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Cité Soleil 1 Cité Soleil Cité Soleil Cité Soleil Cité Soleil Cité Soleil Coordinates: 18°3440N 72°1955W Country  Haiti Department Ouest Arrondissement Port-au-Prince Area   Total 21.81 km 2 (8.42 sq mi) Population (2009 Estimation)   Total 241,055 Time zone EST (UTC-5)

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Page 2: Cité Soleil

Cité Soleil 2

Cité Soleil, 2002.

Cité Soleil (Kreyol: Site Solèy, English:Sun City) is an extremely impoverished anddensely populated commune located in thePort-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti.Cité Soleil originally developed as a shantytown and grew to an estimated 200,000 to400,000 residents, the majority of whomlive in extreme poverty.[1] The area isgenerally regarded as one of the poorest andmost dangerous areas of the WesternHemisphere and it is one of the biggestslums in the Northern Hemisphere. The areahas virtually no sewers and has a poorly maintained open canal system that serves as its sewage system, few formalbusinesses but many local commercial activities and enterprises, sporadic but largely free electricity, a few hospitals,and a single government school, Lycee Nationale de Cite Soleil. For several years until 2007, the area was ruled by anumber of gangs, each controlling their own sectors. But government control was reestablished after a series ofoperations in early 2007 by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).[2] with the participationof the local population.

The neighborhood is located at the western end of the runway of Toussaint Louverture International Airport andadjoins the grounds of the former Hasco sugar complex. It began with the construction in 1958 of homes for 52families. In the summer of 1966, a mysterious fire in the slum of La Saline displaced many of its residents. 1,197homes were built there and it was named Cité Simone, after Haiti's First Lady. In 1972, a major fire near the centralmarket of Port-au-Prince displaced yet more people who ended up in the Boston section of Cité Simone. In 1983, thecensus recorded 82,191 people in Cité Simone.[3]Originally designed to house sugar workers, Cité Simone later housed manual laborers for a local Export ProcessingZone (EPZ). Neoliberal reforms beginning in the early 1970s made this place a magnet for squatters from around thecountryside looking for work in the newly constructed factories. This movement accelerated in the early 1980s withthe destruction of the Creole pigs by American order in response to an African swine flu outbreak, followed by therise of Finance Minister Leslie Delatour who took this post following the ouster of Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986.Delatour openly advocated the depopulation of much of the Haitian countryside and that these people work insteadin cities, living in places such as the newly named Cité Soleil, though not for Hasco that Delatour shut down in 1987.This industrial sector was however damaged following the 1991 coup d'état that deposed President Jean-BertrandAristide, causing a boycott of Haitian products that closed the EPZ.[4] Cité Soleil continued to be plagued by extremepoverty and persistent unemployment, with high rates of illiteracy.[2]

Half of the houses of Cité Soleil are made of cement with a metal roof, half are made completely of scavengedmaterial. An estimated 60 to 70% of houses have no access to a latrine, particularly in the marshy Brooklyn areawhich includes Cité Carton.[5]Armed gangs roamed the streets and terrorized the neighborhood. Every few blocks was controlled by one of morethan 30 armed factions.[6] Though the gangs no longer rule, murder, rape, kidnapping, looting, and shootings are stillcommon. The area has been called a "microcosm of all the ills in Haitian society: endemic unemployment, illiteracy,non-existent public services, unsanitary conditions, rampant crime and armed violence".[7]

After the devastating 2010 earthquake, it took nearly two weeks for relief aid to arrive in Cité-Soleil.[8]

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Overview

Sign for a Cité Soleil women's group, 2002. Thesign translates, "Organization of Militant Women

of Cité Soleil".

Most of the residents of Cité-Soleil are children or young adults.Although the life expectancy in Haiti is 52 years, few live past the ageof 50 as many die from diseases, such as AIDS, or from violence.[2] Attimes Cité Soleil has been filled with armed gangs. Politically affiliatedgangs or militias, often with quasi-official powers, have been a regularelement of Haitian politics throughout the country's history.

