"Bandits have free rein," headlined on the front page, March 3, 2023, Le Nouvelliste, Haiti's oldest newspaper. The article refers to the report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published the same day, which denounces the increase in urban violence suffered by millions of Haitians, due to the influence of armed gangs. "Haiti is plagued by multiple, interrelated and cascading crises," reads the front page.
Walking the streets of Port-au-Prince is a risk in itself. On many arteries, including the main ones, there are illegal stalls controlled by gangs that de facto impose their law. To this landscape of desolation are added the drama of kidnappings, reported daily by the local media, and that of migration, which is slowed down only by the difficulty of obtaining a passport.
Food insecurity
Dadi, a street vendor, spends her day around her pots full of pea sauce (a typical regional dish made with beans and rice) and chicken (the cheapest protein, because it does not come from abroad) that she prepares every day. Its customers consume less and less due to rising prices (47% inflation in 2022). The mother of two assures that "it is the cheapest I can prepare". "Not many people can afford it," she adds.
A police check in Port-au-Prince. © Herminia Fernández
In Haiti, food is scarce and clean water is a vital resource that is lacking for a large part of the population, especially those besieged in the neighborhoods most controlled by gangs. In October 2022, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned of the serious humanitarian crisis affecting more than 4.7 million Haitians.
Urban violence
Jesumène René, a mother of three, works as a domestic worker. His income allows him to pay for a 16-square-metre room in a neighbourhood where the influence of gangs is not yet evident. She admits that "when they (her children) grow up, I don't know if they will want to leave the country, I don't know... I don't see what their future will be." According to Human Rights Watch, 150,000 Haitians have been displaced by urban violence in the country. Moreover, according to International Focus Group, gang influence has been on the rise since 2021, even before the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The inhabitants of Delmas in Port-au-Prince are trying to evade the law of armed gangs. © Herminia Fernández
Since then, the country has changed dramatically. Getting around without the help of an armored car and a private security service is impossible, both for the few businessmen who remained in Haiti, and for our team of journalists. On several occasions, we have been able to observe "checkpoints" set up by criminal gangs.
Barricading yourself
Jean-Marc Nouaisser, a Franco-Moroccan trader, imports food into the country. To continue living in the capital, he built a veritable fortress around the warehouses where he stores fish and other food. Protected by heavily armed guards, high walls, barbed wire and a strict protocol to avoid theft, the businessman also explains that police must escort the company's 30 delivery trucks.
He himself lives in his warehouses to reduce the risk of moving around the city. Similar precautions are taken by hotels that close before dark and have built barriers, fences and concrete walls around their premises to prevent assaults and abductions.
Gangs take control of Port-au-Prince
During the filming of this report, during the first week of February, the France 24 team found that gangs controlled between 40% and 60% of the territory of Port-au-Prince. Nearly a month later, the gangs completely control the city. "Today, Haiti's capital is 100 percent controlled by armed gangs," Rosy Ducena of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights told RFI. This rise in violence aims, according to her, to "increase pressure on the international community to encourage international intervention".
A sign in French and Creole at the entrance of a hotel in Port-au-Prince. © Herminia Fernández
By November 2022, a team of France 24 Observers had found that more than 150 gangs were active in the country. Benoit Vasseur, head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières in Haiti, says their work is becoming increasingly difficult. This medical mission, present on the island for three decades, focuses on medical support to the most disadvantaged populations. "We have great acceptance among the population, we treat everyone. The community in which we work guarantees our safety and respect for our business."
>> Watch: Haiti: in the hell of gangs, the investigation of the Observers of France 24
MSF medical centres, located in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of the capital, have been the scene of violent incidents since 2022. "On August 15, 2022, a patient from one of the hospitals we manage in the Carrefour district was coldly executed outside the hospital. This was repeated during the last week of January 2023." The Head of Mission recalls that the health system is in crisis, due to the lack of financial resources, the destruction related to the earthquake of 2021 and the human exodus of health professionals.
Leaving at all costs
The cultural sector has also been hit hard by the crisis. Lyonel Trouillot, novelist and poet, hosts a weekly radio show, one of the few cultural spaces in the country. "It's essential to have this type of show, because that's where the Haitian discourse really circulates about what we want to do with this country. We have this government, which is difficult to call a government, which has no legitimacy and which, without being able to convince anyone in Haiti, needs a foreign force to legitimize its existence," said Lyonel Trouillot.
The France 24 team also observed long lines outside the immigration building of desperate Haitians applying for passports. Most of them prefer not to talk to the camera, they don't feel comfortable. "They come to show our misfortune," cries a man as he covers his face. These queues have been growing since US President Joe Biden decided to include Haitians in an expedited immigration procedure so they can reach North America through "safe routes".
No solution to the Haitian crisis is on the horizon. An international military intervention arouses resistance from the local population, as previous military missions in the country have not left lasting memories. Many are calling for a local solution. However, in the absence of short-term parliamentary and presidential elections, the country's democratic political system appears irreparably weakened.
This article was translated from Spanish with the help of the DeepL machine translation service by David Gormezano. Find the original here
The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app