Haiti Report, October 3, 2024
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week.
Miami firms put Haiti shipping on hold
Haiti’s armed gangs are once more on the attack, this time turning their focus to piracy and taking the violence to the country’s high seas and main seaport. On September 27, a crane operator in Port-au-Prince was shot twice, reportedly by a sniper, with a round through his chest that barely missing vital organs, a source familiar with the incident confirmed to the Miami Herald. The worker, a foreign national who lives in Haiti, was sitting in the vehicle at the time. He was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
The latest shooting is part of a string of attacks on cargo ships calling on the port. The incident occurred just as the crane was preparing to start unloading containers from a chartered cargo ship operated by Miami-based Antillean Marine Shipping Corporation, three sources said. The ship, docked at the government’s National Port Authority, was the first one to berth since Sept. 10, when gangs kidnapped two crew workers from the MV Progreso, a container ship chartered by Crowley Maritime. The abduction occurred in the early morning while the ship, which had arrived from Miami, was anchored in the Gulf of Gonâve just off Port-au-Prince.
Soon after Thursday’s shooting, operator Caribbean Port Services announced that it was cutting off land access to the main seaport between Friday and Sunday so that the Haitian police and army could “restore security in the area and resume delivery operations under better conditions.” The company, which announced the decision in a note to its customers, said the decision was made “due to various incidents in the port area that have paralyzed ship activities.” Following the attacks, maritime lines, including those in South Florida, have canceled or paused shipping into the capital. Some have opted for rerouting cargo, offloading containers in Kingston, Jamaica, until they can be shipped to Haiti or transporting them to the Dominican Republic. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article293104229.html#storylink=cpy
UN Extends Mandate of Multinational Security Support Mission
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on September 30 to extend for another year the mandate of the armed security mission helping Haiti fight armed gangs. The 15-0 vote guarantees the presence of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti until October 2, 2025. But it doesn’t address a fundamental problem of the struggling effort: money.
Washington is so far the largest contributor to the mission, providing over $300 million that has gone toward the construction of a base of operations near the Port-au-Prince airport, armored vehicles, communications equipment and other assistance. A U.N. trust fund set up for contributions had $85.3 million in pledges last week — far less than the estimated $600 million a year Kenya has said is required. The funding shortfall has led to a slow deployment of the 2,500 security personnel the mission is expected to have, and affected the effectiveness of the ill-equipped force in a country where armed gangs control all of major roads out of the capital and have recently begun attacks at sea.
Armed group attack in Pont-Sondé: 20+ dead and hundreds displaced
Gang members attacked a small town in central Haiti early October 3 killing more than 20 people, including children, according to a human rights group. Another 50 people were injured as the Gran Grif gang burned homes and cars in the town of Pont-Sondé, said Bertide Harace, spokeswoman for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite.
“A lot of people ran and left the area,” she told Radio Kiskeya. A video posted on social media shows a group of people fleeing through the brush, with one woman who was out of breath saying, “Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go.” In another video, dozens of people start running through a street after hearing rumors that the gang was approaching. Harace and others criticized police in the nearby coastal city of Saint-Marc, saying they did not mobilize to help people being attacked in Pont-Sondé.
Venson François, a government prosecutor based in Saint-Marc, called the attack a “massacre” in an interview with Radio Caraïbes. Dozens of people crowded around a hospital in Saint-Marc where the injured were taken, with one man telling reporters that local authorities are not doing enough to protect people. The attack in Pont-Sondé was blamed on the Gran Grif gang. It operates in the central Artibonite region, and experts have described it as one of Haiti’s cruelest gangs. It has gained control of more territory since 2022 under the leadership of Luckson Elan, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last month. https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-attack-st-marc-pont-sonde-01154eb1daf4cbbc97b792221fce6fd5?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=share
UN Report says restoring security is highest priority
Tackling insecurity in Haiti, where hundreds have been killed, injured, or displaced as a result of gang violence, must be the utmost priority, a UN report out September 27 says, calling on the Haitian authorities and the international community to do more to protect people and prevent further suffering. Latest figures documented by the UN Human Rights Office indicate that at least 3,661 people have been killed since January this year*, maintaining the high levels of violence seen in 2023. “No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stressed.
“I welcome recent positive steps, such as the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council, the new transitional government, and the deployment of the first contingents of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS). It is clear, however, that the Mission needs adequate and sufficient equipment and personnel to counter the criminal gangs effectively and sustainably, and stop them spreading further and wreaking havoc on people’s lives,” said Türk. The report, which covers the period up to June, details extremely serious patterns of human rights violations and abuses taking place across the capital of Port-au- Prince and in the Artibonite Department – as well as in the southern part of West Department, which until recently had been largely unaffected by the violence.