The fighting led to wide scale charges by neighborhood residents thatthe United Nations stabilizing force has permitted conditions that led tothe death of unarmed bystanders.[9] In 2004 they were accused ofignoring violence by the Haitian police, the criminal roots of thekidnapping and undermining of Jean Bertrand Aristide's security policeforce.[10]

During mid-1990s, the city's population was terrorized by armed gangs which drove the local police out; thissituation prevented officials aid workers from intervening to provide help.[11] In 1999, Cité Soleil was set on fire bya gang and at least 50 shacks were burned.[12] By 2002, the violence escalated as the gangs began warring with eachother in addition to preying on ordinary people. Many inhabitants had temporarily left to escape the turmoil.[13] In aseries of operations from 2004 to 2007, UN peacekeepers tried to seize control from the gangs in Cité Soleil and endthe anarchy.[14] Although the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) has been deployed since 2004, itcontinues to struggle for control over the armed gangs and the violent confrontations continue. MINUSTAHmaintains an armed checkpoint at the entrance to Cité Soleil and the road is blocked with armed vehicles.[2] InDecember, 2004, a group of armed ex-soldiers occupied Aristide's home against the wishes of the Haitiangovernment.[15] In January 2006, two Jordanian peacekeepers were killed in Cité Soleil.[16] The UN has describedthe human rights situation in Haiti as "catastrophic".[17]

Current statusSince 2004, the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) has been in Haiti and it now numbers 8,000troops but continues to struggle for control over the armed gangs. In October 2006 a group of heavily armed Haitianpolice were able to enter Cité Soleil for the first time in three years and were able to remain one hour as armored UNtroops patrolled the area. Since this is where the armed gangs take their kidnap victims, the Haitian police's ability topenetrate the area even for such a short time was seen as a sign of progress.[18] The situation of continuing violenceis similar in Port-au-Prince. Before Christmas 2006, the UN force announced that it would take a tougher stanceagainst gang members in Port-au-Prince, but since then the atmosphere there has not improved, the armedroadblocks and barbed wire barricades have not been removed. After 4 people were killed and another 6 injured in aUN operation exchange of fire with criminals in Cité Soleil in late January 2007, the United States announced that itwould contribute $20 million to create jobs in Cité Soleil.[19][20]

In early February 2007, 700 UN troops flooded Cité Soleil resulting in a major gun battle. Although the troops makeregular forcible entries into the area, a spokesperson said this one was the largest attempted so far by the UNtroops.[21] On July 28, 2007, Edmond Mulet, the UN Special Representative in Haiti, warned of a sharp increase inlynchings and other mob attacks in Haiti. He said that MINUSTAH, the United Nations Stabilization Mission inHaiti, which now has over 9,000 troops there, will launch a campaign to remind people that lynching is a crime.[22]

On August 2, 2007, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon arrived in Haiti to assess the role of the UN forces, announcing that he would visit Cité Soleil during his visit. He said that as it is Haiti's largest slum, it is the most important target for UN peacekeepers in gaining control over the armed gangs. The Haitian president René Préval has expressed ambivalent feelings about the UN security presence, saying, "If the Haitian people were asked if they

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wanted the UN forces to leave they would say yes."[23] Survivors at times blame the UN peacekeepers for deaths ofrelatives.[24]

Critics of MINUSTAH's plan feel that the United Nations mandate is unrealistic, treating a political problem as asecurity problem.[25]

2010 Haiti earthquake

A survivor camp in Cité Soleil in January 2010

On January 12, 2010, at 21:53 UTC (4:53 PM local time) Haiti wasstruck by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake, the country's most severeearthquake in over 200 years.[26] The epicenter of the quake was justoutside the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.[27] As the biggest slum ofPort-au-Prince, Cité Soleil fared relatively well, as most of its cinderblock and corrugated steel shacks survived, and Médecins SansFrontières reopened its Choscal Hospital located in the heart of theslum, operated between 2005 and 2007 during the gang war, within 24hours.[28] However, the area remains in desperate need of help,according to World Emergency Relief.[29]

