Borderless With Brooklyn: Rape in Haiti’s tent city endangers thousands

By: Brooklyn Middleton/Assistant Opinion Editor 

The exact number of people who live in the squalid conditions in the tent city of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti is difficult to calculate.

Brooklyn Middleton / Assistant Opinion Editor

Nearly a year ago, the Daily Mail estimated the figure to be about 1.2 million.  Now, the Voice of America estimates the number to be around 600,000. This current figure, of course, does not take into account those who have been illegally evicted from the tents.

Despite the difficulty in giving an exact number, one thing is absolute: far too many Haitians are living in conditions that jeopardize their lives.

In January 2010, Haiti was hit with the catastrophic earthquake that crumbled its already shaky infrastructure. In the nearly two years since, an ongoing cholera outbreak has killed over 6,500 Haitians,  a video of UN peacekeepers gang-raping a young Haitian man with laughter bouncing around in the background has been released and the political system endured a chaotic presidential election.

The background provided helps to explain the current landscape that has created what is perhaps the greatest growing humanitarian crisis in Haiti: the rape epidemic.

According to a report in January 2011 by Amnesty International, “Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence were widespread in Haiti before, but the earthquake shattered what few protection mechanisms did exist. Women and girls, already struggling to come to terms with the grief and trauma of losing their loved ones, homes and livelihoods in the earthquake, are living in camps in tents that cannot be made secure, with the constant threat of sexual violence.”

Worldwide, rapists feed on chaos and instability, leaving masses of young girls and women unprotected and endangered.

The rape epidemic occurring in Haiti must be responded to by the new president.  As the commander in chief, he has the utmost duty to protect his citizens.

Increasing security and armed patrols in the tent city is crucial to combating the abuse of young girls and women.

“Borderless with Brooklyn” is a biweekly column examining world events.