As leaders of the poor Caribbean nation struggled to arrange aid and avoid a repetition of their chaotic response to a similar tragedy 11 years ago, Haitians left hungry and homeless rushed charity vehicles and in some cases stole urgently needed commodities.
The attacks on assistance shipments reflect the growing discontent of those who have been left homeless after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Aug. 14, which killed almost 2,200 people, injured over 12,000 others, and destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes.
“I have been here since yesterday, not able to do anything,” said 23-year-old Sophonie Numa, who waited outside an international aid distribution site in the small city of Camp-Perrin, located in the hard-hit southwestern Les Cayes region. “I have other people waiting for me to come back with something.”
Numa stated that the quake wrecked her home and that her sister injured her leg during the tremor.