Ban Calls on International Community to “Continue to Stand With Haiti”

Above: construction work in Haiti (UN Photo/Logan Abassi)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The international community must continue to work with Haiti as the country seeks to rebuild, according to United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban, who released a message to mark the three-year anniversary of the quake, recalled his own memories of early visits to Haiti following the quake in January 2010.

“My memories of the damage and suffering, which I saw first-hand during two visits, are still fresh, but I also have a keen sense of the progress that has been achieved in reconstruction and recovery over the past three years,” Ban said.

But the UN’s top official said the world body remained concerned about the fate of more than 300,000 Haitians displaced by the quake who remain without permanent housing.

That number does represent a significant drop from about 1.3 million living in tent camps in the aftermath of the quake.

“I know we are all concerned about the fate of more than 300,000 displaced Haitians, who continue to live in make-shift camps, and about the successive hurricanes that have destroyed many livelihoods and raised the spectre of food insecurity,” Ban said.

A recent UN estimate found that nearly 1.5 million people in Haiti could face food insecurity as a result of Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy in late 2012.

“I continue to call on the international community to stand with Haiti at its time of dire need,” Ban said. “I thank all of you for being the caring face of the United Nations, on the ground, accompanying the people of Haiti on the path to a more secure and prosperous future.”