Follow-up after riots in Haiti

• 6 Haitians died and dozens were injured during the course of the riots. [Reuters]
• Haiti’s prime minister, Jacques-Edouard Alexis, was sacked on April 12th.
• A Nigerian United Nations peacekeeper was killed execution style in the capital. 3 Sri Lankan peacekeepers were shot in a separate incident, though their wounds were not life-threatening. [United Nations News Service]
• President René Préval announced new food subsidies on imported rice, but the price of other staples, such are beans, have not been reduced. The cost of a 110 lb bag of rice has dropped from US$51 to US$43. [Alterpresse, Reuters]
• International aid agencies have pledged more food and financial assistance.
• The World Bank has approved a US$10m emergency grant to help ease the effect of increased food prices [World Bank].
• US lawmakers have urged action on Haiti. Some, including NY Democrat Gregory Meeks, called for forgiveness of Haiti’s international debt. FYI: An estimate 47% of Haiti’s current international debt burden was incurred under the brutal Duvalier regimes. [Voice of America]
• Pan American Development Foundation, an affiliate of the Organisation of American States, will make available 400 tons of fortified rice, worth more than US$1.5m [Economist].
• A story I read last week (sorry I don’t remember which) remarked that many Haitian citizens were frustrated that the MINUSTAH forces weren’t engaged in more development and humanitarian initiatives while they were in the country. Such activities are currently outside their mandate, unfortunately. However on April 11, members of the Brazilian contingent distributed food aid to residents of Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince. ‘ “It’s very nice of them. I didn’t know where else I was going to get food today,” said Willy Desamore, 28. But he said the package would last just a day for himself, his mother and six siblings, all unemployed.’[Time Magazine]

Related Posts:
Eyewitness Accounts of Riots in Haiti
News: Food Riots in Haiti
To go or not to go: How AIDG Haiti handled the uncertain security situation

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