Reference :
V-P-HT-E-00329
Date :
11/01/2009
Caption :
Port-au-Prince. Cité Soleil. A woman who was caught twice in gangland crossfire.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
reserved users only
Description :
With most of the gang leaders in jail, the violence that ravaged Cite Soleil, Haiti's biggest shanty town between 2003 and 2007 has abated. But poverty fuels discontent and for the ICRC the victims of violence remain one of the most vulnerable sectors of the population.
A long term resident of Cite Soleil, 83-year-old Elevanise was first caught in gangland crossfire in 1993, before stepping into harms way again in 2004, when she was shot in the breast and the stomach. She was later hit by a car and can now hardly walk.
Confined to a sparsely furnished corrugated iron shack, she spends most of her time worrying how her children and grandchildren are going to make ends meet.
"My body took the brunt of the bullets, but my family has been hit the hardest." she says. "I can't work or do anything for them. Often the grandchildren go to bed crying from hunger."
Casualties of violence, whether from the developed or developing world can suffer physically and psychologically for years afterwards, but in Cite Soleil, the suffering can last a life time.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
5616x3744
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
