Haiti: Displaced people face violence, hardship and uncertainty

In the heart of the capital, the courtyard of the Argentina Bellegarde school has been transformed into a makeshift shelter, housing at least 695 displaced families. Once a place of learning, it has become a refuge for many people from areas now affected by armed violence. 

"Life has been an utter misery ever since I arrived here," says Rose-Marie, a woman in her fifties who has moved countless times from one refuge to another, fleeing the chaos of violence. 

"Look at the state of the wall. We spend our nights killing bugs. These are miserable living conditions for a woman of my age." Rose-Marie has been living at the school with her five children for three months now.

The constant moving, long walks and nights spent on the ground have taken their toll on her legs. And with no access to health care, her situation has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer walk or provide for her children. Recounting her circumstances brings her to tears:

"I'm sick. I've become paralysed. I used to be able to walk the streets, beg at doors and find food for my children. But now there's nothing I can do. If the violence gets any closer, I won't even be able to flee again. Perhaps my children and I will die here." 

According to the United Nations, there are at least 246 sites housing internally displaced people (IDP) in Port-au-Prince. The majority are now overwhelmed by the incessant influx of new arrivals, with each accommodating an average of 2,000 people living in extreme hardship, with little or no access to water, food and health care. Hygiene and privacy are virtually non-existent.

"Living and hygiene conditions at the sites housing internally displaced people we visit are increasingly difficult," says Mamoudou Diallo, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross's Water and Habitat programme in Haiti. "Whole families are crammed into small rooms or living in sheds. Women with young children sleep on the ground, sometimes at the mercy of the elements and exposed to violence of all kinds. If nothing is done, the situation could get worse." 

At the vast majority of sites housing internally displaced people, every aspect of life is an emergency. Yet families try to survive as best they can.

 "The fact that we don't have any toilets makes matters worse," says Mrs Rodriguez, another displaced mother." All the toilets are blocked. Our calls for help go unanswered. We have to use bags to relieve ourselves. Others use small buckets. We are suffering enormously."