Julia WeeksDecember 05, 2017Dieu Nalio CheryComment

Troubled meat market is key supplier for Haiti’s capital

Julia WeeksDecember 05, 2017Dieu Nalio CheryComment

La Saline slaughterhouse is a nightmarish panorama of animal blood, body parts and detritus. It’s also an essential part of the economy of the Haitian capital, supplying meat to restaurants, street vendors and stores.

Associated Press photographer Chery Dieu Nalio spent nearly a month documenting conditions in the market and the lives of more than 100 people who work there. He found a constant struggle to make ends meet in the face of unhygienic conditions, poor regulation and even deadly violence.

In this Nov. 9, 2017 photo, Chalemagne Nepturne blows air into the leg of a goat carcass to loosen the skin, at the La Saline slaughterhouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 69-year-old has worked at the open-air market for a year as a “pike kabrit” or… — In this Nov. 9, 2017 photo, Chalemagne Nepturne blows air into the leg of a goat carcass to loosen the skin, at the La Saline slaughterhouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 69-year-old has worked at the open-air market for a year as a “pike kabrit” or goat killer. He is not paid when slaughtering the goats for wholesale clients, but is allowed to keep the testicles and teats, which he in turns sells for a profit. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

More than 300,000 goats are butchered every year in La Saline, at the edge of a slum by the same name that forms part of the sprawl of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The market is mostly a dirt yard, with a few huts made of worn sheet metal, wood and cloth. Chunks of raw meat sit on tables for purchase by customers. The remnants of slaughtered animals are dumped in a canal at the entrance of the market, filling the area with a foul stench and causing flooding in the surrounding neighborhood.

Outside the market is the neighborhood known as La Saline, so violent that market workers and customers frequently have to dive to the ground to avoid stray bullets.

Customers, neighbors and even the market’s workers say Haitian authorities have long failed to take any action in to improve conditions there.

In this Nov. 22, 2017 photo, Monise Jironer 54, left, and her 50-year-old co-worker Etty Felixas, clean goat intestines at the La Saline slaughterhouse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Jironer who dreams of a safer and cleaner work environment says when r… — In this Nov. 22, 2017 photo, Monise Jironer 54, left, and her 50-year-old co-worker Etty Felixas, clean goat intestines at the La Saline slaughterhouse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Jironer who dreams of a safer and cleaner work environment says when residents inside the La Saline slum start shooting they are obligated to take cover on the ground covered in waste and mud. Felix and Jironer are former housekeepers who have worked together at the market since 1988. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Butchers are paid $10 for $20 for each goat they slaughter for individuals. They get no money from wholesale customers, but rather keep some parts of the animals to sell to retail buyers.

Other workers skin the animals, clean them, transport them and sell them to customers. Etty Felix, 50, and Monise Jironer, 54, remove waste from goats’ intestines, disinfect them in boiling water and sell them to vendors who make bouillon to sell. They receive 16 cents per intestine.

Market owner Polynice Amboise, 65, said the market has been repeatedly moved by Haitian administrations, from inside the slum to the seaside and back again.

In this Nov. 22, 2017 photo, owner of the La Saline slaughterhouse Polynice Amboise poses for a photo at his open-air market, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. “The authorities don't come. I bring all my papers to City Hall but they never get back to me,” A… — In this Nov. 22, 2017 photo, owner of the La Saline slaughterhouse Polynice Amboise poses for a photo at his open-air market, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. “The authorities don't come. I bring all my papers to City Hall but they never get back to me,” Amboise said. “I am not happy with the situation of the market. The workers also are not happy.”(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

He said that since Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people and threw the government into crisis, he hasn’t paid taxes for the market and the government has taken no action to improve its conditions.

“The authorities don’t come. I bring all my papers to City Hall but they never get back to me,” Amboise said. “I am not happy with the situation of the market. The workers also are not happy.”

In this Nov. 9, 2017 photo, goat skinner Sonson Pierre hauls goat pelts at the La Saline slaughterhouse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 28-year-old, who has worked at the open-air market for 12 years, is dismayed that a market which provides meat to … — In this Nov. 9, 2017 photo, goat skinner Sonson Pierre hauls goat pelts at the La Saline slaughterhouse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 28-year-old, who has worked at the open-air market for 12 years, is dismayed that a market which provides meat to most of the capital’s supermarkets and restaurant, is so unregulated. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Youri Chevry, the mayor of Port-au-Prince, said the situation is complicated by a broader problem of lawlessness, but which he claims is improving. A U.N. peacekeeping mission recently left Haiti and the country is re-establishing its own army, a force supposed to be dedicated to maintaining domestic order.

“Everyone knows that this zone is a lawless area, a red zone with armed people that create a lot of problems,” Chevry said. “Step by step, peace is returning in the area. Step by step, we will get control of the slaughterhouse.”