Let us continue to pray and to help
Our much-talked-about Caribbean neighbour, Haiti, is going through an unprecedented crisis. Ariel Henry came to power in 2021 after the shocking assassination of the then Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse. With no national elections being held and very often requested, Prime Minister Henry was under increasing pressure to resign or hold elections. Violent protests from the people had signaled their fury, and the gangs were adamant that he must leave.
After an emergency Caricom meeting held in Jamaica on Monday, March 11 (the US, Canada, and France were amongst the attendees), it was announced that Prime Minister Henry had resigned and that a council would step in to oversee and assist with the transition to elections and a new presidency. The prime minister was denied entry while returning from Kenya, where he had gone to seek help from that nation’s prime minister, Raila Odinga, to send troops to help stabilise his country.
UNPRECEDENTED ACTS
Haiti is now in a state of anarchy, with the gangs doing something unprecedented—uniting to challenge Haiti’s elite, which once controlled them. The wealthy and often lighter-skinned elite of the country once financed and provided backing to the gangs. Now, the prestigious communities overlooking the capital have seen violence at their front doors. When gangs looted homes in the peaceful and upscale residential communities of Laboule and Thomassin, this prompted the residents to flee and call the radio stations, pleading for police intervention.
During the Duvalier dictatorship of the 1950s to the 1970s, Haiti saw the use of armed groups working on behalf of wealthy politicians to silence critics and dissidents. This entire situation only worsened when the Haitian military was disbanded in 1995 after it was found to be a threat to democracy. Its members had participated in dozens of coups, and political corruption was rife among them.
Since then, a massive power vacuum has been left, and the United Nations’ peacekeepers, sent to provide some form of stability, have not been sufficient. It is now evident that the gangs are dangerously close, if not there, to filling this gap.
The armed gangs also released thousands of incarcerated dangerous criminals onto the streets, burned down police stations and government institutions, and fire-razed the residence of the chief of police. Tales of horror and violence have been emerging from Port-au-Prince. An elderly woman went to the market to get food, only to be shot and hospitalized. Her caregiver was too fearful to even visit her in the hospital, so the 86-year-old waited alone while being treated for a bullet wound.
MAD MAX AND BARBEQUE
According to the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), the violence in Haiti has caused the displacement of over three hundred thousand people since December 2023. Kidnappings, robberies, and assassinations are commonplace, with gangs commonly recruiting children to operate on their behalf.
The head of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has commented that “Haiti is a horrific situation…and the country appears to be like a scene out of Mad Max.” Mad Max is a movie that shows a world in a constant state of anarchy and violence with no government, no control, and no peace.
Haiti’s most powerful gang out of around 200 is the G9 Alliance, headed by the now-infamous Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier. He is an ex-police officer, and most of the gang members are ex-police and military officers who are based in the capital. There are reports of the gangs using rape as a means of control in their garrisons and sexually abusing women. It has been revealed that there are now unprecedented sexual abuse and rape problems in Haiti, where rape only became a criminal offence in 2005. Now many women are being raped and killed and will never have the chance to seek earthly justice.
BE A GOOD SAMARITAN
Contrast all this chaos to Haiti’s much wealthier and more peaceful neighbour, the Dominican Republic, which continues to see its economy grow. Its people and government, for the most part, continue to turn a cold shoulder towards Haiti after their bitter past, and the government intends to build a wall along the border to keep the Haitians out for good.
It is on this note that I end this commentary. I ask you all to continue to pray for Haiti, as it is a terrible situation and many innocent people are suffering. Please join your hearts to pray for this nation.
Ifeoluwa Alonge is 14 years old and has been writing for FC Rain since he was age 11. Contact freedomcomerain@gmail.com