Category Archives: Haiti

‘People will pay’ for harsh treatment of migrants at Texas border, says Biden – video

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Joe Biden has said there will be repercussions for border patrol agents over their harsh treatment of Haitian migrants at the southern US border between Texas and Mexico, calling it an embarrassment to the nation. Images of agents on horseback corralling migrants in Del Rio as thousands tried to enter the US drew international attention. The president said he bears ultimate responsibility for the situation

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Haitian migrants and refugees cross the Rio Grande – in pictures

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In the past few weeks more than 12,000 Haitians have arrived in Del Rio, Texas, gathering in a huge makeshift camp. Many have to cross the Rio Grande from Del Rio to Ciudad Acuña to seek food and supplies in Mexico to bring back to family members waiting in the US. Others are crossing back into Mexico to avoid deportation flights

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Migrants continue to cross into US as Kamala Harris criticises treatment by border patrol – video

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Thousands of Haitians encamped under and near a bridge in the town of Del Rio faced a ramped-up US exclusion effort on Tuesday, with six flights to their homeland. More than 6,000 migrants had been removed by Monday, officials said.

Asked on Tuesday about footage of the incident, Kamala Harris said: 'What I saw depicted, those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were, was horrible'


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Kamala Harris on expulsions at US border: ‘Human beings should never be treated that way’

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Vice-president criticizes treatment of Haitians, who are being removed after attempted to flee dire conditions

Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer, have added their voices to criticism of the treatment of Haitian migrants at the US-Mexico border who were corralled by US border patrol agents riding horses and allegedly wielding reins like whips.

Related: White House criticizes border agents who rounded up migrants on horseback

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White House criticizes border agents who rounded up migrants on horseback

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Press secretary voices concern over widely shared images as more than 6,000 migrants removed from Texas encampment

The White House on Monday responded critically to widely shared images of US border patrol agents in Texas rounding up Haitian migrants on horseback.

Related: Haitian migrants intend to remain at Texas border despite plan to expel them

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Haitian migrants intend to remain at Texas border despite plan to expel them

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Thousands seeking to escape poverty and hunger in their own country remain encamped under and near a bridge in Del Rio

Haitian migrants seeking to escape poverty, hunger and hopelessness in their home country said they would not be deterred by US plans to swiftly send them back, as thousands remained encamped on the Texas border.

Related: How thousands of Haitian migrants ended up at the Texas border

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US to fly Haitian migrants back after thousands gather at Texas border

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Plan will likely involve five to eight flights a day, with San Antonio potentially among departure cities

The Biden administration on Saturday was working on plans to send many of the thousands of Haitian immigrants who have gathered in a Texas border city back to their homeland, a swift response to the huge influx of people who suddenly crossed from Mexico and congregated under and around a bridge.

Related: ‘A forgotten disaster’: earthquake-hit Haitians left to fend for themselves

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Aerial footage shows scale of makeshift migrant camp under Texas bridge – video

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On Saturday the US government worked on plans to send many of the thousands of Haitian immigrants who have gathered in a Texas border city back to their Caribbean homeland. Aerial video from local media showed Haitians crossing the Rio Grande freely and in a steady stream on Friday, going back and forth between the US and Mexico through knee-deep water, with some parents carrying small children on their shoulders. People pitched tents and built shelters from giant reeds. Many bathed and washed clothing in the river

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How thousands of Haitian migrants ended up at the Texas border

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Gang violence, bloody protests, food and fuel shortages plus natural disasters have spurred many to leave the west’s poorest nation

Every night Guy would fall asleep to the sound of gunfire: warring gangs in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, were fighting pitched battles in the city centre.

By day, the country was roiled by bloody protests against food and fuel shortages. Roadblocks with burning tyres were commonplace, and the police responded with tear gas and billy clubs.

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‘A forgotten disaster’: earthquake-hit Haitians left to fend for themselves

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With rural areas of the country left to suffer, aid workers fear funds are drying up as global compassion fatigue sets in

David Nazaire, a 45-year-old coffee farmer from Beaumont, a small village in rural southern Haiti, was getting ready to harvest when an earthquake struck his home and livelihood. Much of the farming infrastructure – as well as nearby homes, schools and churches – was damaged or completely destroyed. A month later, he and thousands of rural Haitians – those most severely affected by the tremor – are still waiting for relief, and are not expecting it to arrive soon.

“The earthquake didn’t destroy our crops, but it did take everything else,” Nazaire says, outside a neighbour’s house, now a pile of rubble beneath plastic roof tiles supported by the remnants of concrete walls. “We were just getting ready to harvest, but that’s lost now.”

