Haitians cut back on already scarce food and ask how they’ll survive rising fuel prices 

[AP Photo]

For a factory worker in Haiti, the war in distant Iran means he now has to walk two hours to work and the same distance home each day, because he can no longer afford public transportation.

On a recent morning, Alexandre Joseph, 35, fretted about his family’s future in a loud voice, attracting the attention of passersby in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.

“The government raised the prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene, hitting my family. I now am unable to feed my two children on the salary I have,” he said.

The conflict in Iran has caused oil prices in Haiti to surge, disrupting critical supply chains, doubling transportation costs and forcing millions of undernourished people to cut back on already scarce meals.

Haiti, the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, has been hit the hardest by rising oil prices that experts warn will deepen a spiraling humanitarian crisis.

‘One of the most fragile countries in the world’

On April 2, Haiti’s government announced a 37% increase in the cost of diesel and a 29% increase in the cost of gasoline.

“The consequences are huge,” said Erwan Rumen, deputy country director for the United Nations World Food Program in Haiti. “It’s one of the most fragile countries in the world.”

Almost half of Haiti’s nearly 12 million inhabitants already face high levels of acute food insecurity. In recent months, Rumen noted, about 200,000 people dropped from the emergency phase to the acute one, a significant milestone.

“What is a bit frightening is to see that so many efforts could be basically wiped out by things that are completely out of our control,” he said. “This part of the population is extremely fragile. They’re on the verge of collapsing completely.”

Gang violence has exacerbated hunger, with armed men controlling key roads and disrupting the transportation of goods. An increase in food prices will only worsen hunger in a country where gangs easily recruit children whose families need food and money.

Emmline Toussaint, main coordinator of Mary’s Meals’ BND school-feeding program in Haiti, said that gas stations in some regions are selling fuel 25% to 30% higher than even what the government stipulated because of gang violence and difficulties with trucks trying to access certain areas.

She said the U.S.-based nonprofit is forced to use boats and take longer and multiple roads to feed the 196,000 children they serve across Haiti to avoid armed groups.

“The humanitarian crisis that we’re facing right now is at its worst,” she said. “So far, we are doing our best not to step back. Now, more than ever, the kids need us. … Most of them, it’s the only meal they receive.”

‘Everything will go up’

Fedline Jean-Pierre, a soft-spoken mother of a 7-year-old boy, sat under the shade of a tattered beach umbrella as she mulled increasing the prices of carrots, tomatoes and other produce she sells at an outdoor market in Port-au-Prince.

“People are not buying now because they don’t have money,” she said, noting she likely won’t have a choice but to increase prices to survive. “I have a child to feed.” EVENS SANON & DÁNICA COTO, PORT-AU-PRINCE, MDT/AP