Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madre de Dios (Agenzia Fides) - They are victims of human traffickers who are speculating on the earthquake that struck Haiti two years ago: As Fides learns from the local Church, 254 Haitian immigrants, survivors of the earthquake in 2010, have been blocked on the border between Peru and Brazil, the Peruvian city of Iñapari for ten days, since the police in Brazil prevents the entry into the country.
Haitians have come to Iñapari (city in the south-east of the Peruvian jungle), following the route considered the "cheapest", passing through Panama and Peru as illegal immigrants. They are in desperate conditions, no documents, and among them are women and children. The local Church has mobilized to welcome them: most are housed in the local parish and it is the local Catholic community which provides them with food and lodging, and some are in a refugee camp set up by the regional government of Madre de Dios.
Iñapari is located in the region of Madre de Dios, in the triangle border Peru-Brazil-Bolivia, it is one of the city with a poverty rate among the highest in the nation. The mayor of Iñapari, Celso Curi, has publicly stated that this situation has altered the life of his small town: a town of just 2,000 inhabitants, which has no means to assist many refugees with dignity.
The pastor of the Peruvian town, Father Rene Salizar, reported that since 2010 some 8,000 Haitians have crossed the border to go to Brazil from Iñapari, paying up to $ 3,200 to smugglers who organize the transfer from Haiti. From 12 January, the Brazilian government has set a maximum of 100 work visas per month for Haitian immigrants and the police have intensified their control. Since then the Haitians are no longer able to cross the border.
Father Salizar asks the governments of Peru and Brazil to find a solution to this problem, as a sign of respect for Haitian human rights, affected by the earthquake and victims of traffickers. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 25/01/2012)
