Fear and chaos await Haitian migrants forced back over border

A constant stream of trucks pulls up carrying undocumented Haitian migrants. They are being deported back to their home country. Haiti is in the grip of its most acute humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake in 2010. One man says he was taken from his home after three years in the Dominican Republic.

More than 350,000 people have been internally displaced in Haiti. More than 15,000 of them in the last fortnight. Dominican authorities have been sending back hundreds of undocumented Haitians every day. Some of the immigrants are furious, shouting indignantly in Spanish and Creole.

Last month, the country#39;s president, Luis Abinader, demanded in an appearance before the United Nations Security Council in New York that the international community step up aid to Haiti and deploy a multinational force there. Questioned last week about the possibility of receiving Haitians fleeing unrest, Mr Ab inader categorically ruled out accepting refugee camps on Dominican soil. The current situation in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, is a humanitarian catastrophe for its three million inhabitants. The widespread gang violence has forced many hospitals to close and others are not functioning as fuel and essential medical supplies are held up by the criminal groups.

Just one of the 15 hospitals his organisation supports was currently working. The hope was that some degree of calm might return after the beleaguered prime minister, Ariel Henry, resigned. While the violence has abated a little since the announcement on Monday, few have any doubt that it could flare up again at any moment. Earlier this week, the US State Department had said that it expected a transitional council to be in place within two days.

There is a power vacuum where the Haitian government is supposed to be, and deep divisions over who would sit on an interim administration. Most people in the capital, Port-au-Prince, were glad to see the back of their unelected prime minister. Many lament the lack of a clear successor. Haitian gangs are increasingly using rape and sexual abuse as weapons of war.

They often target women living in areas held by their rivals or even in their own territory. Last year, more than 5,000 women were raped or victims of sexual abuse. Most of the time women dare not go to the hospital to be treated for fear of retaliation. Are you in the region?

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