In Haiti, Political Unrest Fuels Growing Hunger Crisis
2020-02-23
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1Celavi Belor has lost so much weight over the past year his clothes are too large for his body.
2The 41-year-old farm laborer looked up from working in a rocky field in the mountains of northwestern Haiti.
3Sometimes I go two or three days without eating," he said.
4The only food Belor, his wife and five children had to eat the day before was ground corn.
5Now they only have a pepper and some old beans.
6"My biggest worry is one day I just won't be able to get up anymore," he said.
7Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
8It has long had one of the world's highest levels of food insecurity.
9For the past few years, a lack of rainfall has damaged harvests, causing food shortages and raising prices.
10The northwest, one of the Caribbean nation's poorest areas, has suffered the most.
11Over half of the food Haitians eat comes from other countries.
12The gourde, the money of Haiti, has lost much of its value.
13That means that imported food is too costly for many people like Belor.
14He earns just 40 cents a day when he can find the work.
15Last autumn, the situation got worse.
16Anti-government protesters blocked roads and closed businesses and public services for three months.
17Food aid could not reach those in need.
18Many people could not find work.
19The value of the gourde dropped even more.
20Haitians call this standstill the "peyi lock," in the Creole language. It has led to a new hunger crisis.
21One in three Haitians, about 3.7 million people, urgently need food aid, the United Nations said in December.
22If immediate action is not taken, by next month 1.2 million people will only be able to eat one meal every other day in the Caribbean nation, U.N. officials warned.
23Frena Remorin lives down the road from Belor in the community of Dessources.
24She said, "No one has eaten yet today but if I feed my kids too early in the day, they are hungry by night and cannot sleep. I don't have enough money now for two meals a day."
25Since a powerful earthquake in 2010, Haitians have lived with an ever-changing political situation and bad governance.
26With no official government or budget, Haiti cannot take money from international organizations to help end the food crisis.
27Foreign aid to Haiti's government went down by half in 2019.
28President Jovenel Moise is working with international organizations to create an agreement to share power with other Haitian politicians.
29Protestors question his 2016 election and want him to resign from the office. Parliament suspended meetings in January.
30The country was not always like this.
31Haiti grew most of its own food until the 1980s.
32Then the United States asked Haiti to import more crops.
33The U.S. crops cost less than the ones Haitian farmers grew, so they could no longer make a living by farming. Few people invested in agriculture.
34Add to this the effects of climate change.
35Haiti is one of the nations in most danger from powerful hurricanes that are becoming more common.
36That is because it has little infrastructure and cannot recover easily.
37Cédric Piriou is Haiti Country Director for the aid group Action Against Hunger.
38He says the real effects of the crisis will show in six months or so as malnutrition begins to harm more people.
39Death rates among babies already appear to be rising.
40Margareth Narcisse is a doctor and an official with Saint Damien's Pediatric Hospital in Port-au-Prince, the capital city.
41She said that in the past few months twice as many children were dying from malnutrition as before.
42The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is working with other international organizations to help Haiti's most needy.
43They have increased their operations by supplying more food and money.
44Because of violence on the roads, the WFP has also arranged for a helicopter to move its employees, other humanitarian workers and some supplies.
45U.N. officials estimated in November it needed about $72 million to pay for this emergency operation to 700,000 Haitians for eight months.
46On Wednesday the WFP said it had raised only $19 million of the money it needed.
47One Haiti-based European diplomat asked, "Why should we bail the authorities out if they helped create this crisis?" adding that politicians were not being blamed for the problems.
48"How do we change that so that they don't hurt people when they are going hungry?" Humanitarian workers - and Haitians - beg the world not to ignore the immediate suffering.
49Back in Dessources, Belor says his children have little energy.
50In the past, at least they could eat produce growing on fruit trees if they did not have money to buy food.
51But thanks to the dry weather, these trees are no longer producing.
52Belor no longer even attends religious services because he cannot pay for the clothes he feels he needs to attend.
53"I live without hope," he said.
54I'm Jill Robbins.
