Haiti Report, September 3, 2024
A compilation of news about Haiti from the past week.
US Government restarts parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua
The Biden administration has relaunched a humanitarian parole program for Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti and has strengthened the process’ security measures after the government found some fraudulent applications. The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it would restart approving travel documents so people from the four countries could fly here as part of the process, which allows migrants to live and work in the United States as long as they have a financial sponsor and pass background checks. The federal government had temporarily halted the program several weeks ago because some sponsorship applications had raised alarms that they could be fraudulent. Now, the U.S.-based sponsors will have to submit fingerprints, and could also be subject to additional screening of their financial and criminal histories. The agency will also carry out “bolstered review methods” to identify supporters who file applications en masse. “Together with our existing rigorous vetting of potential beneficiaries seeking to travel to the United States, these new procedures for supporters have strengthened the integrity of these processes and will help protect against exploitation of beneficiaries,” said a spokesperson for DHS.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article291662210.html#storylink=cpy https://www.uscis.gov/CHNV
Equipment from CNE being transferred to the Haitian Armed Forces and State of Emergency extended to nationwide
On Monday, September 2, 2024, during a Cabinet meeting, the government and the Presidential Transition Council (CPT) decided to dissolve the National Equipment Center (CNE) and transfer all equipment to the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H). The meeting also provided an opportunity to extend the state of emergency nationwide and discuss a potential fourteenth month of salary for public administration employees, among other issues. In a conversation with Le Nouvelliste on Monday evening, a CPT member explained the decisions made during the meeting. “We issued a decree concerning the CNE and transferred all materials, equipment, movable and immovable property of the National Equipment Center to the FAd’H,” they said. A government official clarified that this decision aims to strengthen the Armed Forces. “CNE employees will be reassigned to the Ministries of Public Works and Defense according to their skills,” the official said, suggesting that there would not be dismissals but rather an opportunity to regularize the employment status of CNE employees, most of whom lacked formal contracts. During the Cabinet meeting, the executive also decided to extend the state of emergency, initially limited to communes in the West and Artibonite departments, to cover the entire national territory. According to a government member, this extension will facilitate nationwide decisions rather than being restricted to two departments.
Prime Minister Gary Conille stated: “I am happy to meet the general direction of the National Equipment Center #CNE after the council of ministers signed a decree for the material of this institution to be transferred to the Army of Haiti. Working personnel will not lose their jobs. A team will evaluate and regularize the employees either as contractual and civil servants in the Army, or in TPTC or other institutions in the State, or as soldiers according to their profile and their choices. All the materials will have #GPS to facilitate their localization, in order to work really for the service of the population.”
https://x.com/ConilleGarry/status/1830925344070672385
Prime Minister’s new office at the Haitian Army headquarters in Champ de Mars
Prime Minister Garry Conille is now based at the headquarters of the Haitian Armed Forces (FADH) in Champ de Mars. The head of government, who also serves as the Minister of the Interior, visited the FADH headquarters on Monday, August 26. According to a source close to the Prime Minister, the space will be adapted to serve as an annex to the Prime Minister's office in Champ de Mars. "The Prime Minister will now have two offices: one at the official residence and another at the headquarters. He will be able to hold meetings and receive visitors at both locations. He will spend more time in Champ de Mars than in Musseau," the source said, adding that this decision is part of a strategy to reclaim administrative space in downtown Port-au-Prince.
