Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Thieves steal donated food in Haiti, mayor says
01 Oct 2008 00:07:00 GMT
 Source: Reuters
A woman stands next to her five children waiting for help in a shelter for flood survivors in the town of Gonaives, Sept. 26, 2008.
Previous | Next
A woman stands next to her five children waiting for help in a shelter for flood survivors in the town of Gonaives, Sept. 26, 2008.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Background

•  Hurricane Ike

•  Haiti floods

•  Caribbean-Atlantic hurricanes

•  Hurricane Gustav

•  Food and hunger

MORE >>
By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Food donated for Haitian storm victims was stolen and put up for sale, according to authorities who seized three storehouses full of illegally diverted food aid on Tuesday.

In the western city of Carrefour, Mayor Yvon Jerome said authorities acted after residents complained about the sale of donated rice.

"A lot of people were buying the rice because it was much cheaper compared to prices on the regular market," Jerome told Reuters. "You can read on the bag 'Donated by Taiwan' and on some other bags we read 'U.S. Rice.'"

The storehouses full of stolen food were placed under seal and the food will be redistributed to the needy, said Jerome, who called the diversion of desperately needed aid an outrage against humanity.

"There are so many people starving and desperate for that food," said Jerome. "And to see people that are better off trying to steal it goes against all sense of humanity and charity."

Haiti was hit by four tropical storms and hurricanes -- Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike -- in about a month. The storms triggered flooding and mudslides that killed at least 800 people, including 534 in the hardest-hit northern town of Gonaives, which was almost entirely submerged.

The Haitian government, donor countries and humanitarian groups are struggling to feed hundreds of thousands of flood victims in dire need of help.

Judicial authorities were looking for several suspects in connection with the depots in Carrefour, which neighbors the capital of Port-au-Prince, but it was unclear how widespread such thefts were.

The World Food Program said the misery index is rising daily in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, and the situation will require a massive effort to help people stave off hunger and save lives. (Edited by Jane Sutton and Vicki Allen)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Food and hunger

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Tropical storm Fay

•  Hurricane Gustav

•  Hurricane Hanna

•  Hurricane Ike

•  Caribbean-Atlantic hurricanes

•  Haiti troubles

•  Haiti floods

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  World Vision expands Haiti flooding response as crisis continues
WV - USA

•  ACT Update: Caucasus Conflict - ACT International Alliance Response
ACT - Switzerland

•  ACT Preliminary Appeal: Hurricane Gustav & Hurricane Ike Emergency Assistance, Cuba
ACT - Switzerland

•  ACT Preliminary Appeal: Food Insecurity, Zimbabwe
ACT - Switzerland

•  ACT Alert: Severe Drought & Food Insecurity, Afghanistan
ACT - Switzerland

MORE >>

Latest news

•  US envoy looks to save nuclear deal in North Korea

•  US envoy looks to save nuclear deal in North Korea

•  Q+A-What is at stake in US envoy trip to North Korea?

•  Japan downtown fire kills 15 men at video store

•  Thieves steal donated food in Haiti, mayor says

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Background information

Briefings
Tropical storm Fay - [Who works where]
Hurricane Gustav - [Who works where]
Hurricane Hanna - [Who works where]
Hurricane Ike - [Who works where]
Caribbean-Atlantic hurricanes - [Who works where]
Haiti troubles - [Who works where]
Haiti floods - [Who works where]

Topics
Food and hunger
Facts & figures
Haiti Canada Switzerland Japan United States of America
Statistics graphs
Human development index ranking (2005)
Chart for Human development index ranking
View more stats >>

Related articles

Breaking stories
 US envoy looks to save nuclear deal in North Korea (1 minute ago)

US envoy looks to save nuclear deal in North Korea (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 BOOK REVIEW: Why our climate change solutions are a mirage (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 World Vision expands Haiti flooding response as crisis continues (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Emergency calls bring comfort, cash for Haitians (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Haiti -Gonaives Town Area Map (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-30T000723Z_01_KEZ137_RTRIDSP_2_HAITI_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KEZ137.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-30T000618Z_01_KEZ136_RTRIDSP_2_HAITI_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KEZ136.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-29T235234Z_01_KEZ134_RTRIDSP_2_HAITI_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KEZ134.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-29T234954Z_01_KEZ135_RTRIDSP_2_HAITI_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KEZ135.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-29T232633Z_01_KEZ133_RTRIDSP_2_HAITI_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/KEZ133.htm

Haitians on motorbikes try to cross the flooded border between Haiti and Dominican Republic in Jimani September 29, 2008. REUTERS/ Kena Betancur (HAITI) ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Wed Oct 1 07:44:12 2008