UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says disabled people in Haiti who have been driven from one temporary shelter to another, as result of an earthquake, fire and mounting gang violence, have been finally able to find a safe home.
Judith, a 27-year-old mother of two suffered a spinal cord injury from a gunshot wound (UN Photo)The UN said this coincides with the observance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Friday.
It said that earthquakes and fire are not the only dangers faced by Haitians and that since March 2020, “an alarming increase” in gang violence in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, has led to the displacement of around 19,000 people.
The violence is disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid to around 1.5 million people in the capital and across the country according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“The disabled and displaced have regularly suffered due to ongoing violence,” said OCHA.
The UN said its International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing life-saving protection assistance for the most vulnerable people affected by violence in Haiti.
IOM project officer Claire Gaulin said people with disabilities have specific needs.
“Those people who are forcibly displaced, due to natural disasters or gang related violence, need support to be relocated to a safe place, where they can live in security and dignity. They also require medical screening to identify their health care needs.
“Many have not had medical consultations for a long time, which sometimes can make their conditions worse,” Gaulin added.
She said people with disabilities in Haiti also frequently face discrimination, stating that they need “a specific support for their integration and participation in their community.
“Ultimately, they need support to gain back their autonomy, which can be done by organizing training to help them develop income generating activities and by giving them the opportunity to access specialist services,” Gaulin said.
The UN said the IOM has set up a voluntary relocation support service for over 10,000 people living in the neighborhoods most affected by violence, including more than 5,200 women and girls, and 550 people with disabilities.
In the meantime, the UN said the IOM and its partners have also renovated the Delmas 103 site, known to most as the Ecole Communale de Pétion-Ville.
The school is now equipped with new desks and blackboards, and ready to welcome students again, as soon as it is safe to do so, the UN said.
It said the IOM’s relocation program and support for internally displaced people have been possible thanks to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
The UN said these activities have been implemented in coordination with Haiti’s General Directorate for Civil Protection (DGPC), the national Housing and Public Building Construction Unit (UCLBP) the Foundation J’Aime Haïti, as well as the Office of the Secretary of State for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH).
In early 2022, the UN said the Haitian Government, with the UN’s support, will organize an event aimed at mobilizing the international community to assist in efforts to rebuild and recover from the effects of the August 2021 earthquake.
