Haiti Suspends Oxfam Great Britain After Sex Scandal
Mr. Fleurant told Reuters that if investigators establish a link between donations to Oxfam meant for Haiti
and criminal activity, officials will "declare Oxfam Great Britain persona non grata, and they would have to leave the country without further delay." It was unclear whether the Haitian government, which relies heavily on nonprofit organizations to fulfill basic functions like running schools and hospitals, would expand the investigation to cover other aid groups.
22, 2018
Saying it was "shocked at the highest level," the government of Haiti has suspended the aid group Oxfam Great Britain for two months
while it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct by charity employees in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Mark Schuller, an associate professor of anthropology at Northern Illinois University
and author of "Humanitarian Aftershocks in Haiti" said the aid workers who flooded Haiti after the earthquake, looking to put a "notch on the humanitarian bedpost," had been given a "do-gooder" pass for too long.
And Oxfam International’s regional director, Simon Ticehurst, said
that because of an attempt by the umbrella group to streamline its operations, Oxfam Great Britain had no staff left in Haiti, in any case.
Oxfam International said in a statement Thursday that it "was committed to cooperate with their investigation."
Three other Oxfam groups — from Italy, Spain and Quebec — are continuing to work in Haiti.
But let’s not let N.G.O.s try and distance themselves." Mr. Schuller said, "It’s true
that this may well be the beginning of a #MeToo movement in Haiti, and hopefully elsewhere in the world where reward structures of the aid industry reinforce inequality, imperialism and patriarchy."
