IOM will take part, starting this weekend, in a multi-agency effort
led by the Haiti government to evacuate several thousand people
deemed at risk from the Petionville Golf Club settlement in
Port-au-Prince.

IOM is providing strategic direction and organizational support
to almost 200 organizations dedicated to ensuring that populations
in Port-au-Prince's more than 900 IDP settlements are living in
safe and healthy conditions.

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Haiti

The Petionville Golf Club settlement, which is managed by the
Jenkins-Penn Haitian Relief (J/P HRO) and other partner
organizations, is believed to house approximately 50,000
people. 

Many residents are situated on a steep hillside, deemed to be at
significant risk once the rainy season – expected to start
this month – begins in earnest. 

Specialist engineers from the UN peacekeeping force, Minustah,
and the US military have identified several locations in particular
danger, as well as priority areas where mitigation work needs to be
carried out in order to prevent flooding and mudslides in the rest
of the camp.

As a result of this exercise, approximately 7,500 residents have
been informed that they are in dangerous areas designated for
movement, and presented with potential options for voluntary
relocation.

These include return, where possible, to their homes (if
designated safe by the government of Haiti and UN engineers), and
seeking accommodation with host families. Residents choosing these
options will receive a basic assistance package from humanitarian
actors.

Where these options are not possible, relocation will be
facilitated for those residents identified as most at risk, to the
Corail Cesselesse site. Corail Cesselesse is a new site prepared by
IOM together with military engineers and humanitarian partners, and
located on land identified by the Haiti government.

J/P HRO together with Catholic Relief Services and IOM support
has conducted an information campaign within the Golf Club
settlement explaining this option. IOM has also facilitated two
site visits by community leaders to Corail.

The Corail site is suitable for up to 6,000 residents, and will
be prepared according to minimum standards, allowing for further
improvements over time. Golf Club residents who opt for relocation
will be transported by the UN peacekeeping mission Minustah to the
site, where they will be registered and be taken to a plot of land,
with a tent (provided by World Vision or Oxfam).

Services at the site will include: health clinic tent facilities
provided by Plan International and Save the Children; initial
provision of a food distribution tent operated by the World Food
Programme and World Vision and focused upon vulnerable groups;
security services to be provided by UN and Haitian police;
distribution of hygiene kits by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF);
provision of toilet and shower facilities by Oxfam; a learning area
provided by UNICEF and Plan International and child-friendly spaces
operated by Save the Children.

The first day of relocation to the Corail site for an initial
100 families, is currently scheduled for Saturday 11 April. The
process is expected to take several days, depending on how many
residents opt for relocation to Corail.

For more information, please contact:

Bertrand Martin

IOM Port-au-Prince

Tel: +509 3859 8619

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

or

Mark Turner

Tel: +509 3702 5066

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