IOM has completed the initial phase of priority relocations of
Haitians displaced by the January 12 earthquake, helping to move
more than 7,300 people from dangerous areas in
Port-au-Prince’s Petionville Club golf course, and the
Vallée de Bourdon.

More than 4,900 people from almost 1,300 families chose to move
from the golf course to a new site at Corail Cesselesse, which was
initially managed by IOM but is now under the management of the
American Refugee Council (ARC).

Meanwhile, almost 2,400 people from more than 500 families moved
from the isolated Vallée de Bourdon to the new site at
Tabarre Issa, which is managed by the aid agency Concern.

Movement to new sites was and continues to be a last resort
option for Haiti’s displaced population, on offer to
populations deemed to be in priority areas at risk of flooding,
mudslides or other immediate hazards.

It came as part of a range of voluntary options supported by
humanitarian actors, including a return to houses identified as
structurally sound, or moving in with a host family.

"BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; BACKGROUND: rgb(153,204,255) 0% 50%; FLOAT: right; CLEAR: right; BORDER-TOP: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: rgb(51,102,204) 1px solid; moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial">
"PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; BACKGROUND: rgb(51,102,204) 0% 50%; PADDING-TOP: 3px; moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial">Related
Links alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://www.youtube.com/user/OIMIOM#p/a/u/0/fHkiojcxZHY" target=""
title="">Moving Haiti's Earthquake Displaced Out of Danger alt="" border="0" height="12" hspace="0" src=
"/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/graphics/interface/icons_buttons/blue_link_box.gif"> "http://www.youtube.com/user/OIMIOM#p/a/u/1/TYlgBTtodbs" target=
"_blank" title="">Relocation from Vallee de Bourdon to Tabarre
Issa

"This operation was about getting people out of immediate
danger," said Giovanni Cassani, IOM’s head of camp management
and camp coordination. "It went fast, and it went through
successfully – ahead of the onset of heavy rains."

IOM and partners, led by the Government of Haiti, are now in the
process of identifying new priority sites for potential
relocations, taking into account the Haitian people’s desire
for a resumption of normal life – such as the reopening of
schools – as well as the need to address emerging
environmental health risks.

Meanwhile, IOM’s camp management team is launching a major
new process of information gathering around Port-au-Prince, aimed
at identifying the specific needs and priorities of the almost 900
camps in the urban area.

Multidisciplinary teams will fan out across the city and work
closely with municipal authorities, Haiti’s civil defence
department, camp committees, and the general population to identify
priority infrastructural needs.

The work comes alongside IOM’s continued registration
exercise, which has now covered more than 450,000 people and
provides crucial information to actors across the humanitarian
community.

IOM has also trained 370 people from 80 organizations in camp
management practice and standards, as part of its role as lead
agency in the international emergency response’s Camp
Coordination and Camp Management cluster.

Short videos of both relocations can be found in the IOM
website, or on the OIMIOM YouTube channel.

For more information, please contact:

Mark Turner

IOM Haiti

Tel: +509 37025066 or +509 34906678

E-mail: "mailto:mturner@iom.int">mturner@iom.int or "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"mailto:markyturner@yahoo.com">markyturner@yahoo.com