Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
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This information is current as of today, Thu Jan 21 02:15:06 2010.
HAITI
July 17, 2009
The State Department warns U.S. citizens to exercise a high degree of caution when traveling to Haiti. While the overall security situation has improved, political tensions remain, and the potential for politically-motivated violence persists. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning dated January 28, 2009, and is being issued to provide updated information on country conditions, and to alert Americans to ongoing security concerns and on contacting and registering with the U.S. Embassy in Haiti.
Haiti, like most Caribbean countries, can be affected by hurricanes and other storms. Hurricane season runs from approximately June 1 - November 30 each year. The lack of infrastructure and rescue services, combined with impassable roads and bridges, have severely hindered rescue and relief efforts. During the 2008 hurricane season, four tropical storms struck Haiti, causing torrential rains, extensive flooding and mudslides, and hundreds of reported casualties. Most transport infrastructure damaged by the 2008 storms has been repaired, although in many cases repairs are temporary pending the construction of more permanent structures. Haiti has few secondary roads that are in good condition. Drivers traveling on Haiti's roads must be aware that there will be frequent deviations, stoppages and obstructions due to ongoing road construction and repairs. For additional details concerning traffic safety and road conditions, please see the Department of State's Country Specific Information for Haiti.
There were violent confrontations between opposing candidates' supporters and armed attacks on polling stations in a handful of Haitian towns during the April 19, 2009, Senate elections. There was less violence in the second round of voting on June 21. International monitors described the elections as generally well-organized and orderly. The absence of an effective police force in many areas of Haiti means that, when protests take place, there is potential for looting, the erection of intermittent roadblocks by armed protestors or by the police, and the possibility of random crime, including kidnapping, carjacking, home invasion, armed robbery and assault. Although the Haitian National Police are more visible and are gradually contributing to improving public security, especially in the metropolitan area of the capital, Americans in Haiti should practice good personal security, take commonsense precautions and avoid any event where crowds may congregate. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful occasionally turn violent. Americans should closely monitor news media and the U.S. Embassy's website at: http://haiti.usembassy.gov/.
U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Haiti despite this warning are reminded that there also is persistent danger of violent crime, especially kidnappings. Most kidnappings are criminal in nature, and the kidnappers make no distinctions of nationality, race, gender, or age. The incidence of kidnapping in Haiti has diminished from its peak in 2006 when 60 Americans were reported kidnapped. As of July 2009, one American had been reported kidnapped this year. In 2008, 27 Americans were reported kidnapped. Most of the Americans were abducted in Haiti's two largest cities, Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. Some kidnap victims have been killed, shot, sexually assaulted, or physically abused. While the capacity and capabilities of the Haitian National Police have improved since 2006, the presence of UN stabilization force (MINUSTAH) peacekeeping troops and UN-formed police units remain critical to maintaining an adequate level of security throughout the country. The lack of civil protections in Haiti, as well as the limited capability of local law enforcement to resolve crime, further compounds the security threat to American citizens.
While MINUSTAH remains fully deployed and is assisting the government of Haiti in providing security, travel is always hazardous within Port-au-Prince. U.S. Embassy personnel are under an Embassy-imposed curfew and must remain in their homes or in U.S. government facilities during the curfew. Some areas are off-limits to Embassy staff after dark, including downtown Port-au-Prince. The Embassy restricts travel by its staff to some areas outside of Port-au-Prince because of the prevailing road, weather, or security conditions. This may constrain our ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens outside Port-au-Prince. Demonstrations and violence may occasionally limit Embassy operations to emergency services, even within Port-au-Prince.
The Department of State strongly advises U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Haiti to register either online at https://travelregistration.state.gov or with the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. The Consular Section can be reached at (509) (2)229-8000 or e-mail address acspap@state.gov. Travelers should also consult the Department of State's latest Country Specific Information for Haiti and the Worldwide Caution at http://travel.state.gov . American citizens also may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States.
We Owe Haiti
by Christopher Winfield
As a student of world history and a man who visited Haiti in 2003, I say the US owes Haiti a great deal of development support beyond just $10 million for earthquake relief. Our foreign and economic policies have taken advantage of the country for decades.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the US backed financially and militarily the Duvalier regime (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) because the Duvaliers pledged support against the Communists in Cuba. It didn’t matter to our State Department that the Duvaliers were corrupt thugs who rigged elections, looted the country’s treasury, and assassinated those seeking democratic reform.
During the Vietnam War, US agribusiness negotiated with the dictators for the clearcutting of existing forest and annexation fruit orchards to plant rubber trees for the US war effort. The trees didn’t take in Haiti’s soil, yet large swaths of ground remain deforested to this day, exacerbating mudslides and flooding.
During the 10am hour of the Friday 1/15 Diane Rehm show broadcast on WAMU in Washington, DC, Rehm’s guests explored the idea that African Americans might become resentful of the US government efforts towards Haiti in contrast to the lack of response during Katrina.
I am a 32-year-old, African-American, college-educated, married father of two whose parents visited Haiti for their honeymoon in the late 1970s, and who visited himself in 2003. I say the causes of the Haitian people, African Americans, and Latinos in this country are not isolated.
The Haitian Revolution in 1820 inspired anti-slavery abolitionists in this country like Fredrick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, and encouraged other countries in South America and Africa to separate themselves from European colonial powers. The example of peoples in other parts of the African and Hispanic diasporas then returned to inspire our own Civil Rights movements.
Haiti stood up to schoolyard bullies and extortionists. In return, the gang sat on Haiti’s chest and took turns pounding him for 200 years. Now that Haiti is dazed and bloody, we need to help him up, not blame him for laying in the mud.
Americans (African or otherwise) owe Haiti—owe Haitians respect and the tools for survival.
Christopher Winfield
Creedmoor, N.C.
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