Haiti's food crisis prolongs national angst, promotes flight in boats

By Chaz Muth
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) – A new prime minister in Haiti may temporarily lower anxiety among hungry citizens, but two Catholic Church officials said the government must focus on reducing food prices to prevent future rioting and stop more Haitians from trying to flee the nation in rickety boats.

"There is a keen interest by people to see if other commodities, besides rice, can be lowered to some degree," said William Canny, country representative in Haiti for the U.S. bishops' international aid agency, Catholic Relief Services. "At this point, we're hearing from the people in Port-au-Prince that the government is going to have to step in and do something about this, or there are going to be more riots."

Coadjutor Bishop Pierre-Antoine Paulo of Port-de-Paix, Haiti, said people in the northwestern portion of the country continue to take to the seas to try to reach Florida, risking their lives in response to the food crisis in the poorest nation in the Americas.

That trend will only increase if the government does not deal with rising food prices in Haiti, Bishop Paulo said.

"People expose themselves to a great risk by attempting such a dangerous journey," Bishop Paulo told Catholic News Service in an April 28 phone interview. "But they still go – and that phenomenon continues. If they can't get to Florida, they know they often have a chance of getting to the Bahamas, and that is worth it for them."

Since October, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted nearly 1,000 Haitians – about triple the number from the previous year – trying to flee their nation in rustic boats, reported the British news agency Reuters.

In mid-April an overloaded boat carrying what officials suspected were smuggled Haitian migrants capsized off the Bahamas. Rescue crews pulled three survivors and 15 bodies from the water, Reuters said.

Rising prices for food, gas and other commodities in Haiti caused violent protests in early April, leaving at least six dead and causing the parliament to fire the country's prime minister April 12.

The nomination of agronomist and agricultural economist Ericq Pierre as prime minister April 28 came as Haitians were getting frustrated with President Rene Preval's delay in choosing a leader to help the nation with the food crisis, Canny told CNS by phone from Port-au-Prince.

Rising oil prices and higher costs to import food have caused food and gas prices to rise as much as 50 percent in recent months, making it difficult – and in some cases impossible – for Haitians to purchase these commodities, Canny said.

"If you go to the markets, you will see there is food," Bishop Paulo said. "But because of the price hikes, people can't pay for it. Their reaction to this is one of frustration and anger."

He stressed that the responsibility to resolve the food crisis rests with the Haitian government.

Though the country cannot produce enough food to feed everyone, Bishop Paulo said the Haitian regime must ensure that people are able to buy provisions.

"The government must do something to ensure that people have access to basic necessities," he said. "They have to do something to bring prices down. It is the only way that can bring some relief. Such action is urgent."