Gang members who escaped from Haiti's damaged prison have returned to the area to continue to commit crimes.[30]

The crime rate is rising and police have urged citizens to take matters into their own hands.[31] As of January 23,2010, Cité Soleil had largely remained neglected by earthquake relief workers and is doing what it can to survive andhelp on its own.[32]

Gallery

Cité Soleil, 2002 Cité Soleil, 2002 Cité Soleil, 2002

Footnotes[1] "Cité-Soleil: Grinding poverty, relentless violence" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070930183538/ http:/ / www. icrc. org/ Web/ Eng/

siteeng0. nsf/ html/ photos-haiti-280606). International Committee of the Red Cross. Archived from the original (http:/ / www. icrc. org/ Web/Eng/ siteeng0. nsf/ html/ photos-haiti-280606) on 2007-09-30. . Retrieved 2007-08-16.

[2] "INTELLIGENCE-LED PEACEKEEPING: The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), 2006-07" (http:/ / www.walterdorn. org/ pub/ 53). Intelligence and National Security (journal). . Retrieved 2010-09-10.

[3] http:/ / pdf. usaid. gov/ pdf_docs/ PDAAT248. pdf[4] "Quake aid finally reaches Cité Soleil" (http:/ / www. euronews. net/ 2010/ 01/ 25/ quake-aid-finally-reaches-haitis-cite-soleil-slum/ ).

euronews. 2010-01-25. . Retrieved 25 January 2010.[5] http:/ / pdf. usaid. gov/ pdf_docs/ PNABY701. pdf[6] "Glimmers of Hope in Cité Soleil" (http:/ / blog. washingtonpost. com/ haitisstruggle/ 2006/ 02/ glimmers_of_hope_in_cite_solei_1. html).

WashingtonPost.com. February 2 2006. . Retrieved 2006-12-30.[7] Revol, Didier (2006). "Hoping for change in Haiti's Cité-Soleil" (http:/ / www. redcross. int/ EN/ mag/ magazine2006_2/ 10-11. html).

International Red Cross. . Retrieved 24 January 2010.[8] "Quake aid finally reaches Haiti's Cité-Soleil slum" (http:/ / www. euronews. net/ 2010/ 01/ 25/

quake-aid-finally-reaches-haitis-cite-soleil-slum/ ). euronews. January 25, 2010. . Retrieved 25 January 2010.[9] The Cité Soleil Massacre Declassification Project (http:/ / www. cod. edu/ people/ faculty/ yearman/ cite_soleil. htm)

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[10] "Document - Haiti: Amnesty International calls on the transitional government to set up an independent commission of inquiry intosummary executions attributed to members of the Haitian National Police" (http:/ / www. amnesty. org/ en/ library/ asset/ AMR36/ 060/ 2004/en/ dom-AMR360602004en. html). Amnesty International. 2004. . Retrieved 2008-07-14.

[11] "MINUSTAH Focuses on Security in Haiti's Cité Soleil Slum" (http:/ / www. americasquarterly. org/ haiti-cite-soleil). Americas Quarterly(Americas Society and Council of the Americas). August 2009. . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[12] "Haitian shantytown torched in revenge attack" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 576870. stm). BBC News. 1999-12-23. .Retrieved 2007-08-16.

[13] "Violence Between Gangs in Cité Soleil" (http:/ / www. hartford-hwp. com/ archives/ 43a/ 512. html). September 9 2002. . Retrieved2006-12-30.

[14] "UN peacekeepers storm Haiti slum" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 4096841. stm). BBC News. 2004-12-15. . Retrieved2007-08-16.

[15] "Ex-soldiers occupy Aristide home" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 4100091. stm). BBC News. 2004-12-16. . Retrieved2007-08-16.

[16] "Two UN soldiers killed in Haiti" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 4622772. stm). BBC News. 2006-01-18. . Retrieved2007-08-16.

[17] "Country profile: Haiti" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ country_profiles/ 1202772. stm). BBC News. 2009-11-16. . Retrieved2007-08-16.

