Haiti: armed gangs accepted a truce to allow the distribution of aid after the earthquake

The main Haitian armed gangs affirmed this Sunday to have accepted a truce enable the distribution of humanitarian aid to the thousands of people affected by last week’s earthquake, which caused at least 2,207 dead and over 12,000 injured.

Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue, leader of the “G9 in Family and Allies” (the Group of 9 in family and alliance), the largest federation of armed gangs in the country, confirmed the truce in a video, although the authorities have not corroborated the existence of an agreement.

“Congratulations to us because at this moment we have decided to make peace», Said Barbecue, thanking the gangs which control the district of Martissant, on the road between Port-au-Prince and the zone most affected by the earthquake, for letting the convoys of humanitarian aid pass.

The capo too announced that his armed group will provide aid to earthquake victims in the coming days and called on all Haitians to help the victims in any way they can.

THE ROAD CONTROLLED BY BANDS

Insecurity was one of the main complications for the delivery of aid to the southwestern peninsula of Haiti, the area most affected by the 7.2 degree earthquake, a region where 650,000 people need help.

In particular, due to the presence of Armed gangs in the Martissant district, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, an area of ​​compulsory passage by land to get to this area.

The general coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aecid) in Haiti, Manuel Alba, said Efe What the insecurity is “total”, despite the fact that “there was a kind of negotiation” to declare a truce.

However, this truce “is not real. It’s like negotiating with the devil. It is complicated», Declared the head of Aecid, an organization which in collaboration with several Spanish NGOs sent this Sunday a shipment of 30 tons of aid to Haiti.

Looting of humanitarian aid

In addition, the situation in Haiti is so precarious that, in the face of a disaster like this, the desperation of the population has led to several looting of humanitarian aid trucks.

“What to do is to be very careful, to go in a convoy and to be very well informed.“Before embarking on the journey,” said Alba, who stressed that the trucks attacked in recent days have passed “without any type of escort”.

The director of the World Food Program (WFP) in Haiti, Pierre Honorat, stressed to Efe that “the situation of insecurity can interrupt the assistance” of the organization to vulnerable populations.

“We are talking with the authorities and all the actors involved to try to avoid this,” he said.

ORDER AND SAFETY, THE KEYS TO SUCCESS

Not all aid agreements are problematic. This Sunday morning 700 food parcels were delivered thanks to a private donation, an action which was organized by Yvone Alcegarie, an agronomist by profession who does not belong to any entity.

As he explained during the distribution in a hotel near the Cayes airport, the logistics were based on a previous survey to locate the families most in need of help, who received a voucher with which they were to appear in the eastern locality. Sunday, delivery day.

The police collaborated by betting on twelve agents to monitor the operation in the facilities, where holders of the reserve received water, rice, oil, beans and, in the case of mothers with young children, diapers.

NOURISHING THE SOUL

Many Haitians also need to nourish their spirits and seek solace in religion, although temples of different denominations have preferred to offer services on the street and very early on, except for one.

On the outskirts of Les Cayes, a group of evangelical faithful participated in the service offered by Pastor Severin Macdy Jonas, in a half-built structure affected by the earthquake, where part of the congregation gathered for the first service after the earthquake. .

“We are not too afraid to be inside,” he said. “People need to pray. Today we are forced to come together to thank the Lord for his helpAdded the pastor, who saw his congregation reduced due to the disaster.

(With information from EFE / By María Montecelos)

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