The number of victims of sexual violence, including rape, also increased in the first half of the year. According to the report, “gangs have continued to use sexual violence to punish, spread fear and subjugate populations”. During the reporting period, at least 860 people were killed and 393 injured during police operations and patrols across Port-au-Prince, including at least 36 children, in what could constitute use of unnecessary and disproportionate force. The gangs have also recruited large numbers of children into their ranks. In Artibonite, the country’s agricultural heartland, increasing gang violence and extortion have forced farmers to abandon more than 3,000 hectares of land. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/09/haiti-tackling-insecurity-utmost-priority-un-report-says-hundreds-killed
Trump says he would revoke TPS for Haitians and deport them
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is once again targeting Haitians as part of his anti-immigration stance in this year’s elections, announcing plans to go after their immigration protections if he wins — just as he did in 2017. Focusing on the Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio, Trump said he plans to revoke their Temporary Protected Status — the immigration protection afforded to nationals from Haiti and 15 other countries in turmoil that allows them to temporarily live and work in the U.S. — and deport them back to Haiti. “Absolutely I’d revoke it and I’d bring them back to their country,” Trump told the NewsNation cable network. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article293422634.html#storylink=cpy
Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that, if elected again, he would revoke the legal status of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants who have been the target of false accusations by the former president and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, over the past month. Mr. Trump’s administration tried to do that during his first term, too, but courts temporarily blocked it, and President Biden’s administration renewed the immigrants’ status after he took office in 2021.
The immigrants in question are living and working in the United States legally through the Temporary Protected Status program, which Congress created in 1990 for people from countries experiencing war, natural disasters or other crises. The Department of Homeland Security designates countries for up to 18 months at a time based on the current conditions, and the designation can be renewed indefinitely.
As president, Mr. Trump sought to end the temporary protection for immigrants from Haiti, as well as those from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. Some of those decisions, including the attempt to revoke Haiti’s status, were challenged in two court cases during his administration: Saget v. Trump and Ramos v. Wolf. There is no dispute that the executive branch has the authority to remove countries from the T.P.S. program. But the plaintiffs in both cases argued that the administration had not followed the appropriate procedures for doing so — namely, by assessing whether conditions in each country still justified protection — and that the administration’s decisions had been based on racial animus. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/us/politics/trump-haitian-immigrants-legal-status.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PU4.AcLL.lq8ix1huLzwj&smid=url-share
Dominican authorities announced plans to deport up to 10k Haitians weekly
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominique Dupuy: “We note that the Dominican authorities announced, on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, a series of measures that foresee the deportation of up to 10,000 Haitian citizens every week. We ask that the fundamental rights of every child, every woman and every man concerned with this regrettable decision be truly respected, as required by international agreements and treaties that regulate this issue. We will quickly strengthen the capacity of our Embassies and Consulates to be able to bring aid in dignity to our citizens in the Dominican Republic. MHAVE will urgently meet with civil society organizations and international agencies that work in the border area to find the best way to provide support to those concerned.” https://x.com/DominiqueAyiti/status/1841856523888206115
The Dominican government announced plans to deport 10,000 Haitians per week as part of a special operation. Homero Figueroa, the government spokesperson, made the announcement on Wednesday, October 2, following a meeting between President Luis Abinader and his National Security Council. "It has been decided to immediately execute a repatriation operation, with the goal of deporting up to 10,000 immigrants per week to their country of origin," stated Figueroa, Director of Government Strategy and Communication.
In an interview later that evening, Sam Guillaume of the Support Group for Repatriates and Refugees (GARR) condemned the Dominican State's plan. "Deporting 10,000 Haitians per week from the Dominican Republic is outrageous. Previously, about 23,000 deportations per month were already considered excessive. Today, given that no Dominican visas are being granted to Haitians, this only worsens the situation. There are more and more Haitians living irregularly in the DR, and they are deeply concerned about this plan," Guillaume pointed out. He added that such mass deportations would lead to significant displacements at the border regions. "We will see a high concentration of people in these areas," he warned, calling on authorities to take responsibility. Guillaume also emphasized that these mass deportations violate human rights and the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights.
Smugglers stranded Haitian Migrants near Puerto Rico
Smugglers have abandoned over a hundred Haitians fleeing the island of Hispaniola that Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic in a remote nature reserve off the western coast of Puerto Rico in recent weeks. The incidents come amid a worsening humanitarian and gang crisis in Haiti and a ramp-up of deportations by Dominican authorities. The recent boats originated from the Dominican Republic, where President Luis Abinader announced Wednesday he will start expelling up to 10,000 Haitians a week. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance who travels to Puerto Rico and assists Haitians who have landed there, told the Miami Herald that the declaration was “alarming.”
