By Orlando Barria |
Port-au-Prince (EFE).- Just behind the National Palace of Haiti, 1,125 people, half of them minors, live poorly in the Gymnasium Vincent, an improvised shelter for 225 families who have fled their homes due to the unstoppable spiral of violence. of this depressed country, which continues to persecute them.
The Gymnasium Vincent was an important sports and recreational center for the inhabitants of the center of the capital, Port-au-Prince, today practically dominated by armed gangs like many other cities in this country, awaiting the soon deployment of a multinational mission of support for security, led by Kenya and with the approval of the UN, in order to stop the violence.
From sports center to unsafe shelter
In August of last year, in the midst of the crisis, this sports center was transformed into a shelter for families, as Joseph Richards, one of its managers, explained to EFE.
Refugees “constantly feel very insecure due to the clashes between the police and bandits, as we are caught in the middle of the shootings,” he says.
The Police usually repel gang attacks, but due to the proximity of the Palace and the Police Station, several of those shots reach the walls of the sports venue.
In fact, EFE observed the dozens of holes in the walls of the facility; even a basketball backboard has three bullet holes.
Some of the shootings are a product of the explosive violent situation at the beginning of last March when thousands of prisoners escaped from two prisons.
Many prisoners entered the university located near the camp and the police “started shooting like crazy,” he said.
Five people were wounded by gunshots in the camp and taken by colleagues to the Doctors Without Borders hospital.
Fear and uncertainty in Haiti
“We are very afraid to be here, because at any moment no one knows what can happen,” says Joseph Richards, and highlights in this sense that “there is always a war here between the gangs and the Police, so we do not feel safe.” .
It also happens that “people go out to buy something here on the corner, in the Salomón Market, and the bandits grab them and take everything they are carrying, and thus it is impossible to feel safe,” he reiterated.
As if the fear of gangs, gunshots and hunger were not enough, fear of the Atlantic hurricane season has been added since Saturday.
“Most of the tents are all broken and we need help to solve that soon,” says Richards.
A significant part of the families live in small tents in the patio of the venue and another has found a new home in the stands of the indoor gym.
The constant desire to return home
When asked if they would like to go to another camp, Richards says that they would not like to go to another shelter, but rather return to their homes, although he affirms that “here in Port-au-Prince there are no places that are safe, throughout the capital there is only insecurity ”.
He hopes that the multinational mission “arrives soon and confronts the gangs in the country, that is the first thing, so that there is security, so that everyone can return to their homes.”
But, with obvious discouragement, he states: “as I see the situation, I think we will have to at least continue here in the Gym for one more year, before we can return to our homes.”
Regarding the designated prime minister, Garry Conille, who arrived in the country last Saturday to take office, Richards is confident that “he will bring a good future for Haiti,” although he is also somewhat pessimistic about it.
“I don’t think anyone can fix this country, because with all the governments they have only been promises and the country continues to sink every day,” he concluded.
