Criminals in Haiti 'Raping Quake Survivors'

[WriteDown]

Source: The Times

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Bandits in Haiti are preying on vulnerable earthquake survivors, even raping women, in makeshift camps which were set up in the capital of Port-au-Prince after the disaster.

"With the blackout that's befallen the Haitian capital, bandits are taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents," Haiti’s national police chief Mario Andresol said yesterday.

"We have more than 7,000 detainees in the streets who escaped from the National Penitentiary the evening of the earthquake... It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild."

SLIDESHOW: Devastation in Haiti | HOW TO HELP | FULL COVERAGE

Rachelle Dolce, who is living at a large makeshift camp on the Petionville Club Golf Course, said she thought a rape had occurred outside her tent the previous night. She said she heard men making noise and a woman struggling.

"I heard a fight outside, and I saw panties on the ground," she said. "I started to shout a lot, and they left."
Related Stories

Figures for the number of crimes were not available but women's organizations have already detailed a number of cases and alerted the United Nations mission in Haiti, Andresol said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584223,00.html

---

Awful that this seems to be the MO after every disaster.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Odin2005]

2. Ugh, people are so evil.

:cry:

[marshall]

3. Here's some other links to the story

For those who eschew Fox:

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/bandits-raping-haiti-quake-survivors-20100129-n37y.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7007400.ece

http://www.canada.com/news/Criminals+raping+Haiti+quake+survivors+Police/2496213/story.html

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1264249861223&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-40422.html

I like to look at non-U.S. sources just to get another perspective.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

7. thanks.!

[PacerLJ35]

4. Throughout human history, people have taken advantage of situations like this

To make money, to steal, to rape...you name it. Chaos brings out the best and the worst in people.

[FailureToCommunicate]

6. As the story points out, it may very likely be some of the 7000 prisoners

(including rapists, murderers) who escaped after their prisons collapsed doing these crimes, not average Haitians taking 'advantage of the situation'

[PacerLJ35]

8. Oh I figured that too...but no doubt they are taking advantage of the chaos...

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. is anyone aside from fox reporting this rape issue?

i would like to see some real journalists weigh in

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Yes:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=2498172

[naaman fletcher]

9. yeah, like they did at the Superdome.

I'm sure its happened once, maybe twice, but this reeks of sensationalism, like the BS story posted last night about harvesting the organs of child survivors.

[Rebubula]

11. Head in sand...

...does not help anyone. There are too many papers (links in post above) that are reporting this.


When society breaks down, women are in danger from rape. Haiti's breakdown is like nothing seen in decades.

There are many men (you probably work with a few) that will resort to violence when the restraints of law and order are removed.

[ronnie624]

13. I think he's right about the sensationalism.

Highlighting these sorts of stories generates viewers and increased revenue for corporations like FOX News. Don't let them influence your perception of the Haitian people in general.

Several of the other stories that were posted say this:

"Figures for the number of crimes were not available"

You're right about the exploitation of people by criminal elements during crises. But it would happen anywhere. And keep in mind, there is an underlying political agenda involved in this disaster. Bill O'Reilly was recently calling for imposing "discipline" on Haiti.

[naaman fletcher]

15. Did you believe people were getting raped in the superdome?

Did that turn out to be true? Wasn't that reported by all the papers?

[winyanstaz]

18. I saw reports of it by the papers...who were not inside....

but I also read testimonies from people that were inside who said it didnt happen.

[Rebubula]

22. This...

...Ain't the Superdome and this is 100x as bad as Katrina.

The entire prison collapsed and all the criminals are roaming free.

I understand some skepticism about news reports...but to dismiss as 'sensationalism' is pretty ignorant. The world is an evil, nasty place with a lot of evil fuckers out there.

[naaman fletcher]

23. we'll see

Of course I don't know, am I am sure there have been rapes, but I do know the media and their customer's demand for something to get all worked up about whether it is true or not.

[ronnie624]

24. Evil is a supernatural concept that I don't subscribe to.

I know something about human behavior, however, and in a city of millions, devastated by disaster, a more pronounced criminal element will surface. It's a given, anywhere.

The overwhelming majority of the victims of the earthquake are suffering from a lack of food, water and shelter. That represents a far greater threat to them than escaped prisoners, about which there are very few details available, but will doubtless be highlighted above other more important issues.

[Rebubula]

25. Evil

Unfortunately for you, you do not need to subscribe to the concept of evil to be a victim of it.