“This mass deportation not only violates human rights but further exacerbates the challenges of migration and asylum-seeking across the region. With increasing number of Haitians arriving by boats, we see a clear sign of desperation as individuals flee insecurity and a humanitarian crisis in search f safety,” she said. The U.N. agency also lists the Dominican Republic as the largest deporter of Haitians. The country has already expelled at least 67,000 people back to Haiti who it claims are Haitians. Last year, the number was more than 174,000. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article293437689.html#storylink=cpy
Nearly half of Haitians now facing acute hunger
Haiti marked another grim milestone on September 30th, as the number of people facing acute hunger has now reached half of the country’s population, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. As Haiti continues to grapple with a significant security crisis, 5.4 million people struggle to feed themselves and their families every day, representing one of the highest proportions of acutely food insecure people in any crisis worldwide. Out of these, 2 million are in the grips of emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4), facing extreme food shortages, acute malnutrition and high disease levels. At least 6,000 internally displaced people (IDP) living in temporary shelters in Haiti’s capital after fleeing their homes now face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5), according to the latest IPC report. This means people are facing starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels.
https://www.wfpusa.org/news-release/hunger-haiti-reaches-historic-high-1-in-2-haitians-acute-hunger/
Half of all Haitians are struggling every day to find food as rampant gang violence and lawlessness are causing “the worst hunger emergency in the western hemisphere”, a report has found. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and its partner organisations estimate that 5.4 million Haitians are now regularly finding it hard to get enough to eat, a record for the Caribbean nation and the largest proportion of acutely food insecure people anywhere in the world, WFP said. The figure suggests another 600,000 people have fallen into “crisis” level hunger since the previous peaks recorded earlier this year and in 2023.
A coalition of 12 leading aid agencies has called for immediate action to alleviate the escalating hunger crisis as gang control of major roads blocks food supplies and causes huge price rises. “Without immediate action the hunger crisis in Haiti will continue to deepen, with devastating consequences for millions of vulnerable people,” civil society groups in Port-au-Prince, including Action Against Hunger, Save the Children and Mercy Corps warned in an open letter. Ten years ago only 2% of Haiti’s population was food insecure. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/oct/02/gang-violence-leaves-haiti-facing-worst-hunger-emergency-in-the-western-hemisphere
Over 700k internally displaced in Haiti
Over 700,000 people, more than half of whom are children, are now internally displaced across Haiti, according to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). These latest figures show a 22 per cent increase in the number of internally displaced people since June, highlighting the worsening humanitarian situation. Gang violence has so far forced more than 110,000 people to flee their homes in the last 7 months, particularly in Gressier, west of the capital.
“The sharp rise in displacement underscores the urgent need for a sustained humanitarian response,” said Grégoire Goodstein, IOM Chief in Haiti. “We call on the international community to step up its support for Haiti’s displaced populations and the host communities that continue to show remarkable resilience in the face of these challenges.”
The majority of displaced people in Haiti, around 75 per cent, are now sheltered in the country’s provinces, with the Grand Sud region alone hosting 45 per cent of all displaced individuals. The capital Port-au-Prince, where the situation remains precarious and unpredictable, hosts a quarter of the country’s displaced, often residing in overcrowded sites, with little to no access to basic services. Host communities continue to bear the brunt of this crisis, with 83 per cent of displaced people currently being accommodated by families. The strain on resources is immense, with the majority of host households reporting significant difficulties, including food shortages, overwhelmed healthcare facilities, and a lack of essential supplies on local markets. Local infrastructure and services, particularly in the provinces, are also under significant strain, with food insecurity, adequate shelter and access to healthcare and education among the most pressing needs.
https://www.iom.int/news/over-700000-displaced-haiti-half-are-children-humanitarian-crisis-worsens
Huge challenges as school year begins
As the new school year in Haiti starts on Tuesday, the country’s education system remains broken. The government and partners like UNICEF, which has been sounding the alarm about the impact of the gang crisis on children, face enormous challenges: Hundreds of thousands of children have joined the ranks of the displaced, schools in the capital and surrounding cities remain occupied by the homeless and regional ministry of education directors like Auxène try to do a lot with very little. In the Great South area alone, which includes the Southeast, Southwest, Nippes and Grand’Anse regions, there are more than 100,000 school-aged children who have been forced to flee their homes because of gang violence. At least a quarter of those students, 25,000, are in the southeast, which includes the seaside town of Jacmel.
