president René Préval has expressed ambivalent feelings about the UN security presence, saying, "If the Haitian people were asked if they wanted the UN forces to leave they would say yes." Survivors at times blame the UN peacekeepers for deaths of relatives. Critics of UN Stabilization Mission's plan feel that the United Nations mandate is unrealistic, treating a political problem as a security problem. 2010 Haiti earthquake On January 12, 2010, at 21:53 UTC (4:53 PM local time) Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake, the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years. The epicenter of the quake was just outside the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, in Léogâne. As the biggest slum of Port-au-Prince, Cité Soleil fared relatively well, as most of its cinder block and corrugated steel shacks survived. Médecins Sans Frontières reopened its Choscal Hospital (which operated between 2005 and 2007 during the gang war) in the heart of the slum within 24 hours. However, the area remained in desperate need of help, according to World Emergency Relief. Gang members who escaped from Haiti's damaged prison returned to the area to continue to commit crimes. The crime rate rose and police urged citizens to take matters into their own hands. As of January 23, 2010, Cité Soleil had largely remained neglected by earthquake relief workers and was doing what it could to survive and help on its own. Samaritan's Purse worked in Cité Soleil by building the largest cholera treatment center during the outbreak. Gallery See also Cité Soleil raid of 2007 Konbit Soley Leve, social movement from Cité Soleil Emmanuel Wilmer, criminal and anarchist that terrorized Cité Soleil Footnotes References Nicolas Rossier. "Aristide and the Endless Revolution". www.aristidethefilm.com Michael Deibert. Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti. Seven Stories Press, New York, 2005. . Aristide's Tinderbox: Haitian Militants Losing Faith in President’s Promise of Reform (August 2002) by Michael Deibert HAITI: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege"(February 2007) HaitiAction.net (April 25, 2005): "Cité Soleil under siege: Haiti's elite, U.N., and fat cat NGOs paralyzed" Haiti Report (September 9, 2002): "Violence Between Gangs in Cite Soleil" DemocracyNow.org (December 29, 2006): "Another Massacre in Cite Soleil?" RedCross.int (no date): "Hoping for change in Haiti's Cité-Soleil", by Didier Revol ZMag.org (July 17, 2005): "Murdering Haiti", by Yves Engler New Left Review #27 (May-June 2004): "Operation Zero in Haiti", by Peter Hallward Centre for Civil Society: