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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Violence after earthquake echoes Haiti's past |
| 2010-01-18 |
| Anindita Ramaswamy Port-au-Prince, Haiti (dpa) - Past and present have collided in Haiti, which despite being shattered by an earthquake is beginning to reverberate with a familiar violence. While the world has come to this desperately poor Caribbean country - to treat the wounded, search for survivors, feed the homeless, fund recovery - it has been unable to shake off its volatile history. Haiti swerved recklessly between fighting and moments of uneasy calm as armed gangs resorted to looting in the devastated capital city, which has very little to offer. Metres away from the collapsed presidential palace, the attacks were so fierce that police blocked roads to the affected area of La Ville. "They are shooting at journalists, police - everybody," a policeman said. "The bad guys are taking over." The presence of police, while reassuring in other countries, brings little comfort here. As Haitian officers took to the streets wearing ski masks, and several arterial roads were blocked by stones, locals saw it as a sign of trouble. Such situations are not new in Haiti, with riots and gun battles the norm during political upheavals and previous natural disasters. There has been a steady escalation in robberies and kidnappings, and there are concerns that this would culminate in widespread ransacking and rioting. "I don't see Port-au-Prince as being more violent than cities such as Rio," said a rescue worker from the United States. "It's not just the catastrophic loss of lives - these people have lost everything that helped them make sense of this world. We keep talking about the deaths, sure, but don't realize how being homeless and unemployed - with no hope of having either a roof over your head or paid work in the future - can desensitize you." As anger and frustration build over the slow pace of aid to the survivors, officials say that distributing food could pose serious problems, and if not handled properly, lead to major riots. Instead of handing out food and water on a large scale in encampments where thousands live, they would prefer to work with smaller groups to avoid being attacked by impatient, ravenous mobs. But today, most of Port-au-Prince lives on public space. and here comes the money quote... There are some who remain unperturbed about violence in Haiti. One French aid worker said that once the US military arrived everything would be okay. "They'll come in, shoot a few people, and that's the end of it," he said with a shrug. tant pis. ce n'est pas mon affaire Haiti has formally asked the United States to provide security and aid as it struggles to rebuild, a statement issued by both governments late Sunday said. An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 US troops will be in Haiti by Monday, US military officials said. Six days after the magnitude-7 earthquake hit the country, killing between 150,000 and 200,000 people, that's no real solace for the tens of thousands of teeming, hungry masses outside the presidential palace not certain if they will find food and water, and live to see another day. |
| Posted by:Swanimote |