The state of Haiti

This item appears on page 67 of the October 2011 issue.

Any travel in Haiti should be with organizations with solid infrastructure, evacuation options and medical support systems in place, says the US State Department.

In Port-au-Prince, US citizens have been the victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender or age. In a number of cases this past year, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights from the US were attacked and robbed shortly after departing the airport.

The Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake significantly damaged key infrastructure, which remains in very poor condition, unable to support normal activity, much less crisis situations. Medical facilities are particularly weak. 2010’s cholera outbreak killed thousands of Haitians. While no longer at peak levels, cholera persists in many areas of Haiti.