40 migrants die after boat catches fire off Haiti coast
Earlier this week, 40 people died when a boat caught fire off the coast of Haiti.
Port-au-Prince: A ship carrying more than 80 migrants left Haiti on Wednesday and was en route to the Turks and Caicos, the IOM said Friday, adding that Haiti's coast guard rescued 41 survivors. The incident took place on Wednesday when the ship, carrying a total of 80 migrants, was en route from Haiti to Turks and Caicos. The Haitian Coast Guard successfully rescued 41 migrants.
According to CNN, IOM's head of mission in Haiti, Grégoire Goodstein, blamed Haiti's growing security crisis and the “lack of safe and legal routes for migration” for the tragedy.
He said, “Haiti's socio-economic situation is very poor. The extreme violence of the past few months has forced Haitians to resort to even more desperate measures.”
Haiti faces gang violence, a collapsing health system and a lack of essential goods, resulting in many Haitians making the perilous journey out of the country.
Earlier this year, the situation in Haiti escalated after gang warfare erupted and forced the resignation of the then government.
According to IOM statistics, the number of boat migration attempts from Haiti has since increased. However, the situation in Haiti has not stopped neighboring governments from sending back thousands of Haitian migrants, CNN reported.
“More than 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year,” IOM said in its statement. In March, forced returns increased by 46 percent, reaching 13,000 forced returns in March alone, despite an increase in violence and the closure of airports across the country.
CNN recently reported that the appointment of Gary Connell as the new prime minister and additional foreign security forces have given Haiti renewed hope for improved security. The United Nations Security Council has given the green light to a Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) task force to bolster the country's national police. They will begin their mission in the heart of Haiti, Port-au-Prince.