[18] "Haiti police visit gang stronghold" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ caribbean/ news/ story/ 2006/ 10/ 061004_soleil. shtml). BBC Caribbean. .Retrieved 2007-08-02.

[19] "HAITI: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege" (http:/ / ipsnews. net/ news. asp?idnews=36772). ipsnews. . Retrieved2007-08-02.

[20] "US aid for Cité Soleil" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ caribbean/ news/ story/ 2007/ 02/ 070202_citesoleilaid. shtml). BBC Caribbean. .Retrieved 2007-08-02.

[21] "UN troops flood into Haiti slum" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ caribbean/ news/ story/ 2007/ 02/ 070211_unhaiti. shtml). BBC New. .Retrieved 2007-08-14.

[22] "UN concerned at Haiti lynchings" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 6920240. stm). BBC Caribbean. 2007-07-28. . Retrieved2007-08-02.

[23] "UN chief visits Haiti" (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ caribbean/ news/ story/ 2007/ 08/ 070802_haitun. shtml). BBC Caribbean. . Retrieved2007-08-02.

[24] Jordan, Sandra (2007-04-01). "Haiti's children die in UN crossfire" (http:/ / observer. guardian. co. uk/ world/ story/ 0,,2047451,00. html).London: Guardian Unlimited. . Retrieved 2007-08-02.

[25] Guidi, Ruxandra (August 20, 2009). "MINUSTAH Focuses on Security in Haiti's Cité Soleil Slum" (http:/ / www. americasquarterly. org/haiti-cite-soleil). Americas Quarterly (The Americas Society and Council for the Americas). . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[26] "Magnitude 7.0 – Haiti Region" (http:/ / earthquake. usgs. gov/ earthquakes/ eqinthenews/ 2010/ us2010rja6/ ). . Retrieved January 12, 2010.[27] "Major earthquake off Haiti causes hospital to collapse – Telegraph" (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ worldnews/

centralamericaandthecaribbean/ haiti/ 6977308/ Major-earthquake-off-Haiti-causes-hospital-to-collapse. html). London: telegraph.co.uk.2010-01-12. . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[28] Marlowe, Chris (January 20, 2010). "Just this once, the stricken capital's biggest slum was comparatively lucky" (http:/ / www. irishtimes.com/ newspaper/ world/ 2010/ 0120/ 1224262713628. html). The Thomas Reuters Foundation. . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[29] Hobbes, Lara (January 18, 2010). "Haiti: Much needed supplies for Cité Soleil" (http:/ / www. alertnet. org/ thenews/ fromthefield/ 221038/126383383770. htm). The Irish Times. . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[30] Brown, Tom (January 17, 2010). "Gangs return to Haiti slum after quake prison break" (http:/ / www. reuters. com/ article/idUSTRE60G0CO20100117). Reuters. . Retrieved 22 January 2010.

[31] Katz, Jonathan (January 19, 2010). "Gang members in Haitian slum profit from disaster" (http:/ / www. streetgangs. com/ news/011910_haitiangang). streetgangs.com. . Retrieved 2010-01-20.

[32] Davis, Nick (2010-01-23). "Haiti's Cité Soleil still deprived of post-quake help" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ americas/ 8476293. stm).BBC News, Haiti. . Retrieved 23 January 2010.

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References• Nicolas Rossier. "Aristide and the Endless Revolution". www.aristidethefilm.com• Michael Deibert. Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti. Seven Stories Press, New York, 2005.

ISBN 1-58322-697-4.• Aristide's Tinderbox: Haitian Militants Losing Faith in President’s Promise of Reform (August 2002) by Michael

Deibert (http:/ / www. villagevoice. com/ 2002-08-27/ news/ aristide-s-tinderbox/ )• HAITI: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege"(February 2007) (http:/ / ipsnews. net/ news.

asp?idnews=36772)• HaitiAction.net (April 25, 2005): "Cité Soleil under siege: Haiti's elite, U.N., and fat cat NGOs paralyzed" (http:/ /

www. haitiaction. net/ News/ HIP/ 4_25_5. html)• Haiti Report (September 9, 2002): "Violence Between Gangs in Cite Soleil" (http:/ / www. hartford-hwp. com/

archives/ 43a/ 512. html)• DemocracyNow.org (December 29, 2006): "Another Massacre in Cite Soleil?" (http:/ / www. democracynow.

