Haitians abandon forgotten town, isolated for over a decade

Haitians abandon forgotten town, isolated for over a decade

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Near the bottom of the island of Hispaniola in southeast Haiti is a forgotten village, cut off from its own country, and slowly emptying as its residents leave for the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

Without health services, electricity, or paved roads, Boucan Ferdinand lost its only road to the nearest Haitian town, Bois Negresse, in devastating floods back in 2004.

. Chapotin, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
A man cuts a tree in the fields of Chapotin, with Boucan Ferdinand and the Dominican Republic in the background.

Some of its residents have left for the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and others cling on to a precarious life. Many have crossed illegally into the more prosperous Dominican Republic.

"They do not have access to basic social services, this situation is at the root of the mass migration to the Dominican Republic," said Jean Gilles Viola, mayor of the municipality that governs Boucan Ferdinand and around 20 other villages.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
A man walks next to some hanging laundry.

Those who remain live in thatch and stick hovels, collecting rainwater to drink and at constant risk of infectious diseases.

Some children, in impeccable blue uniforms, walk to a school in the town of Chapotin - a trip that takes an hour and a half over a narrow path, impassable in the rainy season.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
Children attend a class inside the school at a Baptist church.

In the village are two makeshift classrooms, run by the Baptist and Catholic chapels.

"This year my children will not go to school," said village farmer Wilber Jean in October, as his children played nearby.

"Here you pay a ton. There," pointing across the border, "the president pays."

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
A boy carries sticks to be used as firewood.

Children collect firewood or graze small flocks of goats and sheep to help their parents. During planting time, many skip school in order to help on the farms, earning less than $2 a day.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
Brothers Manes (left) and Fresnels Exalus (right), and Naida Ogisten have a snack with relatives in the house of Manes and Naida.

In the mornings, the village smells of burning firewood brought by the children as the women make breakfast: sometimes there is pasta, but more likely coffee and a piece of bread. Often there is rice and beans. Meat, a luxury.

Haiti, which according to the World Bank is the poorest country in the Americas, has not recovered from a powerful earthquake that hit it on Jan. 12 2010, leaving more than 200,000 dead.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
Boys walk along a trail, that was used in the past by terrain vehicles connecting with Bois Negresse, on the outskirts of Boucan Ferdinand.

The countryside has been emptying out. Less than half of Haitians live in rural communities compared to 84 percent in 1960, World Bank data shows.

Boucan Ferdinand seems to have fallen off the map. Radios mainly capture Dominican signals.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
A man, known as Polo, rests in the kitchen of his house as he gathers with family and friends.

"I'm tired of looking for stations in Haiti," complained Polo, a 64-year-old man who returned here with his wife and one of his grandchildren after spending more than 40 years in the Dominican Republic.

Aurana Augustin 'Timatant' sold bread and sweets until a few months ago when the left half of her body was paralyzed. Today, the grandmother spends her days lying in bed.

. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
Augustin rests on a bed. "There are no doctors here. It's easier to go to Duverger (Dominican Republic). There is a truck to go there," she said.

The nearest Haitian health centre is across a mountain, so she has been crossing the border on a mule to seek care in the Dominican town of Duverge.

The local government wants to rebuild the road taken out by the floods but lacks the financial means, said the mayor.

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Slideshow

Believers gather to pray inside a house.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Believers gather to pray inside a house.

A boy laughs as he spends time with friends.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A boy laughs as he spends time with friends.

Viviana Vulcenat gets ready in her house before going to the church.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Viviana Vulcenat gets ready in her house before going to the church.

A woman leans on a mattress belonging to a neighbour, who came back after years of living in the Dominican Republic.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A woman leans on a mattress belonging to a neighbour, who came back after years of living in the Dominican Republic.

Cristera Jusma hands a towel to Enol St. Pierre as he gets ready to go to the church.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Cristera Jusma hands a towel to Enol St. Pierre as he gets ready to go to the church.

Omel Simexant makes a rope to tie animals.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Omel Simexant makes a rope to tie animals.

A boy plays with an improvised ball.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A boy plays with an improvised ball.

A family eats dinner in a makeshift kitchen outside a house.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A family eats dinner in a makeshift kitchen outside a house.

Tipiti cooks pasta as she combs her daughter's hair.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Tipiti cooks pasta as she combs her daughter's hair.

Senfleur St. Pierre, known as Mello, works on the frame of a new facility for a Protestant church.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Senfleur St. Pierre, known as Mello, works on the frame of a new facility for a Protestant church.

Children carry a mattress of a neighbour, who came back after years of living in the Dominican Republic.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Children carry a mattress of a neighbour, who came back after years of living in the Dominican Republic.

A boy rests on a pile of avocados at the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, at El Guacate military post.
. Independencia Province, Dominican Republic. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A boy rests on a pile of avocados at the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, at El Guacate military post.

A deaf man wears a pumpkin mask.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A deaf man wears a pumpkin mask.

A man rides a motorbike across the trail that connects Boucan Ferdinand with the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A man rides a motorbike across the trail that connects Boucan Ferdinand with the border between Haiti and Dominican Republic.

Naida Ogisten walks with her daughter.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Naida Ogisten walks with her daughter.

Girls and a woman harvest corn in a field.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Girls and a woman harvest corn in a field.

Children play outside a house.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Children play outside a house.

A woman puts corncobs in her pockets as she harvests corn in a field.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A woman puts corncobs in her pockets as she harvests corn in a field.

Children gather and read school books.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Children gather and read school books.

Women use a homemade tool to make holes and sow seeds in a field.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Women use a homemade tool to make holes and sow seeds in a field.

Smoke rises up from a pile at a yard.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Smoke rises up from a pile at a yard.

A member of the Dominican Armed Forces looks at a truck loaded with avocados and travellers on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
. Independencia Province, Dominican Republic. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

A member of the Dominican Armed Forces looks at a truck loaded with avocados and travellers on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Benjamens St. Pierre patrols the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic looking for people smuggling charcoal.
. Independencia Province, Dominican Republic. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Benjamens St. Pierre patrols the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic looking for people smuggling charcoal.

Residents dance at a bar. Sunday evening is the only time when the bar is open and residents gather there to socialise and dance.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Residents dance at a bar. Sunday evening is the only time when the bar is open and residents gather there to socialise and dance.

Trees stand at night.
. Boucan Ferdinand, Haiti. Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares

Trees stand at night.