An emergency evacuation of some 1,300 people living in dangerous
conditions in a malarial swamp of Port-au-Prince finally got
underway this week when the Government of Haiti ordered the closure
of the camp.

IOM officials began drawing attention to the unsafe state of
Parc Fleurieux some time ago. Because of the danger of flooding
from a polluted lake, an evacuation was ordered. IOM worked closely
with government officials, local authorities and other humanitarian
agencies to find a more suitable alternative accommodation for the
residents.

The drawn-out process finally came to a close yesterday morning
when removal vans and buses pulled up outside the site. By
pre-arrangement, a Haitian Boy Scout troop arrived to help with the
relocation.  IOM camp managers, protection and registration
specialists as well as community mobilizers were on hand to oversee
the move. A group of UN peacekeepers ensured it proceeded without
disturbance.

"I'm worried about floods and wind," said André
Joseph-Venel, 58, a father of six. He's been living beside the
malarial swamp that abuts the camp since 12 January when his house
collapsed. He was reassured the by camp committee president Reynald
Derazin that "Anywhere has got to be better than here."

A couple of hours later, the most vulnerable members of the Parc
Fleurieux boarded minibuses while their few belongings followed in
two large removal vans.

There have been tensions in Corail at the prospect of new
arrivals. IOM facilitated negotiations between the camp committee
and the Haitian government as well as other humanitarian
actors.

Those already living in Corail were offered transitional
shelters along with the prospect of jobs to help build their new
homes. Their objections largely evaporated and by early Thursday
morning, the move was already underway.

MINUSTAH provided security with Bangladeshi women police and
Peruvian UN peacekeepers. As the day wore on row upon row of tan
coloured tents were erected on a once bare field by IOM staff who
pitched in to help.

By mid afternoon, an inquisitive group of Corail camp residents
wandered across fields to find out more about their new
neighbours.

Fifty one vulnerable families, or 161 people, have now settled
in Corail and the relocation is scheduled to continue over the
weekend.

The challenges in locating appropriate sites explain why so many
Haitians remain under canvas six months after the earthquake.

Most of the available land was quickly settled by the 1.5
million homeless. In some cases, local landowners who had initially
welcomed the displaced are now asking them to leave, with evictions
reportedly on the rise. As a result many communities are now living
on unsuitable land that's vulnerable to flooding or is dangerously
exposed. In one part of the capital Port-au-Prince, people are
camped out on the meridian of the highway.

Reynald Derazin summed up the sentiment in the camp: "Look where
we are now," he said and pointed to a group of women washing
clothes in a polluted stream. "Do you think that this is a
dignified life? We have no alternative but to take our chances and
go to Corail, if only for the sake of our children and the elderly.
What we now need are jobs, as most people have spent whatever
savings they had in order to survive the past few months in this
terrible place."

For more information, please contact:

Leonard Doyle

Media and Communications Haiti

Tel: +509 370 25066

Skype: Leonard.Doyle

E-mail: "mailto:ldoyle@iom.int">ldoyle@iom.int