No plan in sight for Haiti's homeless

[cory777]

Source: LA Times

Reporting from Port-au-Prince, Haiti —
The promised reconstruction of this earthquake-crippled nation hangs on the potentially explosive issue underlying a simple question: Whose land is this?

Take this spot below the city's main transmission lines off the Delmas 33 road. Before the earthquake eight months ago, goats grazed here and tenant farmers planted patches of corn and sugar cane. One of Haiti's wealthiest families claimed the roughly 20-acre parcel, but had no major plans for it.

Now an estimated 25,000 people call it home. From the hill above, the temporary camp is a sea of sun-battered tarps. Up close it looks more like a neighborhood every day: tin roofs, wood framing, locked doors, fences, gardens. It boasts makeshift stores, lotto stands, one-chair beauty salons, rum bars, even an Internet cafe.

When groups of young "security" men came in buses with eviction notices, the camp residents chased them away with rocks, sticks and machetes. Residents did the same with aid workers who were merely trying to register their existence.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-haiti-land-20100915,0,4918711.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fasia+%28L.A.+Times+-+Asia%29

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Where's the AID? Oh yeah, they're saving it for the sweatshops and maybe a resort or two!

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