According to the contact, the Champ de Mars office will enable Garry Conille to work effectively both as Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. "Joint PNH/FADH meetings will take place in this new office, as will the meetings of the CSPN," the source clarified. Since February 29, Champ de Mars has been transformed into a battleground between law enforcement and the criminals of the "Viv ansanm" coalition. Since then, various institutions, including the Court of Auditors, the Ministry of the Interior, the Court of Cassation, and the presidency, have fled the area. During a visit to the North last week, Garry Conille promised to facilitate a gradual return of these institutions to their respective buildings.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/249888/garry-conille-relocates-to-champ-de-mars
Lack of job options leave young Haitians eager to become soldiers in Haitian Army
Thousands of young Haitians are jumping at the chance to become soldiers as widespread gang violence creates a rare job opportunity in a deeply impoverished country where work is scarce. Brushing aside the possibility they could be kidnapped, tortured or killed, Haiti’s youngest generation is answering the call of a government seeking to rebuild a once deeply reviled military, reinstated just years ago with the aim to crush gangs. Haiti’s government has not said how many soldiers it aims to hire nor how many have applied so far, but documents published online by the Defense Ministry show that at least 3,000 people were selected in mid-August and asked to submit documents as they await physical and mental tests. If all were hired, that would more than double the 2,000-strong force of early last year. About 60% of Haiti’s nearly 12 million people earn less than $2 a day, with inflation soaring to double digits in recent years.
Haiti’s armed forces were once widely feared and hated, with soldiers accused of horrific human rights abuses. The military organized several coups in the second half of the 20th century, even after so-called dictator for life Francois Duvalier diluted its strength. After the last coup, to oust former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991, the government disbanded the armed forces in 1995. At the time, there were about 7,000 soldiers. After the army was disbanded, the government created the Haitian National Police and the coast guard, which were bolstered by the arrival of United Nations troops. Once the U.N. ended its peacekeeping operations, the army was reinstated in 2017 by President Jovenel Moise, who was assassinated in July 2021. Newly appointed Prime Minister Garry Conille has warned that the armed forces face “colossal challenges” even as he pledged to modernize the military and invest in communication and surveillance technologies. He also said he would improve military infrastructure, housing and healthcare for soldiers and their families.
The military is expected to work with the police and a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya, which has sent about 400 police officers to Haiti so far to help quell gang violence. More police and soldiers from countries including Benin, Chad and Jamaica also are expected to arrive in coming months for a total of 2,500 foreign personnel.
Police report progress in reclaiming territory from armed groups in PAP
Agents from various specialized police units, accompanied by soldiers from the Haitian Armed Forces and officers from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM), have been active on multiple fronts for a week to track down bandits and reclaim territory under their control. Operations are ongoing in areas including lower Delmas, Bel-Air, Fort-National, and Solino, confirmed police spokesperson Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune during a press briefing on Monday, September 2, 2024.
Spokesperson Louis-Jeune, who was unable to provide a detailed casualty report, stated that several bandits have been killed in exchanges of gunfire with law enforcement. Multiple firearms have been recovered, and numerous arrests have been made, according to the spokesperson.
Various areas controlled by bandits have been liberated, including parts of Fort-National and other public and private spaces used as hideouts by bandits, continued Commissioner Louis-Jeune. He noted that traffic in lower Delmas is cautiously resuming.
“The public should know that the operation is progressing well so far. The law enforcement agencies are making proper use of all equipment involved in the operation,” remarked Louis-Jeune, who elaborated on the operation’s goal: to reclaim areas occupied by bandits for over three years and eliminate their threat to ensure the free movement of people and goods in these areas. “There is a synergy among these three entities (PNH, FAd’H, MSSM) to carry out the operation. They are actively engaged on the ground. The operation is still ongoing and will involve a series of large-scale actions,” said spokesperson Louis-Jeune, providing an update on the operation, which has been underway for seven days. Louis-Jeune assured the public that law enforcement is not only liberating these areas but also securing them to prevent bandits from returning and continuing to harm the population.