org/ article. pl?sid=06/ 12/ 29/ 1446230)• RedCross.int (no date): "Hoping for change in Haiti's Cité-Soleil", by Didier Revol (http:/ / www. redcross. int/

EN/ mag/ magazine2006_2/ 10-11. html)• ZMag.org (July 17, 2005): "Murdering Haiti", by Yves Engler (http:/ / www. zmag. org/ sustainers/ content/

2005-07/ 17engler. cfm)• San Francisco Bayview (December 7, 2005): "Bloody U.N. siege on Cité Soleil", by Lyn Duff (http:/ / www.

williambowles. info/ haiti-news/ 2005/ soleil_siege. html)• Counterpunch.org (November 24, 2006): "The UN Fails Haiti, Again", by Kim Ives (http:/ / www. counterpunch.

org/ ives11242006. html)• New Left Review #27 (May-June 2004): "Operation Zero in Haiti", by Peter Hallward (http:/ / newleftreview. org/

A2507)• Centre for Civil Society: Summary of Depelchin, Jacques (2004), "Haiti 1804 as an Event - Fidelity to Freedom,

Why has it been so difficult to achieve?", CCS Seminar Series: 1-17 (http:/ / www. udw. ac. za/ ccs/ default.asp?3,28,10,1213)

• Ghosts of Cité Soleil (http:/ / www. ghostsofcitesoleil. com) (official site)• Cité Soleil Water Truck (http:/ / www. reiserrelief. org/ cite-soleil-haiti-projects. html)

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Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and ContributorsCité Soleil  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=528587868  Contributors: -1g, 1CAV11B VET, Abberley2, Acroterion, Amara66, Angelo.romano, Aunt sophie, Auntof6,AussieLegend, Bamyers99, Boutros Boutros Boutros, Braniff73, BrokenSphere, Bwilkins, Choess, Colonies Chris, Criticalthinker, CyberAnth, Dhandle, Digizen, Eieiogrif2, El C, Fastily, FowlerPierre, Gaius Cornelius, Gothbag, Homeboy88, Homerjay, Internetsurferpaul, JohnnyTwain, Jorge Stolfi, Jwillbur, KPH2293, Legis, LittleT889, Mattisse, Mcrabb23, Melesse, Missionary,Msr.10, Mushin, Numen, PRRfan, PaulHanson, Pazouzou, Poppy, Port-au-princien, Prime642, Procrustes the clown, Quadell, R'n'B, Rafuki 33, Ramses II, Rjwilmsi, RobNS, SJP, Saaristo, SerAmantio di Nicolao, Sesel, Spartan-James, Superm401, Tommy2010, Toussaint, Upernavik, Wavelength, WhisperToMe, Yeisoley, Youdontknow37, Zfish118, 114 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Cité soleil.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cité_soleil.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Bruno Le Bansaisfile:Haiti relief location map.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Haiti_relief_location_map.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:Alexrk2File:Red pog.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Red_pog.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: AnomieFile:Flag of Haiti.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Haiti.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: (colours and size changes of the now deletied versions)Madden, Vzb83, Denelson83, Chanheigeorge, Zscout370 and Nightstallion Coat of arms :Lokal_Profil and Myriam ThyesFile:Cite soliel4.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cite_soliel4.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:CyberAnthFile:Womens Group Cite Soleil Haiti.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Womens_Group_Cite_Soleil_Haiti.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: BrokenSphere,LeRocFile:CiteSoleilEarthquake8.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:CiteSoleilEarthquake8.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5  Contributors: Marcello CasalJr./AbrImage:Cite_soliel2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cite_soliel2.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:CyberAnthImage:Cite_soliel5.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cite_soliel5.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:CyberAnthImage:Cite_soliel1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cite_soliel1.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:CyberAnth

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