PORT-AU-PRINCE – The Haitian government has started a programme to remove people from public areas into neighbourhoods that are slated to be rebuilt following the devastating earthquake in January last year.
With more than 600 000 people still living in 1 600 settlement camps, the authorities were paying families to move.
On Friday, at least 30 families were paid US$250 each to leave the parking lot of the National Stadium and the International Organization for Migration said nearly a quarter of the remaining camp dwellers had received pressure from landowners to leave.
Human rights groups called for a moratorium on evictions until the government provides a housing alternative.
The earthquake, which killed an estimated 300 000 people, also left more than a million others homeless.
At one stage, the number of people living in settlements after the quake was as high as 1.5 million. (CMC)
