CRS calls for 'humanitarian corridor' in Haiti

Social justice news
March 2004

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CRS calls for 'humanitarian corridor' in Haiti
Baltimore, February 25, 2004 — With more than half of Haiti now beyond government control and ongoing instability restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) today announced it has allocated just over $150,000 in emergency and humanitarian assistance for those in need in the northern part of the country and in Port-au-Prince. The funds will be disbursed in cooperation with local church organizations.

Roadblocks manned by gunmen outside the capital and along the main road into the rebel-controlled provinces in the north have prevented attempts to deliver relief supplies and assistance to people displaced by fighting, while others cannot purchase basic necessities due to the breakdown in normal economic activity.

"CRS, along with other government and private relief organizations, is pressuring the Haitian government and rebel leaders to open a secure humanitarian corridor for food and basic relief supplies," said Jed Hoffman, Latin America Regional Director for CRS. "This corridor is an urgent priority, but so far we have only heard promises." Hoffman further noted, "Our emergency team is reporting that the main market town on the border with the Dominican Republic in the north, Quanaminthe, has been shut down by anti-government armed groups for the past several days. We haven't yet been able to get supplies to the people in the isolated areas of northern Haiti by that route."

CRS/Haiti staff have been in contact with communities and partners in the north, and report that rural villages lack food, household items, medical supplies and materials for shelter—a result of ongoing violence, looting and the suspension of normal commercial activity. The agency is organizing support for the parish of Dondon and other local parishes in the northern department to distribute basic necessities.

Staff from the CRS/Dominican Republic program are assessing the tense situation along the northern border with Haiti, exploring ways to provide needed assistance in the event of an increase in refugees and displaced persons. CRS/Haiti Country Representative Dula James will travel to the north in the coming days with a United Nations assessment team in a further attempt to open the way for relief shipments. In the southern peninsula area, CRS and the local Catholic bishop have been active in successfully preventing armed conflicts to date between pro- and anti-government groups.

CRS has worked in Haiti for 50 years, providing assistance in the areas of food security, HIV/AIDS care, safety net programs, civil society, health, water and sanitation, education and agriculture.

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