Port-Au-Prince, January 17: As hundreds of thousands of Haitians are craving for help after this week’s killer earthquake, the helpless survivors are gripped with fear of gangs roaming the streets in search for food.
“It is increasingly dangerous,” resident Leon Meleste told. “People are hungry, thirsty. They are left on their own. “The police doesn’t exist, people are doing what they want.”
Haiti was struck by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, killing thousands of people and forcing millions into the streets.
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Four days after the disaster, hungry residents are fighting each other for bags of foods handed out by UN trucks in downtown Port-au-Prince.
“There have been some incidents where people were looting or fighting for food,” UN Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, told.
“They are desperate, they have been three days without food or any assistance.
“We have to make sure that the situation doesn’t unravel but for that we need very much to ensure that the assistance is coming as quickly as possible so that the people who are dying for food and medicine get them as soon as possible.”
The international community has so far pledged some $268.5 million (186.3 million euros) in aid.
But, most of aid is still stuck outside the borders of the crippled country.
“The streets smell of death,” said Talulum Saint Fils, who sold her jewelry to pay for one-way bus tickets for her family out of Port-au-Prince.
“There is no assistance of any kind, and our children simply cannot live like animals.”
The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is one of the most densely populated and least developed countries with nearly 80 percent of its 9 million people living in poverty.
Roaming Criminals
When the earthquake unleashed its fury on Port-au-Prince, it let loose the 4,000 convicts who escaped from the city’s collapsed jail.
“All the bandits of the city are now on the streets,” a local policeman said standing near the jail, rifle at the ready.
“They are robbing people. It is a big problem.”
Terrifying people, gangs are firing their guns amid fights on food in stores’ rubbles.
“Men suddenly appeared with machetes to steal money” said Evelyne Buino, a young beautician, who had a long, sleepless night.
“This is just the beginning.”
Helpless residents vented anger at the government for doing nothing to ease the impact of the disaster.
“The government is bluffing us,” Kassana-Jean Chilove, a young mechanic, said.
“There are millions of dollars pouring into Haiti but we see nothing.
“At the head of the country a group of friends is divvying up the money. We are going to be in the shit for a long time.”
-Agencies