‘Haitians want to be able to live, not just survive’ says UN Humanitarian Coordinator

Haiti continues to endure a multifaceted and deep-rooted crisis.

Around 1.6 million people in the country are not getting enough to eat while the capital, Port-au-Prince, is in the grip of armed gang violence that has claimed thousands of lives since January this year and displaced more than 700,000 people.

To combat this violence, the UN Security Council authorised a non-UN multinational security support mission. The first troops were deployed earlier this year under the leadership of Kenya.

UN News’s Cristina Silveiro interviewed the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, Ulrika Richardson, during her last visit at the UN headquarters in New York.

Read the full interview below. The text has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Ulrika Richardson: The situation in Haiti is very critical, especially in the capital. You could even say that there are two realities in the country.

Gangs continue to exert their influence and control over many districts of the capital. This means that for the population, life is almost impossible, with the risk of being killed by stray bullets, but also of being attacked and raped.

Many neighbourhoods are completely under the control of gangs who impose brutal violence. And they don't stop themselves from gang-raping women and children. They recruit children into their ranks, and that is extremely worrying.

There are many displaced people; it is estimated that there are over 700,000 internally displaced people in the country.

On the other hand, the reality is a little different in the rest of the country where life goes on, even though there are many displaced people fleeing to the south and even to the north.

UN News: Faced with this situation, what are the Haitians demanding?

Ulrika Richardson: Haitian people want what you and I want: they want to be able to live, not just survive.

Continue reading this story at the website of UN News.