Taiwan delivers protective equipment to Haiti security forces
Taiwan's embassy in Haiti on Thursday presented Haiti's national police and army with protective equipment such as helmets, tactical kneepads, eye protectors and bulletproof vests, to support their fight against powerful gangs. Haiti's prime minister's office said 400 individual kits had been delivered, making a total of 800 kits from Taiwan in two years. "This donation is not only a material contribution; it also reflects a sincere and lasting friendship between Haiti and Taiwan," Prime Minister Garry Conille said in a statement.
https://www.reuters.com/world/taiwan-delivers-protective-equipment-haiti-security-forces-2024-08-29/
Houses in Carrefour Feuilles being looted in the night
Nighttime group burglaries in residential areas have been increasing recently in several parts of Morne-à-Tuffe, particularly in the Bas-Peu-de-chose neighborhood, according to residents interviewed by Le Nouvelliste on Monday, September 2, 2024. “The modus operandi is consistent across reported incidents. The bandits shoot before breaking into homes they have previously targeted. They operate in groups of up to twenty individuals, with some reports indicating that women are among these groups conducting the burglaries,” sources disclosed.
Both occupied and abandoned homes—particularly those affected by recent violence in Carrefour-Feuilles—have been ransacked, the sources continued. “One group spent nearly three hours looting a house on Rue Roy from Friday night into Saturday morning,” one source recounted. “It’s terrifying to know that your street or home could be the next target,” said one resident, calling for increased “night patrols by the National Police of Haiti (PNH).”
UN Security Council Haiti Monthly Forecast, September 2024
In September, the Security Council may renew the authorisation of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti, which resolution 2699 of 2 October 2023 authorised for an initial period of 12 months to help Haitian authorities re-establish security in the country and build conditions conducive to holding free and fair elections. The Council is expected to retain the mission’s core mandate, which is to support the HNP’s efforts to build security conditions conducive to holding elections by providing operational support and securing critical infrastructure.
Regarding the mission’s resource shortfall, the Council is likely to maintain the mission’s voluntary funding model, but it may reiterate its call for additional contributions from the international community. In this regard, Council members could encourage countries and regional organisations to consider specific initiatives to enhance their support, such as a pledging conference. Additionally, Council members could request the mission to expedite efforts to establish a functioning compliance mechanism to prevent human rights violations. Members may also request the UN to enhance its substantive and technical support to the mission in this regard and report on progress achieved towards making such a mechanism operational.
Some Council members have expressed scepticism about the MSS mission, however. Russia has criticised a provision of the CARICOM-brokered agreement on Haiti’s transitional governance structure that required members of the TPC to support the MSS mission, which Moscow has described as interference in Haiti’s domestic affairs. Additionally, both China and Russia have questioned the lack of operational detail from the mission and whether conditions are conducive to its success in light of Haiti’s persistent political instability. During the negotiations on resolution 2743, the two members apparently sought to limit references to the MSS mission, arguing that BINUH’s mandate should not pre-empt separate Council discussion on the renewal of the MSS mission’s authorisation.
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2024-09/haiti-26.php
Is the Kenyan-led police mission helping Haiti?
Two months have passed since the arrival of 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti, as part of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission approved by the UN to help restore security. But Haitians have seen little improvement in their daily life, and gangs continue to control large swathes of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and of the neighbouring Ouest and Artibonite departments. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and live in precarious conditions in displacement camps.
A recent Mercy Corps report shows that displacement in Haiti is very likely to rise as conflict escalates between police, international troops, and gangs, further complicating humanitarian access to those in need. Largely financed by the United States, it is hoped that the MSS could one day number up to 2,500 police and security personnel from several countries, but so far the small Kenyan contingent currently deployed says it lacks the firepower and equipment to efficiently fight the gangs. A trust fund was set up by the UN to receive donations from country members of the UN Security Council, but funds have been slow to arrive. Both the Kenyan police officers deployed and their families have reported delays in the payments promised to them.
Haitian photographer Clarens Siffroy has covered Haiti's crisis for months. In this video, which includes photos of his reporting trips to gang-controlled areas of downtown Port-au-Prince as well as a displacement camp called Rex Théâtre, he tells us what life is like for Haitians today.
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/video/2024/08/28/kenya-led-police-mission-helping-haiti
Artibonite region under gang control despite state of emergency
Gangs are intensifying attacks in Artibonite more than a month after the government decreed a state of security emergency for that department and other areas of the country affected by violence. The police are asking for resources and reinforcements to intervene. “We have plans, but we are unable to implement them,” the departmental director of the police, Paul Ménard Jean-Louis, told AyiboPost. The divisional commissioner complains of a lack of “change” since the announcement of Prime Minister Gary Conille’s administration. Gangs are increasing their assault on the population, but the police are waiting for “new equipment,” Jean-Louis continues. “It’s still the same number of people for an area supposedly in a state of emergency,” laments another departmental police executive.
https://ayibopost.com/police-officers-in-artibonite-appeal-for-help/
The kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl has sparked chaos, death, and destruction in rural Gros-Morne, with the Kokorat Sans Ras gang reportedly killing at least 10 people, setting homes and farms ablaze, and forcing many families to flee. The violence began on Friday, Aug. 23, when heavily armed gangs on motorcycles stormed Canifice, a locality in Rivière-Blanche, Gros-Morne, approximately 18 miles north of Gonaïves. The attack was reportedly a retaliation against the community for pointing fingers at the gang, implicating it in the kidnapping and sequestration of the young girl, for the release of whom a $50,000 ransom has been demanded. Kokorat San Ras gang leaders have denied involvement and launched their fury on residents. Local media reported that six people were killed between Friday and Saturday, with four more on Tuesday.
The arrival of gang groups like Kokorat San Ras and Gran Grif has heightened insecurity in the Artibonite regions, leading to numerous attacks on rural communities. In mid-June, an attack in Terre-Neuve and Gros-Morne left 10 dead and at least 20 houses burned. The affected families in Lagon and Grande Plaine—Savanne Carrée communities are still mourning their loved ones and pleading with the Haitian authorities for justice.
Mayor Sénéac described residents as living in constant fear and urgently called for enhanced security measures and increased local police presence in the region. “Despite efforts by the Departmental Director of the National Police, Jean Louis Paul Ménard, to secure more regional resources, the Gros-Morne municipality remains largely underserved,” Sénéac said. “A commune of nearly 160,000 inhabitants does not even have 15 on-duty police officers. We are left at the mercy of the gangs. This is a travesty of catastrophic proportion.” https://haitiantimes.com/2024/08/28/gros-morne-artibonite-gang-attack/
Human rights and civic groups call for independent investigation in Saint Marc prison deaths
Various human rights organizations and civic groups have expressed serious concerns about the tragic events that occurred at the Saint-Marc Civil Prison on Friday, August 16, 2024, as reported by local authorities. They are calling for an independent investigative commission. Official reports from the municipal security council, which includes interim executive officers, the deputy of the arrondissement, the government commissioner, and the chief of police, describe the events as "a collective rebellion by inmates in cells 6 and 7 around 7 a.m., leading to a general mutiny in which 2 police officers were injured, 6 prisoners were wounded, 15 were killed, and 10 others escaped."
According to the council, all facilities of the prison, including the post chief's office, archives, administration, infirmary, laboratory, food storage, kitchen, and the guards' dormitory, were "set on fire by the inmates." The bodies of the deceased prisoners were buried in a mass grave shortly after the incident, without identification and without informing their families. Two weeks later, no report has yet been submitted to the Saint-Marc First Instance Court, according to the court registry, raising suspicions and doubts. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/249958/organizations-urge-the-establishment-of-an-independent-inquiry-commission-for-saint-marc-prison-riots
Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) not established by deadline
The deadline for sectors to appoint representatives to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) expired on Aug. 26. As of August 30, the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) has only received representatives from three out of the nine sectors involved in the process, under the decree of May 27, 2024. Most of the actors have yet to reach a compromise for selecting their representatives. Only three of the nine sectors—Vodou, Episcopal Conference, reformed cults, Haitian University Council, human rights organizations, journalists’ associations, women’s rights associations, farmers’ associations, and the trade union sector—have named their representatives.
