Swiss aid organizations continue to work despite chaos in Haiti
Published: Sunday, Apr 14th 2024, 09:30
Retour au fil d'actualité
Swiss aid organizations have not left Haiti despite the prevailing chaos. Even though the capital Port-au-Prince has been exposed to violence by criminal gangs for several weeks, their work elsewhere continues as normal.
The relief organization of the Protestant Reformed Church (Heks) has around 40 employees working in Haiti. Country Director Marie-Jeanne Hautbois, the only foreigner, was evacuated on February 19. She is coordinating her teams from abroad.
The escalating violence is particularly affecting the capital Port-au-Prince, its suburbs and the city belt, as well as other towns such as Gonaïves in the north, Hautbois told the Keystone-SDA news agency. She currently lives in France. The Heks is active in the Grand'Anse department, in the extreme southwest of the divided island. The decentralized organizational structure is currently proving to be an advantage.
Peace and quiet in rural areas
According to Hautbois, a large part of Haiti is relatively calm and life is running almost smoothly. However, the areas are severely affected by restrictions on the movement of people and goods, supply bottlenecks and the constant rise in the price of basic foodstuffs.
The aid organization Caritas has also suspended its activities in Port-au-Prince due to the increasing violence. However, a team is still on site in Cayes in the south of the country, as reported on request.
As a first measure, Helvetas moved its office from the capital to Jacmel, where the situation is still calm, according to a media spokeswoman. The employees still working in Port-au-Prince would limit their mobility to the bare minimum.
A good thirty people are on site for Helvetas. The office manager performs his functions from abroad. The aid organization is maintaining its water supply and rehabilitation projects as well as its employment programmes for young people.
Partners continue to work
Fastenaktion (formerly Fastenopfer) is concentrating its activities on the north of Haiti, where rural areas have so far been largely spared from gang violence, as it announced. Most of the local partner organizations will continue to work as usual.
The fasting campaign is currently supporting the local projects remotely with a local coordinator from Port-au-Prince. According to a spokesperson, he is currently forced to stay at home and not travel to the field.
Terre des Hommes Switzerland relocated its employees from the capital to safer areas. According to the organization, the employees already working in the south-east of the country are not directly affected by security risks.
Terre des Hommes Switzerland has a team of six local employees in Haiti. They work with partners in various schools. These colleagues have satellite communication to maintain contact in the event of a network failure, according to the organization.
SDC staff withdrawn
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) withdrew its foreign humanitarian office staff from Haiti at the end of March. With the help of France, it evacuated the people to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, with which Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola.
In April, Switzerland released CHF 1.4 million in emergency aid in response to the severe crisis in the Caribbean country. Haiti is plagued by gang violence and political instability. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has advised against travel to the country since June 2022.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic