Cite Soleil

Cite Soleil is a densely populated shanty town located in the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti. Most of its estimated 200,000 to 300,000 residents live in extreme poverty and the area is generally regarded as one of the poorest, roughest, and most dangerous areas of the country. The neighborhood, originally designed to house manual laborers became home to squatters from around the countryside looking for work.

After a 1991 coup d'etat deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and a boycott of Haitian products, Cite Soleil was soon thrust into extreme poverty and persistent unemployment, with high rates of illiteracy. The deployment of the U.S. led Multinational Force Operation Uphold Democracy began in September 1994 ensuring the restoration of President Aristide and a fragile Government in Haiti.

These images where taken by Carlos Villalon
during the military intervention of 1994.