2024-03-05 15:22:44
The situation remains critical in Haiti, where this Tuesday (5) is another day of fear for the population. The capital Port-au-Prince is paralyzed, after the declaration of a state of emergency on Monday (4), due to a chaotic weekend, with attacks by armed groups on penitentiaries that resulted in the release of thousands of inmates.
The rebellion demands the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in power since 2021, and who should have left office at the beginning of February.
The country in a state of emergency and under night curfew until Wednesday (6) has serious difficulties in providing the population with fundamental rights, such as security, education and food. Haitians live in fear of armed gangs, who attacked the country’s two largest prisons, freeing thousands of prisoners and killing at least ten people.
The population does not dare to take to the streets, as the RFI a resident of Port-au-Prince who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons. “The situation is very tense, I hear gunshots all the time. We have difficulty getting water. We feed ourselves with non-perishable products, as there is no electricity. I haven’t been going out, I’m a teacher and the entire education sector is at a standstill,” she laments.
Lawyer Rosy Auguste Ducena, from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), reinforces the fear experienced by Haitians. She describes a terrifying situation. “Many companies are closed, we have to be cautious because crime is widespread”, she says in an interview with RFI. “We can only leave with caution. We never know when an attack will happen and when the bandits will come to take over the region. If we go out, we are alone on the streets,” he reports.
A woman walks past the bodies of inmates outside the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Hundreds of inmates fled after armed gangs stormed the facility overnight. AP – Odelyn Joseph
Airport closed
In an interview with RFI, William O’Neill, an expert appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Haiti, says that on his last visit he saw general chaos in the country, which is beginning to suffer from a lack of food.
“It was already difficult for the population of Haiti before to have access to education, food and the health system, but now it is even worse with the degradation of basic services, which are almost non-existent, especially in the slums, in the poor neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince”, he reports. “The world food program placed Haiti among the five most vulnerable countries due to food shortages. It’s very difficult, especially for children. It is difficult to find food due to insecurity. This is the main source of problems, insecurity”, he reinforces.
“Terror and fear are constant. This dominates the population’s entire routine”, he adds. “I don’t know how people live with this level of threat. There is sexual violence, the UN office cannot even count the number of cases. There are also kidnappings and robberies in neighborhoods controlled by gangs,” he says.
Regarding prisons, O’Neill explains that escapes are recurrent. “There are many escapes, but this time it was in the two main ones in the country. It’s surprising. I don’t know if we can talk about a lack of security inside and outside. But the problem seems like this and the gangs have more powerful weapons than the police”, he compares. “The problem of insecurity is so great that the international airport in Port-au-Prince is empty. US flights were grounded,” he says.
Haiti awaits a mission from Kenya to help control the violence, according to an agreement signed by Ariel Henry with the Kenyan authorities. Other international missions have been sent to Haiti before, without the problem being resolved.
For O’Neill, the actions to be implemented need to be reviewed after the bloody weekend. “The size of the violence requires a stronger response than was predicted last week, everything changed after the weekend, the mission is necessary, but the size and capacity of the troops that will come to Haiti must be reviewed,” he notes. .
“The majority of the population demands this, they need a mission. We know the problems of the past, but that doesn’t mean they will happen again. The National Police cannot solve this alone. If the action is well planned, there can be success”, believes the expert appointed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Haiti.
However, according to Francisco Occil, spokesman for the police union SYNAPOHA, the Haitian government itself, which ignored police warnings about an imminent attack on prisons, is largely responsible for the deterioration of the security situation. “I believe this is a situation created by the government, either to justify the importance of the arrival of the Kenyan force, or to create total chaos to prevent the elections and remain in power for as long as possible,” he says. “We can no longer talk about security in the capital, as many criminals are on the streets. Police stations are attacked, police officers are expelled from their homes, they are overwhelmed by the situation and the government seems non-existent”, he adds.
Until effective security actions are taken, it is difficult to restore calm to the population, explains Armel Rémy, general coordinator of the Collective of Lawyers for the Defense of Human Rights in Haiti.
“People are locked inside their homes, the streets are empty, schools are closed, public transport barely works and we don’t feel the presence of the government. Everyone is terrified. It’s chaos and disorder that hovers over Port-au-Prince”, she summarizes.
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