Haiti: Port-au-Prince – Exploring the City
Part-au-Prince has a massive population of over 4 million, all packed into a bowl below several mountain ranges and the sea. Quite a few area are still corrupted and fully controlled by gangs that are now fighting the Kenyan military peacekeepers and Haitian police. Other area are relatively safe but it’s still quite a everywhere – overpopulation, trashed streets, dilapidated housing, and never-ending markets and street food vendors everywhere – this is very reminiscent of West Africa, Liberia or CAR perhaps. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and Port-au-Prince, as its capital, reflects this reality. A large portion of the population lives below the poverty line, with limited access to basic needs such as food, clean water, healthcare, and education. There are almost no hospitals left since the gang violence this spring. Haiti relies heavily on imports for essential goods, and aid and remittances from the Haitian diaspora play a crucial role in the economy. The 2010 earthquake and subsequent hurricanes, have further severely destroyed infrastructure, homes, and businesses. Finally the gang violence, kidnappings and killing that exploded earlier this year all over the city almost bought it to the edge of an abyss.