The first three known members of the CEP include Jacques Desrosiers for journalists’ associations, Marie Florence Mahieu for the Haitian University Council, and Patrick Saint-Hilaire for the Episcopal Conference. The CEP should comprise nine members representing an equal number of civil society sectors. https://haitiantimes.com/2024/08/30/struggles-to-appoint-representatives-delay-cep-formation/
Steering Committee to revise Constitution & develop new societal framework established
The Steering Committee for the National Conference, established on Friday, August 23, by the Presidential Council, represents the second establishment by the CPT following the government as part of the April 3 agreement. The main tasks for the Steering Committee over the next three months include: revising the current Constitution; developing a new societal framework for Haiti; establishing new relationships between the state and society, including civil society and political parties; and implementing major reforms in the legal and political system.
The President of the Steering Committee, former Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles, reminded that the committee will work on a new societal framework, the revision of the country's Constitution, and proposals for decrees to implement the Constitution. The former head of government under the transition led by Jocelerme Privert announced the creation of three working groups to support the committee in its mission. The members of the Steering Committee for the National Conference were appointed by decree on July 25, 2024. The committee includes Mr. Enex Jean-Charles as President; Mr. Joram Vixamar, member; Mr. Amary Joseph Noël, member; Mr. Pierre Antoine Louis, member; Ms. Norah Jean François, member; Ms. Widline Pierre, member; Mr. Gédéon Charles, member; and Ms. Christine Stephenson, member. The latter had declined her appointment.
New online platform for public administration management
Prime Minister Garry Conille launched an online platform on the "modernization of the management of contract agents in the public administration" on Monday, September 2, 2024. The launch ceremony, held at the Karibe Hotel, brought together government ministers, general managers and public administration executives. This online platform, according to the Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Office, Camille Junior Edouard, is a "significant step" towards achieving the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and sanitation of public institutions.
This digital platform will serve as a catalyst for state reform with a view to facilitating the recruitment and management of contract agents, improving the efficiency of the internal functioning of databases, the performance of the public service offered and the effectiveness of the digital public administration policy," declared Mr. Edouard. This new platform will, among other things, make it possible to inventory the contract agents of the Public Administration. Those for the 2023-2024 financial year will be able to register and inform of their availability. In addition, it will facilitate the renewal of the executives that the system needs and thus combat corruption.
Deadlock in the Presidential Council in corruption scandal
After the attempt to establish the Indissoluble Majority Bloc within the Transitional Presidential Council and its initial attempt to unilaterally appoint a prime minister at the very start of this transition, there were voices raised against what was perceived as a power grab. Following discussions, the Transitional Presidential Council amended the rules for a majority within the council, increasing the requirement from 4 out of 7 to 5 out of 7 votes. It was believed that this supermajority would protect the country from any potential seizure of power. However, just a few months later, a new issue has emerged: blockage.
According to sources within the Transitional Presidential Council who spoke to Le Nouvelliste, the council members are now unable to sanction or remove the three council members accused of corruption. There isn't a majority to enforce the decision. Those who thought that a 5 out of 7 majority would safeguard the Transitional Presidential Council failed to consider the influence of a blocking minority of 3 out of 7, which has proven to be just as powerful.
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/249980/blinken-arrives-amidst-cpt-blockage
Save the Children Haitian staffer speaks about current crisis
Anderson works with Save the Children in Haiti, with two decades of experience working with humanitarian organisations. He has responded to both the 2010 earthquake and the recent surge in armed violence. Anderson has witnessed the kidnapping of four people close to him and was forced to relocate his family in Port-au-Prince last month as armed groups advanced on their neighbourhood. “It’s been six months since a surge of armed violence paralyzed Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to a dire humanitarian crisis that has spiralled out of control. This year alone, about 600,000 people—most of them children—have been forced from their homes. Hunger has reached record levels, sexual violence is rampant, and I’ve never felt more powerless in my own country.”
