Survival: the lives of people displaced by violence in Haiti

Bullets were flying everywhere

My name is Marie Danielle Benoît, I am 56 years old, and I am a single mother of five children, one of whom has gone missing. I come from the Solino neighborhood. There, we lived in a large five-room house; each of my children had their own bedroom. I ran my own business in the neighborhood and things were going well. We lived comfortably and were happy.

I was an organized, sensible woman, deeply involved in my community. I loved helping others: I had set up a center to support young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods. They came there to learn a trade and open themselves up to new opportunities.

We organized get-togethers and built connections. I remember, for example, that in December we would organize activities for the young people and encourage older mothers to give them presents. Unfortunately, the situation took a turn for the worse. All our efforts, everything we had built up to help the young people – it all came crashing down. It is a real tragedy.

I had to leave my home because there was shooting everywhere, all the time. We tried to hold out, but in the end, everyone had to evacuate. One day, while we were out, the situation took a dramatic turn for the worse. I couldn’t go back home because it was too dangerous. We couldn’t salvage anything. I lost everything.

We aren’t really living; we’re just surviving

That is how I ended up at the KID displacement site in November 2024. Deeply distressed, I was looking for support. But life here is not good. There are so many of us; we live crammed together, surrounded by foul smells.

Living away from home isn’t the same life. Here, there are conflicts and fights that break out when food is being handed out. If you’re not part of a group, you get nothing. We’re not really living, we’re just surviving.

During our evacuation, I injured my knee and since then I haven’t been able to walk. But one day I came across the HI teams, who had come to the site to identify the injured and those in pain. They went from shelter to shelter to assess the health of the residents.

The HI teams provided me with a walking stick and a knee brace to support my knee. I also attended rehabilitation sessions, which helped me enormously. Thanks to the physical therapy sessions, I can now stand up, sit down, and walk. My knee is no longer swollen and I feel a little better every day. I thank them sincerely.

I need peace and security

I dream of going home to peace and security. Sometimes, memories of my old life come flooding back. I remember the happy days, the house always beautifully decorated at Christmas, when we would all get together to celebrate... I miss all of that.

To move forward, I would like to receive moral, psychological, and financial support so that I can rent a house and restart a small business to support us. This hope keeps me going, and I would like to thank everyone who is thinking of us and helping us.

The Post-Traumatic Rehabilitation Emergency (URPOST) project is being rolled out across seven sites for displaced people in Port-au-Prince. Its aim is to improve access to care and rehabilitation support for patients, to reduce suffering and the side effects of injuries, and prevent any form of long-term disability, as well as to reduce the trauma-related after-effects for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence. Launched in August 2024, the project has already supported more than 1,900 patients in rehabilitation, 180 of whom have received mobility aids (crutches, walking sticks, wheelchairs, etc.). In addition, 95 survivors of violence have benefited from protection services and 69 dignity kits have been distributed. HI has also delivered training for other humanitarian actors to encourage the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in the responses provided.