40 dead in migrant boat fire off Haiti

The boat set sail from Haiti on Wednesday carrying more than 80 migrants and headed for Turks and Caicos. The IOM said the Haitian coast guard rescued 41 survivors.

The coast of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, July 22, 2021. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP

In a statement, Grégoire Goodstein, IOM's chief of mission in Haiti, blamed the tragedy on Haiti's escalating security crisis and the lack of safe and legal migration routes. "The socio-economic situation in Haiti is dire. The extreme violence of the past months has only added to the desperation of the Haitian people," he said.

Haiti is facing gang violence, a collapsing health system and lack of access to basic necessities, forcing many citizens to make dangerous journeys to leave the country.

The crisis in Haiti intensified earlier this year when gang violence erupted, forcing the then-government to resign. The number of boat migrations from Haiti has increased since then, according to IOM data.

However, the turmoil in Haiti has not stopped neighboring governments from deporting tens of thousands of Haitian migrants. "More than 86,000 migrants have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighboring countries this year. In March, despite increased violence and the closure of airports across the country, the number of forced returns increased by 46 percent, reaching 13,000 in March alone," the IOM said.

In recent weeks, the appointment of new Prime Minister Garry Conille and the arrival of hundreds of foreign forces to support the Haitian National Police have brought new hope for resolving the crisis. The UN Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), led by Kenya, is now operating in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Hong Hanh (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/40-nguoi-thiet-mang-trong-vu-chay-thuyen-di-cu-ngoai-khoi-haiti-post304223.html