“After 17 years as a humanitarian worker in Haiti—including during the 2010 earthquake—I thought I had seen the worst. But nothing could have prepared me for the level of desperation that now grips my country. The crises plaguing our country today will persist for decades without meaningful change—without the world recognising Haiti’s potential and supporting our nation to rebuild rather than just survive another day. Only then can we offer both current and future generations of children a genuine chance to reclaim their future and break this cycle of violence and suffering. It's a call for help from all Haitians, especially from children to the rest of the world and our leaders to invest in real change. The current situation cannot continue this way.”
https://www.savethechildren.net/blog/haiti-staff-account-powerless-in-my-own-country
Haiti Violence Against Health Care in Conflict 2023
The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) identified 40 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Haiti in 2023 and nine in 2022, compared to 15 in 2021, when the last SHCC report chapter on Haiti was published.1 In these 40 incidents, at least 33 health workers were kidnapped and health facilities were forcibly entered on eight separate occasions. This factsheet is based on the dataset 2022-2023 HTI SHCC Health Care Data, which is available for download on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).
https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-violence-against-health-care-conflict-2023
People displaced from PAP transforming communities in the South
Unrelenting gang warfare in Port-au-Prince is fueling an exodus of people from Haiti’s capital, overwhelming already impoverished cities and towns and sparking fears that the gangs will follow. More than 578,000 Haitians, or 5 percent of the population, have fled their homes since 2021, according to the U.N. migration agency. The number jumped 60 percent from March through May this year alone, the International Organization for Migration reported, as heavily armed paramilitary gangs attacked the international airport and the main seaport, busted prisons open and rampaged through the capital. With the Dominican border closed to Haitians and regional neighbors intercepting boats, the vast majority of people fleeing the mayhem in Port-au-Prince are heading for the south, where they are cramming in with relatives or strangers. Their arrival is transforming communities that have been suffering their own crises. A new school year — delayed a month by security concerns — begins in October with shortages of teachers and classrooms. Health care, water and waste systems, already under strain, are struggling with the new burden.
“People are relying on solidarity, receiving neighbors,” said Claire Daphné France, mayor of the southern city of Les Cayes. “But this complicates their lives. We already had a population problem, but now all our problems are multiplied by four.” France estimates that the port city of 125,000, a top destination for the displaced, is now hosting at least another 30,000. As a result, she said, Les Cayes and the surrounding area is seeing more “cases of insecurity and violence,” raising concern that the capital’s gang violence is metastasizing. “We have a lot of children on the streets,” she told The Washington Post. “Many come from gang-controlled areas and did not arrive with their parents. … Many are in transit, and I’m afraid they’ll become gang members without proper guidance.” U.N. humanitarian official Edem Wosornu said she was moved during a July visit “by the generosity of the Haitian people who are splitting and sharing their bread — literally.” Still, she said, local officials stressed to her that they “cannot deal with this level of crisis.”
It is unclear how many of the displaced people will eventually return home. “Many people who left won’t come back because what they saw, what they lived through, what they experienced was beyond imagination,” said Daniele Febei, the International Organization for Migration’s emergency response director in Haiti. Others “consider their stay in the provinces temporary” because they believe they can better earn their livings in Port-au-Prince. Roughly half of the internally displaced people in Haiti are children, according to UNICEF’s top official here, and most of them are school age. That’s putting additional stress on an education system already under strain.
In southern Haiti, many of the schools that were destroyed by the 2022 earthquake have not been rebuilt. Bruno Maes, the UNICEF representative here, estimates that 30 percent of Haiti’s educators left the country under a Biden administration humanitarian parole program. Now schools are ill-prepared to accommodate the influx of new students or to support those who will arrive with deep trauma, he said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/01/haiti-internally-displaced-people-gang-violence/
Amnesty International calls on DR President to end discriminatory policies
Amnesty International is urgently calling on President Luis Abinader to take immediate and effective action to eliminate structural racism and racial discrimination in his policies and migration operations. AI has documented numerous human rights violations, including mass expulsions, arbitrary detentions, and excessive use of force, which severely impact both people on the move and nationals, including children and pregnant women.
