Journal of Haiti and the Americas

Insecurity in Haiti: the nation is fed up

Audio 7:30 p.m.

Demonstration against insecurity and violence at the airport, Les Cayes (Haiti), March 29, 2022. © John Cadafy Noel/AP

By: Mikaël Ponge Follow |

Mikael Ponge Follow

3 mins

They were thousands gathered, this March 29, 2022, in the streets of Port-au-Prince, where for the occasion the activities were at a standstill, and the schools closed.

A mobilization to say stop to the insecurity and the kidnappings which paralyze and terrorize an entire population.

On the placards and the banners of the messages to denounce the inaction of the government of Ariel Henry.

Advertising

Whether it is the government or the forces of order, the slogans against passivity in the face of armed gangs resounded for hours along the main arteries of the Haitian capital.

Criticized for their absence in the neighborhoods controlled by the gangs, these police forces were present to supervise the peaceful march: many police officers from specialized units followed the crowd, preventing it from leaving the authorized route.

“The demonstration passed off peacefully.

There were protesters with different opinions, but they marched together under the watchful eye of the police who did a professional job”

, according to the head of the Collective 4 December, Jean Robert Argant, who had called for mobilization.

In Les Cayes, on the other hand, the day was tense and incidents took place at the airport.

The demonstrators attacked a small plane which was set on fire.

The number of flights landing and taking off from the country's third largest city has increased dramatically since June, when gangs controlled the only road that connects Port-au-Prince to the southern half of Haiti.

To avoid risking their lives crossing the Martissant district, on the outskirts of the capital, those who can afford it travel by air.

At over $200 round trip, it's obviously an alternative that only a tiny minority of people in Haiti can afford.

March 30, International Domestic Workers Day in the Caribbean

March 30 in America and the Caribbean is International Domestic Workers Day.

A day of struggle to promote these often difficult jobs and defend their rights.

In Mexico, more than 2.5 million people work as domestic workers.

More than 9 out of 10 of them are women.

With the pandemic more than ever and the introduction of health measures, working as a housekeeper or carer is often a painful activity.

It is often poorly paid and particularly vulnerable, as it is almost always practiced informally.

98% of domestic workers in Mexico have no work contract or social security.

A precariousness that pushes employees into untenable situations.

But on the occasion of this day dedicated to them,

women come together and mobilize to improve their living conditions.

A signed file

Gwendolina Duval.

The state of emergency worries in El Salvador

On March 27, 2022, after several days of violence led by the country's gangs, a state of emergency was declared in El Salvador, conferring exceptional powers, limited in time, to President Nayib Bukele.

Since then, the head of state has notably promised to make the gang members who are imprisoned pay the price for this violence.

The director of the penitentiary centers thus ordered to give only two food rations to the prisoners.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has called on El Salvador to curb prison measures.

The United Nations asks the State to respect international standards.

And prisons are far from being the only place of concern in terms of human rights.

Several human rights specialists

man describe the situation of terror in which these children always come from the lowest social class.

Some are even forced to undress in front of the police.

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Haiti

  • Employment and Labor

  • Mexico

  • salvador

  • Nayib Bukele

  • Justice

On the same subject

Journal of Haiti and the Americas

Haiti: great march in Port-au-Prince against insecurity

In Peru, a small victory for domestic workers

El Salvador: President threatens to make detainees 'pay' if gangs don't stop violence