Bel Air, Haiti

This article is about the neighborhood in Port-au-Prince. For the neighboorhood in Los Angeles, see Bel Air, Los Angeles. For redirect-distinguish, see Bèlè. For Bele (disambiguation), see Bélé.
Bel Air
Bèlè
Neighboorhood

Ti Chery, Bel Air
Bel Air

Location in Haiti

Coordinates: 18°33′N 72°20′W / 18.550°N 72.333°W / 18.550; -72.333Coordinates: 18°33′N 72°20′W / 18.550°N 72.333°W / 18.550; -72.333
Country  Haiti
Department Ouest
Arrondissement Port-au-Prince

Bel Air (Haitian Creole: Bèlè, English: Good Air) is a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is a slum area of the city and suffers from poverty. Crime is widespread, and kidnappings and killings have created panic among the local population.[1]

History

Bel Air has served as a launching site for political demonstrations demanding the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In recent years it has been marred by political violence and massacres by police.[2]

U.S. marines in Bel Air in April 2004.

On January 5, 2005 an uprising broke out and was suppressed by hundreds of Brazilian soldiers and special units of the Haitian National Police.[2] Five persons were reported to have been killed.[2]The trouble in the Bel Air area of the city was seen by the authorities as a major threat to the safety of the 2005 elections in Haiti.

The 2010 earthquake destroyed numerous buildings in Bel Air.

The neighborhood was the most devastated area of Port-au-Prince after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[3]

Crime

At the end of 2011, the murder rate in Bel Air reached 50 murders per 100,000 residents, up from 19 murders per 100,000 residents in 2010.[4]

References

External links

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