutritionists and logisticians.
The U.S. State Department said it had provided support to Haitian police and dispatched a Coast Guard vessel to patrol the area.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei