Haitian girls sell themselves to survive: World says 'mission accomplished'

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
1/13/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Is this what Mission Accomplished looks like in Haiti?

On the second anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010, Catholic Online published an article explaining that despite the allocation of billions of dollars in aid to that country's people, less than 1 percent was actually delivered to them. Now, a new report shows the consequences of the international community's failure to help the victims of the disaster.

Billions of dollars and two years have bought over 1,200 camps like these to house over one million people. The world is departing Haiti. Mission accomplished?

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NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - A joint report released by a consortium of rights organizations reveals that young Haitian women are being forced into sex in order to survive. This reality, two years after the quake and in spite of billions of dollars of aid pledged to help, starkly demonstrates the epic scale of the failure to actually help the Haitian people rebuild what they lost in 2010.

The report was released on Thursday by MADRE, the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), the International Women's Human Rights (IWHR) Clinic at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, the Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law (GJC) and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at UC Hastings College of the Law (CGRS).

According to the report, over one million Haitians remain in displacement camps which remain relatively lawless. Within these camps, life is especially difficult for young women and mothers. The problems are growing worse as aid organizations, NGOs, and international observers leave Haiti taking with them what few services they were able to provide.

Young women are faring the worst as they try to support children and survive without access to basic medical care or education. In the aftermath of the quake, rape became epidemic in the camps. The crisis of rape in the camps has been well documented over the past two years, but very little has actually been done about it.

In addition to violent rapes however, there is a second sexual epidemic sweeping the camps. Women who cannot feed themselves or their children report being forced to sell themselves for as little as a half-sandwich or a few US dollars. The perpetrators of this exploitation are usually men who hold positions of power within the displacement camp.

Women, especially those with children, have very little choice in the matter. If they do not submit-they, or their children will go without.

Women in this situation also report frequent beatings, men who refuse to wear condoms, and that sometimes they are not even paid at the end of the night. Women must endure this brutal treatment whenever they (or their children) need access to medical care, education, or even food.

Haiti has always had problems with law and order, especially in poor districts, but the earthquake made everything much worse. Over 4,000 educational establishments were lost in the quake and they have not been rebuilt.

Despite billions of dollars in international aid that was pledged to the victims, two years later more than a million people remain worse off than ever before and their outlook is grim. The root cause is that most of the funds "pledged" for earthquake relief and rebuilding were actually allocated to various government agencies (from different countries), NGOs and aid organizations. Many countries have touted the billions they spent in support of Haitian relief, but in reality only a tiny fraction of that money was ever truly intended for the people themselves.

The tragic result is that a lot of money has been spent and effort expended, but virtually none of it has made any impact on the long-term well being of the victims. They may have been kept alive, but their living conditions remain deplorable.

The nation of Haiti remains in crisis and the world is departing when it should consider committing. As the international community, NGOs, and aid organizations draw down their presence in Haiti, they leave a people and country devastated by disaster much farther from repair than what is widely believed.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Haiti, rape, women, displacement camps, human rights, aid

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1 - 7 of 7 Comments

FRANCISCO KALU
1 year ago
Currently the situation is still worse for the Haitian people and it seems that they can not help themselves particularly the women and children.As a result i call upon people of good will,churches,NGOs and Governments around the world to support these people because they can neither seek solace in themselves nor from their government which is engulfed with corruption allegations.

Left people come together with the spirit of charity and love to help the needy in the society.Through that we Christians we will be preaching the GOSPEL.

When the situation persist then the whole world has failed.
Elaine
1 year ago
I have friends from the Church, as well as friends who are medical and "communications" professionals who went to Haiti just after the quake. One is still there. Don't you all remember the videos of the people praying in front of their demolished Catholic Cathedral? The huge masses they continue to have in the tent cities?
What David & the others have told me that there are a plethora of problems, but despite everything, these people hold on to their faith. Port-au-prince is a 90% Catholic Community. Much of the money that was pledged: both by Governments, NGO's, and other charities has never even arrived in Haiti. The US is one Govt that pledged 100 Million-but has yet to get it through the House. With charities, monies pledged just were never received. Most of my friends stayed gor up to 1 1/2yrs, but others were pulling out as the violence got out of Countrol. And YES, MUCH of this is Haiti's Govt of corruption's fault. But until the corruption is cleaned up-at least to some extent, this heart-wrenching poverty, and all that goes with it, will not end....
abey
1 year ago
Bulbajer, I do not judge, GOD does, for the wages of sin is death, refer the Bible for the cause of destruction at the time of Noah as also Sodom & Gomorrah. Death can come at any time to anybody, but the important part is to be ready always, The bible says so Time is not for our asking. It is His.. Jesus Himself says that. By the way the Bible comes in the form of the old & new testaments. Do read the old, to understand the new. Get the point, it is about salvation.through Christ by Faith. Christ is the solution for Haiti, the solution for the world. When finally every nation, tongue & people will fold before him, away from all their false beliefs & self prides. This is Prophesy.
Martin
1 year ago
Haiti is not the only country facing this ugly scenerio of political and systematic extortion of fund meant for the poor and less priviledged members of the society. This is situation is obtainable in most war devasited african nation. Until an organ of UN with charge over these humanitarian funds and its distribution is established, the situation in Haiti will remain unsolved.
Bulbajer
1 year ago
Abey, do you really think that voodoo caused Haiti's array of problems? If there wasn't any voodoo in Haiti, if it was 100% Christian, would the earthquake never have happened? Slavery? Rape?
abey
1 year ago
On the religious side there is seen a great deal of Syncretism of beliefs, embedded in superstitions, African Vodoos & other forms of Pagan beliefs, among the Haitians. It is of fore most importance that the Bible be preached & taught in the Truth of Christ, whence will come their turnaround through the Holy Spirit, away from all their false beliefs, which being the chief cause of their problems. In other words tackle the problem at the source, through Christ.
Jim from Easton
1 year ago
The problem with helping cultures such as Haiti is that the corruption and lawlessness runs so deep. Unless one goes in with a powerful military that is willing to stay for several decades and basically build a new and law respecting culture from scratch, as soon as the aid leaves the corrupt small group with power and weapons uses the threat of violence to take the society back to exactly where it was.

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