“For many families in Haiti, the start of the school year is a cherished moment of hope and renewal, but with more than 270,000 people fleeing to the south, displaced families are facing daunting challenges in securing education for their children,” Bruno Maes, who ended his term as UNICEF’s representative in Haiti over the weekend, said when he visited the region in September. “Local services are struggling to accommodate the influx of displaced school-aged children as well because of the disruptions from ongoing violence.” The minister in charge of humanitarian affairs, Herwill Gaspard, visited one of the dozens of schools in Port-au-Prince currently occupied by people who have fled their homes. Gaspard said there are 39 schools across the capital occupied by people chased out of their homes by armed gangs and the government is working with the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration to relocate them.
He visited the encampment at the National School Argentine Bellegarde on Ruelle Vaillant, which has 1,580 people sleeping in its classrooms and elsewhere on the grounds. Gaspard acknowledged that the process of relocating people is difficult. One reason is money. The 50,000 Haitian gourdes — about $380 — IOM is offering to entice them to leave isn’t enough to put a roof over their heads. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article293280214.html#storylink=cpy
DEA Office in Haiti to be shut down
President Joe Biden has identified Haiti as a critical choke point for drugs flowing into the United States, naming it last month to a list of 23 countries designated as “major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries.” But even as South American cocaine and Jamaica-grown cannabis are running rampant through the lawless country, Biden’s own drug-fighting agency has decided to shut down its operations in Haiti.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has listed its Haiti field office among 14 foreign operations that the agency is shutting down, along with offices in The Bahamas and Nicaragua. The decision comes at the same time the U.S. leads a struggling international effort to restore security in Haiti, where violent gangs are spreading hunger and violence, and concerns are growing about the gangs’ collaboration with South American and Mexican drug cartels. “I’m kind of flabbergasted by this news, to be honest,” said Luis Moreno, a retired State Department official who headed the narcotics-control office in Bogotá, Colombia, and once served as deputy chief the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Calling the DEA’s decision “shortsighted,” he added: “You can trace the violence in Haiti to the gangs, and how do the gangs pay for themselves? Everyone knows the Haitian gangs’ finances come from drug trafficking.”
Tensions Between Presidential Council and Prime Minister's Office
Members of the Presidential Council remain agitated following the confusion surrounding Edgard Leblanc Fils's participation in the 79th UN General Assembly last week. Tensions escalated during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, where confrontations arose between government officials and members of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT). Insults were exchanged, and the Haitian ambassadors to the UN and Washington will be summoned for clarification. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250588/high-stakes-cabinet-meeting-tensions-between-ctp-and-prime-ministers-office
Anti-Corruption Agency charged 3 members of President Council in bribery scandal; 2 refuse to resign
The Haitian government's anti-corruption agency charged five high-profile individuals with corruption on Wednesday, including three members of an interim governing council, over a scandal involving bribing the chairman of a state-owned bank. The three are voting members of a nine-member council appointed in April to act as the country's executive branch until new elections can be held in the crisis-racked Caribbean island nation. The council members - diplomat Smith Augustin, politician Louis Gerald Gilles and former judge Emmanuel Vertilaire - are accused of abuse of office, bribery and corruption. They have all rejected the charges. Haiti's national palace had no immediate comment. The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The anti-corruption body, known as the ULCC, also accused local official Lonick Leandre, the alleged orchestrator of the bribery scandal, and Raoul Pascal Pierre-Louis, the then-chairman of the Banque Nationale de Credit, of involvement in the corruption case. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-anti-graft-investigators-accuse-top-ranking-officials-corruption-2024-10-02/
Pinned down in the investigation report of the Anti-Corruption Unit for their involvement in the BNC scandal, presidential advisers Louis Gérald Gilles and Emmanuel Vertilaire told the newspaper Le Nouvelliste that they do not intend to resign. In its investigation report on the BNC's 100 million gourde case, the ULCC maintains that there are grounds to prosecute advisors Louis Gérald Gilles, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Smith Augustin for abuse of office, payment of bribes and passive corruption. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/250652/affaire-cpt-bnc-ulcc-les-conseillers-gilles-et-vertilaire-affirment-quils-ne-demissionneront-pas
Threats against Haitian journalist who reported on Reuters reporter’s gifts to notorious gang leader
The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed by threats made against journalist Widlore Mérancourt by Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier over his article about a Reuters journalist giving Cherizier gifts of balaclavas, alcohol, and cigarettes.
