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WORLD NEWS Friday 24 June 2022
Official: 8 more die as Haiti prisons lack food, water

By EVENS SANON and the main roads leading out
DÁNICA COTO of Haiti’s capital, making it
Associated Press extremely difficult to distrib-
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) ute food and other supplies
— An official said Thursday to the rest of the country,
that at least eight inmates said Pierre Espérance, ex-
have died at an over- ecutive director of Haiti’s
crowded prison in Haiti that National Human Rights De-
ran out of food two months fense Network.
ago, adding to dozens of In addition, a water pump
similar deaths this year as that the Les Cayes prison
the country’s institutions relies on has long been bro-
crumble. ken, forcing relatives and
Hunger and oppressive friends of inmates to carry
heat contributed to the buckets of water from long
inmates’ deaths reported distances, Richmond said.
this week by the prison in Les Cayes, like surrounding
the southwest city of Les cities, is also still struggling
Cayes, Ronald Richemond, to recover from a 7.2 mag-
the city’s government nitude earthquake that
commissioner, told The As- struck southwest Haiti in Au-
sociated Press. He said the gust, killing more than 2,200
prison houses 833 inmates. people and destroying or
“Whoever can help should damaging thousands of
help immediately because Butchers carry a beef carcass in preparation to be shipped to the local market at an outdoor buildings.
the prisoners are in need,” slaughterhouse in Port-au-Prince , Haiti, Monday, June 13, 2022. Richmond said some of the
he said. Associated Press prison cells were destroyed
The United Nations Security recent months, leading to Health through Walls, which Health through Walls has and have not been rebuilt,
Council released a report a new rise in severe malnu- provides health care in Hai- launched several programs forcing authorities to cram
last week saying 54 prison trition and deaths. ti’s prisons. to target the problem long even more people into a
deaths related to malnutri- By law, prisons in Haiti are The nonprofit joined three term, including starting a smaller space.
tion were documented in required to provide inmates other organizations this garden at a prison in north- The cell occupancy rate in
Haiti between January and with water and two meals year to feed the roughly ern Haiti that produces Haiti stands at more than
April alone. a day, which usually consist 11,000 inmates in Haiti’s 20 spinach and other crops, 280% of capacity, with 83%
It urged Haiti’s government of porridge and a bowl of prisons for three months, along with a chicken coop of inmates stuck in pretrial
“to take the necessary rice with fish or some type helping at a time when the and a planned fish farm. detentions that in some
measures to find a long- of meat. country was increasingly “But that’s one prison,” cases can drag on for more
lasting solution to the prison But in recent months, in- unstable following the July Karshan said. “The bottom than a decade before an
food, water and medicine mates have been forced to 7 killing of President Jovenel line is the prison system has initial court appearance,
crisis.” rely solely on friends or fam- Moïse. to take responsibility. They according to the U.N.
The country’s severely over- ily for food and water, and But the situation has since can’t sit back. ... They’re Many prisoners take turns
crowded prison system has many times they are un- deteriorated. the government.” sleeping on the floor while
long struggled to provide able to visit because gang- “These deaths are very Les Cayes and other cit- others simply stand or try to
food and water to inmates. related violence makes painful,” she said. “The in- ies in Haiti’s southern re- make hammocks and at-
It blames insufficient gov- some areas impassable, ternal organs start to fail gion also have been af- tach them to cell windows,
ernment funds and the said Michelle Karshan, co- one by one. ... It’s a horrible fected by a spike in gang paying someone to keep
problem has worsened in founder of the nonprofit thing to witness.” violence that has blocked their spot.q

Nigerians blame fuel shortage on

Ukraine war, fixed prices

By CHINEDU ASADU that the shortages will soon asked Clement Isong, CEO
Associated Press end have not improved of the Major Oil Marketers
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ni- the situation. Fuel retailers Association of Nigeria.
geria is grappling with are pleading with the gov- Nigeria’s current gas short-
widespread fuel shortages ernment to deregulate the age — the third in 2022 — is
that are forcing motorists market to allow them set because gas retailers are
to spend hours in lines to their own prices. struggling with rising costs,
buy gas and causing prices But the Nigerian govern- Isong said. The cost of
to surge for transportation ment this week insisted that transporting gasoline to the
and basic commodities. the pump price must re- depots has gone up by 80% Cars queue outside a petrol station in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday,
Russia’s war in Ukraine has main the same. in the past few months, he June. 22, 2022.
caused prices to import “The war in Ukraine has said. “People are suffering,” Associated Press
fuel go up by more than caused an increase in the he said, urging the govern-
100% but retailers complain diesel price (but) you have ment to allow higher prices. though the country is one ganization of Petroleum Ex-
they can only charge the not allowed them (retail- “What we are saying is, do of Africa’s biggest produc- porting Countries. Howev-
price set by the govern- ers) to increase the price it (raise the price) slowly, let ers of crude oil. Nigeria pro- er, the country must import
ment, causing them to op- … to recover that cost. it not stay fixed,” said Isong. duced an average of 1.42 most of its fuel because it
erate at a loss. So where are they going Gasoline shortages are million barrels per day in has very few functioning re-
The government’s promises to get the extra money?” frequent in Nigeria even May, according to the Or- fineries. q