Despite significant efforts to build temporary shelters, to remove debris and repair damaged houses, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Haiti, estimates that by 2012 at least one half million people will still live in the camps of tents in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

74% of the displaced population of Haiti lives in camps on private land (schools, shopping centers etc.) the rapid pace of evictions affect the decrease in the number of persons in the IDP camps, which, according to the matrix of displacement monitoring decreased by 1.5 million last year to 680.000 today [-50%].

25% of people have been displaced by evictions, almost two thirds of those who left the camps have returned to their old neighborhoods and less than half of them are back in a house in "good condition" [± 30%].

233.941 people have been threatened of eviction since last June. Many others have been "hunted" without having a safe place where to go, just before the rainy season. Some are back in homes that need repair or in makeshift shelters or tents on their property. Others have found new shelters in houses or apartments, or are hosted by friends or relatives. The misery of the camps moves, but misery remains...

165.977 people are still in mediation with an uncertain outcome for the affected families. "In addition, a lot of those who have already left the camps may not have found a sustainable housing solution, but simply a place to live with family and friends or in other tents in their neighborhood" added Mr. Luca Dall'Oglio, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.

The Haitian government has the primary responsibility to manage the evictions process, but in reality, international organizations are invited to assist in mediation and conflict management. The only lasting solution to the crisis of eviction is to accelerate the repair and reconstruction of neighborhoods, or to establish new sustainable rentals... But with an expulsion rate that exceeds the capacity of the Haitian authorities and humanitarian workers to provide housing, the situation seems to have no solution...

Place Saint Pierre, in Pétion ville, hundreds of people have buckled their tents and and folded their tarpaulins, encouraged by local authorities to leave the place, encouraged with a sum of US$500 by family. Local authorities who do not want to know where these families will rebuild their lives with that money... The important thing is to restore the public space to the population so that the children can again play football on the place...

HL/ HaitiLibre