55And I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Celavi Belor has lost so much weight over the past year his clothes are too large for his body. 2The 41-year-old farm laborer looked up from working in a rocky field in the mountains of northwestern Haiti. Sometimes I go two or three days without eating," he said. 3The only food Belor, his wife and five children had to eat the day before was ground corn. Now they only have a pepper and some old beans. 4"My biggest worry is one day I just won't be able to get up anymore," he said. 5Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It has long had one of the world's highest levels of food insecurity. For the past few years, a lack of rainfall has damaged harvests, causing food shortages and raising prices. 6The northwest, one of the Caribbean nation's poorest areas, has suffered the most. 7Imported food is too costly 8Over half of the food Haitians eat comes from other countries. The gourde, the money of Haiti, has lost much of its value. That means that imported food is too costly for many people like Belor. He earns just 40 cents a day when he can find the work. 9Last autumn, the situation got worse. Anti-government protesters blocked roads and closed businesses and public services for three months. Food aid could not reach those in need. Many people could not find work. The value of the gourde dropped even more. 10Haitians call this standstill the "peyi lock," in the Creole language. It has led to a new hunger crisis. 11Third of Haitians need food 12One in three Haitians, about 3.7 million people, urgently need food aid, the United Nations said in December. 13If immediate action is not taken, by next month 1.2 million people will only be able to eat one meal every other day in the Caribbean nation, U.N. officials warned. 14Frena Remorin lives down the road from Belor in the community of Dessources. She said, "No one has eaten yet today but if I feed my kids too early in the day, they are hungry by night and cannot sleep. I don't have enough money now for two meals a day." 15Political instability 16Since a powerful earthquake in 2010, Haitians have lived with an ever-changing political situation and bad governance. 17With no official government or budget, Haiti cannot take money from international organizations to help end the food crisis. Foreign aid to Haiti's government went down by half in 2019. 18President Jovenel Moise is working with international organizations to create an agreement to share power with other Haitian politicians. Protestors question his 2016 election and want him to resign from the office. Parliament suspended meetings in January. 19Self-sufficient 20The country was not always like this. Haiti grew most of its own food until the 1980s. Then the United States asked Haiti to import more crops. The U.S. crops cost less than the ones Haitian farmers grew, so they could no longer make a living by farming. Few people invested in agriculture. 21Add to this the effects of climate change. Haiti is one of the nations in most danger from powerful hurricanes that are becoming more common. That is because it has little infrastructure and cannot recover easily. 22Cédric Piriou is Haiti Country Director for the aid group Action Against Hunger. He says the real effects of the crisis will show in six months or so as malnutrition begins to harm more people. 23Death rates among babies already appear to be rising. Margareth Narcisse is a doctor and an official with Saint Damien's Pediatric Hospital in Port-au-Prince, the capital city. She said that in the past few months twice as many children were dying from malnutrition as before. 24Helicopter aid 25The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is working with other international organizations to help Haiti's most needy. They have increased their operations by supplying more food and money. Because of violence on the roads, the WFP has also arranged for a helicopter to move its employees, other humanitarian workers and some supplies. 26U.N. officials estimated in November it needed about $72 million to pay for this emergency operation to 700,000 Haitians for eight months. 27On Wednesday the WFP said it had raised only $19 million of the money it needed. 28One Haiti-based European diplomat asked, "Why should we bail the authorities out if they helped create this crisis?" adding that politicians were not being blamed for the problems. "How do we change that so that they don't hurt people when they are going hungry?" Humanitarian workers - and Haitians - beg the world not to ignore the immediate suffering. 29Back in Dessources, Belor says his children have little energy. 30In the past, at least they could eat produce growing on fruit trees if they did not have money to buy food. But thanks to the dry weather, these trees are no longer producing. 31Belor no longer even attends religious services because he cannot pay for the clothes he feels he needs to attend. 32"I live without hope," he said. 33I'm Jill Robbins. 34And I'm Jonathan Evans. 35Sarah Marsh and Andre Paultre reported on this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 36________________________________________________ 37Words in This Story 38hemisphere - n. half of the Earth 39standstill - n. a situation in which there is little or no activity 40kid - n. a child 41hurricane - n. a storm with powerful winds 42infrastructure - n. the buildings, roads and power supplies needed to operate an area 43malnutrition - n. the unhealthy condition that results from not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food 44arrange - v. to organize 45bail out - v. the act of saving or rescuing something (such as a business) from money problems 46beg - v. to ask someone for something such as food or money 47What do you think of the situation in Haiti? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.