After the press release, the Vice President of the Dominican Republic made a pronouncement denying the existence of racism in migration policies, arguing that collective deportations are intended to protect state sovereignty, and denying human rights violations. In response to this, Amnesty International issued a media quote calling on the Dominican government to act according to its international responsibilities in light of the overwhelming evidence of human rights violations and racial discrimination.
Amnesty International published a video that highlights these concerns and shows the inhumane conditions many people face during migration operations. This video has been verified by Amnesty International's Evidence Lab and provides a stark look at the realities these racist policies create for those affected. We encourage you to watch and share the video on social media to help amplify this important message.
Press release (English) (French) (Spanish) (Haitian Creole attach)
Media quote (English) (French) (Spanish) (Haitian Creole attach)
Impacts of blocked roads from the capital to the north and south
Traveling from Port-au-Prince to Gonaïves by land now takes more than 24 hours due to the situation on the Nationale #1, which is controlled by bandits. This control makes the journey extremely difficult and dangerous. To get around this threat, travelers must take the St-Michel road, but during the rainy season, the road to Saint-Michel-de-l'Attalaye, already in poor condition, becomes impassable, making the journey even more arduous. Despite this critical situation, the authorities have taken no corrective measures and prefer to use the air route to travel to the Artibonite and the North, as the de facto Prime Minister, Garry Conille, recently did. https://x.com/Radio_Metronome/status/1828379013204557909
For a few days now, the public markets of the southern metropolis have been welcoming more buyers with a considerable drop observed in the prices of basic necessities, particularly food products grown in the region. Indeed, food items such as bananas, potatoes, yams, lam veritab, fruits, beans, vegetables, meat from livestock and poultry, in more than sufficient quantities, are purchased at very advantageous prices for consumers and local households.
This phenomenon is explained by the climate of insecurity experienced by users of national road #2, particularly passengers of public transport vehicles connecting the South and the capital of Haiti carrying goods and their owners. The latter are forced to pay smugglers established in several improvised toll booths installed at the southern entrance to Port-au-Prince. Paying does not exempt travelers from suffering mistreatment from members of various gangs who take advantage of the absence of the State to impose their will on our roads.
Astrel Joseph, in an intervention on Magik9 (100.9 fm), explains this situation by the negligence and reluctance of the State to build transport infrastructures, such as roads, ports and airports, to connect the regions with each other. "Due to the problem of insecurity that cuts the regions off from Port-au-Prince, the capital, which is the largest market where agricultural producers can sell livestock or agricultural products such as rice, pineapple, banana fig, potato, etc., for a few weeks now, they have not been able to make this journey," he noted. Unable to travel to Port-au-Prince, these producers can only sell their products on local markets where prices are significantly lower. According to Mr. Joseph, a pineapple that sold for a thousand gourdes in Les Cayes a few months ago is now sold for two hundred gourdes, because there are no other markets available where the seller can sell his products.
If the surplus of food products in the South is currently beneficial to consumers and households, on the other hand, observers fear very negative repercussions on future productions, because, by selling their products at a low price today in order to survive, producers, who are experiencing a fairly clear deficit on their current sales, will find themselves unable to ensure the next harvests given the exorbitant costs that this implies. According to him, the decapitalization of producers in the great South began with Hurricane Matthew. After this cyclone and the extensive damage it caused in the South, the Haitian state had produced documents to revive the economy of the great South, no follow-up has been done with these documents to this day. After the earthquake of August 14, 2021, it was the same thing. Add to that the insecurity that cuts us off from the Haitian capital. Thus, the economy becomes hyper-centralized. In order for traders in the South to be able to supply themselves, they must pay large sums of money to gangs and thus minimize their profits. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/249890/sur-disponibilite-de-produits-agricoles-dans-le-sud-lingenieur-astrel-joseph-prevoit-une-catastrophe
The Road To Seguin: Trading Gang Violence for Other Dangers: Photos
The road to Seguin attracts more and more passengers fleeing gang violence on National Route 2 linking Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes, but its deplorable condition poses many risks. In Kenscoff, a town perched 1,500 meters above Port-au-Prince, is a road that leads to Seguin – a small village of several thousand inhabitants located about three hours from Jacmel by motorbike – and almost half a day on foot.
