2023-06-10 21:26:34
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, Haiti has descended into chaos. In the Caribbean state, one of the poorest countries in the world, “an endless cycle of violence” prevails, according to the UNO at the beginning of May. The authorities could not protect the population adequately. Violence tears society apart. The population is at the mercy of the gangs, as reports from Doctors Without Borders show.
“Violence and insecurity have gripped the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Bullet hail or kidnappings are part of everyday life, the economic situation is tense,” the organization now says.
“Complex and Multidimensional Humanitarian Crisis”
“Various political, social and economic events have triggered the complex and multidimensional humanitarian crisis. Access to essential services such as health care, mental health care, water and sanitation is severely restricted throughout Port-au-Prince and particularly in the neighborhoods most affected by the violence,” says MSF, describing the living conditions of the population.
The actions of organized criminals to suppress the population are described as extremely brutal. The gangs used snipers to “shoot randomly” at people in the streets and “fire into houses,” according to a UN report. People were “burned alive on public transport”. The gangs also use sexual violence on a “terrible scale”.
UN: New wave of extreme violence
According to the UN, more than 600 people were killed by gang crime in Haiti in April alone. “A new wave of extreme violence” has gripped several parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, according to the UN when the report was presented. At least 846 people were killed in the first three months of the year, 393 people were injured and 395 people were kidnapped during this period. According to the UN, by 2022 murders and kidnappings in Haiti had increased for the fourth year in a row.
The conflict between rival armed groups is making it difficult for people to move freely in the city and much of the population lives in extreme insecurity, MSF said.
Doctors without borders with mobile clinics on the road
In many parts of the city, hospitals were closed due to the tense situation. The way to the hospital was often extremely dangerous because of the gangs. Doctors Without Borders is now trying to fill the gap with mobile hospitals. According to the organization, the mobile clinics are used almost every day.
“The teams can thus treat hundreds of women, men, children and especially the elderly who have to endure in their neighborhoods,” writes the organization. In the first four months of this year, the mobile teams treated a total of 7,781 patients. More than 300,000 liters of drinking water were spent in regions that were particularly hard hit by the violence.
Special need for psychological care
The Médecins Sans Frontières teams are made up of various specialists, such as doctors, nurses, midwives and psychologists. “Mobile clinics are now essential in an environment like Port-au-Prince,” said Michele Trainiti, who leads MSF’s mission in Haiti. The remaining public health facilities lack everything and the health facilities that are still operating are unaffordable for many people.
“Mobile clinics fill these gaps in medical care,” Trainiti continues. “While they’re not perfect, they allow us to be flexible and adaptable and to serve people directly in neighborhoods affected by violence. They literally improve access to healthcare,” said Trainiti. The need for help in the area of psychological and sexual health is particularly high.
Anxiety, depression and sleep disorders
“The violence is omnipresent – and it has a significant impact on the psyche of those who experience it,” said Camille Dormetus. The psychologist is currently working with the mobile clinic. “Hail of bullets, fear of being attacked or the murder of relatives: these are all highly traumatic events,” says Dormetus. Many patients require treatment for anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, or hypervigilance.
Tens of thousands of residents are said to have fled the capital, if possible, because according to the reports, the gangs are also sealing off their territory in addition to the entrances to the city.
gangs armed
A total of around 200 armed gangs are said to be up to mischief in Haiti, around half of them in the capital Port-au-Prince with around 1.3 million inhabitants, according to the BBC. The gangs are also militarily equipped, according to the New York Times in early June.
The state fails to take action against the gangs. The army is poorly trained and equipped, the police force of 9,000 security forces powerless, according to the New York Times. Police officers would themselves become victims of the gangs – either by violence or they would be forced to participate.
Neighborhood patrols against gangs
Individual Haitians have organized themselves into armed groups to fight the gangs. The fear is great: if the problem is not solved soon, a civil war is imminent, according to the “New York Times”.
According to the Washington Post, more and more Haitians are trying to protect their “Grätzl” and are organizing neighborhood patrols. They guard their neighborhood and try to counter the gangs. They are usually armed with machetes or something similar – in contrast to the heavily armed gangs.
There are also said to have been lynchings of gang members, as reported by the media. In one incident, a bus with gang members is said to have been violently stopped and the criminals doused in petrol and set on fire, the Washington Post also describes an incident.
US does not want to send military because of Afghanistan
The UN, like the current transitional government, has repeatedly called for a specialized international force to be sent to restore peace. The US administration of US President Joe Biden has also spoken out in favor of an international force in its “backyard”.
But efforts have so far been in vain. The reason: no one wants to lead a mission in Haiti – the risks of such a peace mission are obviously too great. The USA is also still reeling from the chaotic and violent withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Here, too, the focus was recently on a “peace mission” lasting years – with devastating consequences, according to the Washington Post.
Rush hour hijackings
According to the BBC, the gangs, which are at odds with each other, go about their “business” in some cases “in an orderly manner”. The rush hour in the morning between 6.00 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. is also the main time for kidnappings. People are simply “snapped” off the street on their way to work. The evening rush hour from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. is also considered the peak time for kidnappings. The ransom is said to be between $200 and $1 million, according to the BBC.
Most victims come back alive once the ransom is paid. However, according to the report, the abductees are tortured. For example, men are beaten or tortured with melted plastic, according to Gedeon Jean of the Haitian Center for Human Rights. Women and girls, however, are victims of gang rape.
Corruption as a support for gangs
The gangs also receive support from corrupt politicians and judges and police officers. There have always been ties between politicians and gangs, according to the BBC. However, these collaborations were mainly limited to poor, populous districts. Since the 2011 election, those relationships have become institutionalized, University of Haiti’s James Boyard told the BBC.
The gangs would first be “used as subcontractors to generate political violence”. In recent years, however, this has gotten worse and has spread to all parts of the city and to the whole of Haiti.
“There is no prosecution”
If a gang member is arrested, a phone call from their supporters could ensure they are released immediately – and with their guns, the BBC said. Human rights activists have said there are plenty of crimes but no punishment.
“There is no prosecution,” Marie Rosy Auguste Ducena of Haiti’s National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) told the BBC. “Judges don’t want to handle these cases. They are paid by the gangs.” Some police officers are like a support system for the gangs, “by providing them with armored cars and tear gas,” Ducena concludes.
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