School is no longer a refuge for children in Haiti. Armed gangs no longer hesitate to violate these sanctuaries, in order to loot and, sometimes, kidnap. Many cases of armed violence are reported. UNICEF is alarmed and presents a very black picture for schoolchildren in the country, where thugs have been kings for several months.Guadeloupe La 1ère, with AFP • Published on 11 February 2023 at 09:00
Shootings, lootings, kidnappings… In Haiti, the schools, which until then were “respected shelters“, are now being targeted. Armed violence targeting them, perpetrated by gangs, has increased ninefold in one year, UNICEF lamented, Thursday, February 9, 2023.
In Haiti, schools have always been considered and respected as places of refuge. But in recent months they have become targets of violence.
Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti (press release)
Seventy-two schools (up to high school) have been targeted by violence since the start of the October 2022 school year, according to the UN children’s organization; there had been eight, during the same period a year ago.
This includes at least 13 schools targeted by armed groups, a school set on fire, a student killed and at least two staff members kidnapped, according to information from Unicef partners.
Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti (press release)
During the looting, all sorts of equipment is stolen: from desks to computers, including batteries and solar panels, not forgetting bags of rice or corn from the canteen, crucial foodstuffs in a country where half of the population suffers from food insecurity.
In some urban areas of the country, armed groups see the looting of schools as a lucrative alternative to other forms of extortion and crime (…). It must stop. Attacking schools has a huge impact on children’s safety, well-being and ability to learn.
Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti (press release)
One in four schools has also remained closed since October, according to the press release. And, in recent weeks, many school leaders have decided to close.
Schools are no longer spared (…). And a child who is afraid to go to school is all the more at risk of being recruited by armed groups.
Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti (press release)
The UN has recently been alarmed by record gang violence, which has reached levels “never seen for decades” in Haiti.