But if Seguin is in the news, it is above all because it is the shortest passage that leads to the districts of Jacmel, Cayes-Jacmel, Marigot, etc… and to the Great South in general. This raised path crosses a mountain canyon to connect the West and South-East departments. Since the southern entrance to the capital has been under the total control of armed gangs, the road to Seguin has become increasingly popular. This traffic comes with its own risks: accidents are very frequent due to the deplorable state of the road. “We’ve lost count of the number of motorcycles that have crashed there or ended up at the bottom of the cliff,” Kendy, a motorcycle taxi driver who says he has been frequenting Seguin for two decades now.
https://ayibopost.com/the-road-to-seguin-trading-gang-violence-for-other-dangers-photos/
Women in Haiti’s Revolution
'In some cases, it was the women who were fiercest in the fight': The female freedom fighters of the Haitian Revolution
Contemporary paintings celebrate the brave women who fought fiercely alongside the men in the Haitian revolution of the 18th Century. How did they contribute, and why have their stories been buried for so long? There were also women who had key roles in the fight for Haiti's independence. Much of their history is unknown in the mainstream, or underrepresented and overlooked due to the lack of documentation and records of their activities. However the stories we do know of women including Sanité Bélair, Cécile Fatiman, Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére, Catherine Flon, Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture and more, detail their determination, bravery and dedication to the cause against all odds.
There's also a lack of visual evidence of these women. However, contemporary artists Richard Barbot and François Cauvin – both Haitian – have reimagined them, providing faces to the names. Cauvin's painting of Lamartiniére will be part of The Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition Resistance, Revolution and Reform: Cambridge and the Caribbean in the Age of Abolition in 2025. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240827-the-forgotten-female-freedom-fighters-of-the-haitian-revolution
ANALYSIS
Haiti’s Window of Opportunity: What It Will Take to Stop Gang Violence and Promote Stability
Authors RENATA SEGURA is Program Director for Latin America and Caribbean at International Crisis Group and DIEGO DA RIN is Analyst for Haiti at International Crisis Group.
In late July, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Haiti and sounded an upbeat note. “I do have a sense of hope,” she said at a press conference, citing the “many people here on the ground” who were “working every day to create a better future for the Haitian people.”
Thomas-Greenfield is right that, even amid all the chaos, there are reasons to be hopeful. The international police reinforcements have started to deploy. There is also change within Haiti’s government. After almost three years of deep political instability under the leadership of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry—seen by many Haitians as the prolongation of a corrupt system—Haiti now has a cross-party transitional presidential council, a new prime minister, and a full cabinet.
These steps toward more inclusive political leadership, combined with the first deployments of the MSS, have created a path toward stability. But the country still faces enormous challenges. Persistent gang violence, an understaffed and underequipped international mission, domestic political infighting, and corruption could destroy this path toward a better future. To prevent a setback and allow for some semblance of normality to return to Haiti, transitional officials must create a more permanent and stable governing arrangement. They need to quickly address corruption accusations. Haiti’s foreign allies, meanwhile, must step up their financial contributions to the MSS to give it a real chance against the gangs. The Haitian government could also consider creating ways for minors currently involved with organized crime to exit. And eventually, the country could consider negotiations that would help facilitate the gangs’ permanent demobilization.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/haiti/haitis-window-opportunity