Anse-a-Pitres - Haiti Observer Blog

In Anse-à-Pitre, goods arrived from the border town of Pedernales were confiscated by Haitian authorities as tey are enforcing the ban. Hungry and angry the population in Anse-à-Pitre set fire to the customs building in town. The ban imposed by the Haitian government on ground transportation has not been well received by the population of Anse-à-Pitre. The population today reacted by protesting with a street demonstration. Stones were throwing and in some part of the town of Anse-à-Pitre, the protesters set fire to the customs building and tires.

It appears that the Haitian government is unable to address the needs of the population short of these products arriving from the border. The Haitian president has requested to meet the Dominican president as a way to address the problem.

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The tension on the Haitian side of the Dominican border reached a new high on October 12th when the Haitian authority in the town of Anse-à-Pitre attempted to confiscate and apply restrictive measures on the 23 banned items, including many of the basic necessities for the Haitian population.

Anse-à-Pitre is a town near the border with Pedernales where goods are transported to the binational market by taxis and motorcycles. The population had reacted strongly and a spontaneous demonstration was formed immediately who set fires on the customs building and motorcycle tyres and threw stones to the police; gun shots were reported. It has been decided that two Presidents, Haitian and Dominican, will meet on Tuesday (October 13th) at the request of Haiti, in the province of Barahona to discuss and resolve the ban crisis.

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First Lady of Haiti, Sophia Martelly, attended two ceremonies related to maternity and obstetrics' care in Southeast Department of Thiotte and the commune of Anse-a-Pitre. On hand for both functions were Dr. Ted Lazarre, Director of Health; Florence D. Guillaume, Public Health and Population Minister; Thiotte Deputy Jean Camille Desmarattes; Thiotte and Anse-a-Pitre mayors; French Ambassador to Haiti, Patrick Nicoloso, and other officials. In Thiotte the ceremony was for the launching of the Maternity SONUB, and in Anse-a-Pitre Center for Obstetric Care of Banane was re-opened.

Dr. Ted Lazarre stressed the effect the programs at Maternity SONUB and Obstetric Care Banane would have on reducing death and disease in these two provinces. He added the two communities would have equal access to maternity and birth services, delivered at a high level of care.

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Anse-a-Pitres is a part of the Belle-Anse Arrondissement in the Sud-Est Department. It is a border town with about 8,000 residents, many of whom live in the villages of Boucan-Guillaume and Bois d'Orme.

The city of Anse-a-Pitres is quite poor. It lacks certain public facilities, preventing people from getting adequate health and other services. There are several health problems hitting the city, including widespread HIV/AIDS and TB infections, high infant and maternal mortality rate, and premature labor. Many babies are malnourished, while malaria and typhoid affect residents as well.

However, there are organizations like Foundation for Peace that went to the town to provide assistance. With their help, a health center was built in 1997 but prior to that, "tradipracticos," or healers without proper medical knowledge, were the ones treating sick people in the town. The lack of health programs in the town led to many deaths, as people could not seek immediate medical attention. The life expectancy in Anse-a-Pitres is just 51 years for women and 48 for men.

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