Evil exists (not in the religious, spiritual sense, but in the strictly 'man is a bastard to each other' sense) and denial does not lessen it.


However, in the grand scheme I do not disagree with you. The overwhelming pain and suffering is from an uncaring Earth that heaved and crushed a whole country. The added criminal element is just salt on the wound.

[unabelladonna]

30. so true

and i don't believe anyone was implying the average haitians were committing these crimes. it's in the context of the savages escaping from prison.

[Arctic Dave]

26. I agree, it most likely is happening. I also do believe it is also being reported

disproportionally from the actual amounts. I am no way trying to minimize the horror of one rape much less more then one.

I also am saying that these type of media events seem to advance the the agenda of companies like Blackwater.

[Jennicut]

10. This is horrible.

I hope they find some way to protect themselves. When I saw some of the camps set up on CNN the reporters were interviewing people who had weapons with them...just machetes but something to scare someone away. God, this makes me want to cry.

[dipsydoodle]

12. I'm sure such shit happens

whenever there is such a disaster anywahere in the world. Such people should be hung, drawn and quartered old style with the bits posted at the city gates as a lesson to others.

[ronnie624]

14. They should be arrested, tried and imprisoned if found guilty by a jury. n/t

[Xithras]

17. One problem...there is no prison.

The prison fell down in the earthquake.

[ronnie624]

19. Well then,

I suppose there is no other choice but to have them drawn quartered and mutilated.

[Xithras]

16. I don't understand why some people question this.

7,000 known rapists, thugs, and murderers were set loose onto the streets of the city during the earthquake. It's just common sense that at least a portion of them would return to their old ways...especially in a devastated city full of potential victims with little law enforcement.

The only real question here is why, with more than 22,000 US and UN troops in Haiti (a nation the size of Massachusetts), are we unable to enforce even the most basic laws?

[marshall]

20. I hope the US forces aren't the final law i n Haiti

They should work in concert and under the local authorities.

[boppers]

27. MA vs Haiti:

Both are similar in terms of land mass.

Population:
MA: 6,593,587
Haiti: 9,035,536

Slight difference there.... not to mention differences in infrastructure, social services, and culture. I wonder how many police officers MA has per person, and how many of the US and UN soldiers are trained in police work?

[Ticonderoga]

28. Sounds like

the governments of the world need to quadriple down on armed security forces being sent in to protect the encampments, with shoot to kill orders for criminals taking advantage of the weak. Maybe they would begin to "get it" that anarchy will not be tolerated during the recovery phase of this disaster.

[unabelladonna]

33. the US cannot take control

you can't deny that if an accidental death occurs it will be magnified if the US is involved. and as usual we'll be the "baddies". leave it to the UN.

[unabelladonna]

29. just awful but not unexpected

why would anyone think these monsters would become human beings overnight because of an earthquake? i'm afraid things will get worse.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

31. and what were they doing before the quake? street theater?

[PatriotPaul]

32. From someone who was in the Superdome during Katrina.

Here we go again with irresponsible reporting. What I get from this article is that some panties were found on the ground, a U.N. official fears child trafficking, and a Police Chief makes a statement without backing it up with specifics.

I along with several British tourists were trapped in the Superdome during Katrina. And yes, rumors and fear controlled our lives and we believed the stories of murders and rapes in the Superdome. Trouble was that there were no murders, and months later Police and Security on the scene could not substantiate any rapes.

The effect of this is that certain people can simply discount the need to assist a country because of those "wild savages" who go crazy. And years later people comment on such stories perpetuating the lies. Many conservative friends of mine admitted to me after Katrina that they had less compassion for New Orleans because they believed all the exaggerated reports.

I'm not naive and I don't doubt that crimes are taking place, but the media got it quite wrong during Katrina. I know, I was there. So please let's be a little more responsible in backing up these reports. I'm sure Fox News is having a field day with this story.

Paul Harris
Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"

[Barack_America]

34. Thanks for your input.

I'll be sure to check out your book. Funny how quickly racism rears its head in the media when these tragedies occur, isn't it?

[Number23]

36. +100 When even the big cheeses at the UN are saying that the reports of crime are being overstated

people need to listen. And you are exactly right, it's all done in an effort to minimize the humanity of the folks in trouble. If they are perceived as "criminals" and "savages" instead of "victims" it is easier to turn our backs on these desperate people in terrible need.

[xsquid]

35. Televisa of mexico

was reporting on this and spoke to some women that had witnessed it. It's happening a lot whether anyone wants to admit it or not.