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Haitians Seeking National ID Cards Say Government Is Violating Its Own
COVID-19 Directives

Sandra Lemaire

   WASHINGTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE - Not far from the National Palace in
   Port-au-Prince, Haiti's National Identification Office (Office
   Nationale d'Identification) is packed with hundreds of people seeking
   national ID cards this week, despite the government's directive to stay
   home and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.

   The office is noisy, it's chaotic, the room is not big enough for all
   the people lined up. Water and snack merchants holding
   rectangular-shaped plastic containers on their heads stroll around the
   room, looking for customers.

   Outside, a coronavirus alert is posted on a digital billboard. "Wash
   your hands often, stand at least two meters apart," it advises, to
   prevent the spread of COVID-19.

   A woman standing in the long line is frustrated.

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