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Haiti prosecutor calls for prime minister to be charged over president’s killing

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Ariel Henry, 71-year-old neurosurgeon, became country’s leader in July, two weeks after assassination of Jovenel Moïse

The investigation into the assassination of the Haitian president Jovenel Moïse has taken a sensational turn after the country’s chief prosecutor asked a judge to charge Haiti’s prime minister in connection with the crime.

Ariel Henry, a 71-year-old neurosurgeon, became Haiti’s principal leader in July, two weeks after Moïse was killed at his home in the capital Port-au-Prince.

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‘I don’t see my mum’: Haiti’s earthquake leaves new generation of orphans

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The number of children without carers is still not known, leaving them prey to gangs and abuse

Lilian, six years old and alone, still asks when her mother will return from the market on the edge of Les Cayes in southern Haiti.

When last month’s earthquake struck, Lilian was at home, occasionally checked on by her neighbours as her mother, Genieve, was selling fruit a few blocks away. When the ground began to convulse, the market partly collapsed. Genieve was hit by falling concrete and buried under rubble. Her death has left Lilian without anyone to care for her.

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‘They don’t come for us’: Haitians face agonising wait for help after quake

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People in need of water, food and shelter are fending for themselves as aid response complicated by heavy rain, gangs and distrust of international agencies

On the morning a catastrophic earthquake struck southern Haiti, Jackson Mason, a barber, was picking up water and other shopping from Cavaillon’s bustling market.

“The earth below me started to shake – people were thrown into the air, others yelled, praying to Jesus to save them,” Mason, 35, says. “Everything flew in the air, even the wallets in people’s hands.”

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Haiti’s earthquake has compounded years of corruption and political crisis | Jonathan M Katz

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The 2010 earthquake response was riddled with failure. Haitians cannot afford another catastrophe

The latest statistics from Haiti’s August 14 earthquake are stark: at least 2,207 people have been confirmed dead and more than 12,000 injured. More than 130,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Aftershocks continue, and new landslides in the wake of the follow-on Tropical Storm Grace mean those numbers are expected to rise in the coming weeks.

But the most dispiriting number is 11. That is the number of years that passed between Haiti’s last major earthquake and this one – years in which corruption has hollowed out the state, armed gangs have expanded their territorial control, and political turmoil has intensified, culminating in the assassination of the president, Jovenel Moïse, in July.

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Haiti earthquake 10 days on: survivors still ‘hungry and thirsty’ – video report

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The death toll is still rising 10 days after a catastrophic earthquake struck southern Haiti on the morning of 14 August. More than 2,200 deaths have been recorded so far, while at least 30,000 families have had to abandon their homes. Many were sleeping on the streets when Tropical Storm Grace struck two days later, bringing high winds and pelting rain. But despite the hardship, many Haitians are wary of the massive international aid response that is under way

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Haiti needs help, but ‘not from aid workers who never leave their SUVs’

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Beset by earthquakes, poverty and gang violence, the country is desperate for aid. However it must be the right kind, say locals

The death toll is still rising 10 days after a catastrophic earthquake struck southern Haiti on the morning of 14 August, levelling much of Les Cayes and the surrounding region.

More than 2,200 deaths have been recorded so far, while at least 30,000 families have had to abandon their homes. Many were sleeping on the streets when Tropical Storm Grace struck two days later, bringing high winds and pelting rain.

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Tropical Storm Grace’s heavy rains pour misery on Haiti earthquake survivors

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  • Flash flood and landslides complicate relief efforts
  • Power remains out with 50mm of rain an hour falling

Tropical Storm Grace has lashed southern Haiti with drenching rains, piling on misery for survivors of a powerful earthquake as flash floods and landslides further complicate relief efforts.

Related: Naomi Osaka to donate prize earnings to Haiti earthquake relief efforts

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‘We have no place to go’: Haiti earthquake shelters exposed to tropical storm – video report

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People already displaced by Saturday's earthquake in Haiti evacuated temporary shelters on Monday night due to a tropical storm. 

Tropical Storm Grace was projected to hit some of the areas worst affected by the earthquake with up to 38cm (15in) of rain, bringing the risk of flash floods and landslides.

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Haiti hit by storm as officials fear quake death toll could rise

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Tropical depression makes landfall over areas already hit by Saturday’s quake that killed at least 1,419

Medical teams and aid workers were racing to save lives and provide food and shelter on Monday amid fears that the official death toll from Saturday’s earthquake could rise further and a tropical depression bore down on the crisis-stricken Caribbean country.

The official death toll rose on Monday to 1,419, and at least 6,000 were injured by the 7.2-magnitude quake – a tremor even more powerful than the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 200,000 Haitians in 2010 and levelled much of Port-au-Prince.

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