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by the fact that the housing is provided at no charge.
This removed all pressure for families to leave the
development and created opportunities for rent
seeking. Regardless of those factors, NGOs like
GARR argue that government negligence played a
large part in the decline of the suburb. According to
one worker, the local government of Fonds-Parisien
was supposed to maintain and monitor the suburb
but ignored its duties. 483
Indeed, the conditions in the development
have significantly deteriorated. There are no utilities
running through the camp. In fact, there is no
access to clean water. While NGOs initially helped
create water wells nearby, the wells have not been
maintained and the water quality is poor. Because
health and clinical services are unavailable, most of
the migrants go to Fonds-Parisien for care, but only
in the most serious cases. For employment, some
residents cross the border during the day for jobs,
while others do jobs in the camp or surrounding area,
such as selling goods and services at the Malpasse
border. Some migrants also make charcoal to sell or
become motorbike drivers. 484 In some ways, while
the housing was certainly more permanent, the
services did not look too different than those in the
informal settlements we witnessed in Anse-à-Pitres.
The problem needs far more than an initial injection
of capital and support. It requires a sustained
commitment to providing services and support to a
community being ignored.
substantial humanitarian crises, international focus
is no longer on ‘Haiti and the earthquake.’ Thus, it is of
utmost importance to shed light on the humanitarian
crises unfolding in the border camps in Haiti. 485 The
thousands of people who have fled the Dominican
Republic since June 2015, and especially those who
have settled in the informal camps in Anse-à-Pitres,
require protection and respect for their essential
human rights. Most immediately, they need to be
provided with adequate basic services related to
food, drinking water, and health care. Provision of
these direct services should be a priority, but longterm
approaches should also be implemented to
help the displaced communities rebuild their lives.
While many humanitarian organizations have set up
projects in the camps, their efficacy is minimal. As
SJM noted, existing aid interventions in Anse-à-Pitres
are sporadic, uncoordinated, and underfunded,
making them ineffective. 486 GARR argued that the
Haitian government has an important role to play
in these problems. OCHA recently made an open
call for “a new strategy for communication and
mobilization of resources and new approaches in
the implementation of humanitarian projects and
programs” in Haiti. We support that effort and believe
it is crucial to helping the affected population, not
only to survive in the short term but also to rebuild
their lives in the long run. 487
Remaining Gaps
During times in which the global community
is grappling with the consequences of several
483 Group interview with GARR, SJM, and IOM, interview
by Johns Hopkins University-SAIS International Human
Rights Clinic, Fonds-Parisien, January 20, 2016.
484 Ibid.
485 “Humanitarian Bulletin – HAITI.”
486 Valèry Milorme, SJM, interview.
487 “Humanitarian Bulletin – HAITI.”