“We are very concerned about the threats made against AyiboPost’s editor-in-chief Widlore Mérancourt by the Haitian gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Haitian journalists are already working in unimaginably difficult conditions. They should not be intimidated simply for doing their jobs and covering matters of public importance.” Mérancourt, who is also a contributor to the Washington Post, told CPJ that he feared for his safety and urged the Haitian government and its international partners “to protect all journalists in Haiti, end the culture of impunity, and ensure that those responsible for wrongdoing are held accountable.” https://cpj.org/2024/09/haitian-journalist-threatened-over-article-about-reuters-reporters-gifts-to-gang-leader/
Holiday Inn part of properties to be used to house public institutions
A public hearing on the Order declaring certain properties located in the Champs de Mars area to be of public utility was held this week at the Marriott Hotel. This public hearing conducted by the Permanent Committee for Amicable Acquisition (CPA) is part of the procedure provided for in the decree of September 5, 1979 relating to Expropriation for public utility.
These properties, including the Plaza Hotel, will be used to relocate the Court of First Instance of Port-au-Prince including the Prosecutor's Office near said court, the Court of Appeal of Port-au-Prince, the Prosecutor's Office of said Court, the Bar of Port-au-Prince and also the Penal Reform Commission as well as the Steering Committee of the National Conference and the Constitutional Question. This relocation will promote effective access to justice, stressed Me Carlos Hercule, Minister of Justice and Public Security.
An Unnatural Disaster: Canaan
One of the world’s newest cities, Canaan emerged from the rubble of an apocalyptic earthquake and the long, slow collapse of Haiti’s government. Now, on the edge of survival, its citizens are trapped, fighting to reclaim their lives. A deep dive, meticulously reported with stunning original photography. https://haiti.longlead.com/
ANALYSIS/OPINION
Trump is picking on Haitians for a reason: The Republican ticket's fixation on migrants in Springfield is no accident.
By Pooja Bhatia in The New Statesman
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say, and just as in English, Haitian Kreyòl is rich in proverbs and idioms about our four-legged friends. The one I’ve been thinking about this month, as Donald Trump and his toady JD Vance have weaponised heinous disinformation against Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, translates as, “If you want to kill a dog, say it has rabies.”
The idea goes some way towards explaining the Republicans’ strategy this election season: if you want to deport innocents en masse, which they do, say those innocents are savages, beyond civilisation’s reach. Claim they are spreading infectious diseases, taking the jobs and benefits meant for legitimate residents, driving down wages and generally steering our Small-Town USAs into penury and disgrace. Call them illegal aliens who are invading the nation, casting fraudulent ballots and poisoning its blood. If none of that works, say they cannot distinguish pets from food.
None of this is true, of course. The vast majority of Haitians in Springfield, whose numbers range from 12,000 to 15,000, reside there legally. They have fled political violence and a state breakdown that is, ironically, at least partly the result of American meddling and subversion of their own democracy. The US intervened in Haiti’s pivotal post-quake election of 2010, all but handing the presidency to Michel Martelly; and then looked away as he and his coterie in the Parti Haitien Tet Kale (PHTK) spent the next decade pillaging coffers, and arming gangs to squash those who objected. In April 2024, the US sanctioned Martelly for facilitating drug trafficking and sponsoring gangs.
https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/09/trump-vance-haitians-springfield-ohio
Hate against Haitian immigrants ignores how US politics pushed them here
As Haitians become a pawn in another U.S. election, it’s easy to forget about the real people caught in the middle. Here's the truth about Haiti's history and ongoing fight for the future.
By Régine Théodat in USA Today
As Haitians find themselves at the center of yet another political firestorm, a pawn in another U.S. election cycle, it’s easy for some in the United States to forget about the real people caught in the middle. The political back-and-forth might lead those unfamiliar with Haiti's struggle to wrongly assume that Haitians are incapable of being at the center of their self-determination, as if today’s Haitians are somehow different from those who rose up in 1791, fought their enslavers and liberated themselves in 1804 to create the first free Black republic.
A new documentary, "The Fight for Haiti," shows how untrue that is. Anti-immigrant rhetoric ignores key factors that brought us here. Ironically, the most recent anti-corruption movement was dismantled by Jovenel Moïse, a president backed by both the Trump and Biden administrations.
I Was Born and Raised in Haiti. Rhetoric Like Trump's Leads to Dark Places
By Michel DeGraff in Newsweek
"Onè" is a Haitian Creole greeting meaning "honor." By saying "Onè!" I honor you as my interlocutor, and I honor your family, your ancestors and your community. In Haiti, the response to my "Onè!" would be: "Respè!"—indicating mutual respect.
Haiti deserves honor and respect for its unique history of freedom struggle—a gift to the world. But the country where I was born and raised, and Haitians in the United States, are often in the news for all the wrong reasons. Today, it's Donald Trump and J.D. Vance's canard about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio.