Haiti tent cities at risk of becoming the next bidonvilles?

Le Nouvelliste has just published an article about that...

Apparently, in an area near Petion-Ville, a few hundred people came after the earthquake and erected makeshift houses on the side of a hill that was once a beautiful spot where local residents used to go to breath some fresh air.

That spot also happens to be upstream from a water source that provides potable water to Petion-Ville and Freres and there is now a risk of water contamination (moun yo ap fe bezwen yo sou tet dlo-a).

They came, they knocked trees down and took possession of unoccupied plots of land to develop their slums and erect temporary shelters.

Now here's the bigger problem... These temporary shelters are now being converted into concrete structures. So, basically, they are taking possession of the space permanently.

Is that legal?

Is that fair?

Who cares... Haitien se "Bat Pran," Liberte ou la mort!

TRUE or FALSE? In Haiti, you have the right to do whatever you want... and if anyone dares tell you you cannot... "OFF with your head!"

By the way, they already have an argument for keeping the land...

According to the article, "Most squatters say they have leased the plot of land they occupy on the purchase price (affermé, sur le prix d'achat), from a certain Albert, and have spent upwards of 75 or 100,000 gourdes for it. If, by chance, the state (l'Etat Haitien) wanted to make them leave, it should, according to them, pay back the money they spent on leasing the land.

Question: If this was your land, what would you do about it? Should the Government let them stay? or should they be kicked out?

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