Deadly scenes in Port-au-Prince as international attention lingers over a promised rescue effort for Haiti
A mother and family are leaving the city after discovering the bones of a suspected gang member slain by their neighbors. The charred body, wrapped in metal cables, has been thrown forward and bowed, indicating a possible gang affiliation. Four similar corpses have been spotted in the past two days.
Another woman is running with her baby towards a waiting helicopter just up the hill. Witnesses said that she abandoned her car seat because armed guards were pressuring her to go swiftly. Video of the flight reveals a brawl spilling up on the ground as the helicopter takes off, adding to the interest around the unannounced landing.
A mother and family are leaving the city after discovering the bones of a suspected gang member slain by their neighbors. The charred body, wrapped in metal cables, has been thrown forward and bowed, indicating a possible gang affiliation. Four similar corpses have been spotted in the past two days.
They are escaping chaos. These individuals were the holdouts up until yesterday; they were the ones who were given an option but stayed in Port-au-Prince until it got intolerable. They are now departing the country of the Caribbean in the midst of an unparalleled horror frenzy.
One caution after another
Haiti could have changed course 18 months after Prime Minister Ariel Henry requested foreign military assistance, allowing gangs to expand terror across 80% of the city. The UN Security Council authorized a military support mission, and the Dominican Republic foreign minister warned of Haiti’s precipice.
Haiti’s gangs began a wave of violence in February, demanding the resignation of the unpopular prime minister. Ten days have passed since CARICOM announced Haiti would establish a transitional council, but no one has been named, and killings continue daily. Leslie Voltaire, a candidate, expressed frustration with the political process’s delay.
Voltaire predicted a transitional council within 24 hours, a prime minister appointment within a week, and the creation of a national security council. He also anticipated longer steps.
Haiti’s port and airport reopening could occur within 100 days, despite a potential long wait due to nearly half the population lacking food, according to the World Food Programme.
Police claim they require assistance
A large portion of the Haitian state has fallen apart, with gangs controlling its courts, prisons left open, and the prime minister essentially abolished and replaced by the finance minister of the nation. Hungry youngsters are currently sitting on the floor and swinging on moving desk chairs at the front office of Haiti’s Ministry of Communications facilities, which are completely overrun by refugees escaping gang attacks.
The National Police of Haiti, the only remaining operational governmental agency, is facing challenges due to overextension and ill-preparedness. Despite daily gunfights against gang attacks, they are retaken by gangs the next day. Law enforcement officials have stated they lack the necessary resources to continue the fight, and lack air and marine support, leadership, and equipment. Garry Jean Baptiste, an adviser to the Haitian National Police Union 17, expressed readiness to fight.
The multinational force, led by Kenya, is expected to fail due to low morale and a government in flux, with only 30%-40% of police equipped with bullet-proof vests and an average monthly salary of less than $200.
Baptiste expressed readiness for a multinational support force, but believes the plan to receive the mission will fail due to a lack of framework. Security and humanitarian issues in Port-au-Prince are intertwined, and experts suggest focusing on restoring the port and airport, which requires clearing safe transport corridors through gang-controlled areas, to meet the nation’s immediate needs.
Haiti’s council candidate Voltaire suggests the next government may employ private security companies and pursue gang leaders amid uncertainty in combating gangs following a recent gunfight with police.
A contentious remedy
Although bringing in foreign troops could be Haiti’s greatest opportunity to free itself from the gangs’ hold, doing so is politically risky.
“The world community is to blame for our current predicament. Watching cars pass another burned body in the street, a man riding on his motorbike remarked, “They haven’t offered us an opportunity to make a living for ourselves for over 200 years.”
In 1804, enslaved people in Haiti established the first free Black republic in history by overthrowing cruel French colonial domination, only to be rejected for decades by the international community.
He questioned, “How else do you justify the fact that CARICOM is now making decisions for Haitians?”
Even so, some people who find it repugnant to have foreigners working in the nation could be changing their minds in light of the Port-au-Prince catastrophe. This week, Haiti’s ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, Dominique Dupuy, informed the organization that the country had no other option than to endure its “bloody nightmare.”
Marie Lucie Macone, a street fruit vendor in Port-au-Prince’s Petion-Ville neighborhood, believes the US should take more action due to the numerous deaths and the need for prayers to be made to the Americans.
Though US activities in Haiti have so far centered on evacuation planes for American citizens—an endeavor that began just this Wednesday—any prospects for an American engagement seem improbable if the entrance of a multinational security mission looks long off.
Meanwhile, private jets carrying diplomats and other well-connected people are continuously buzzing through the skies over Port-au-Prince.
Marie Lucie stated she is afraid of the helicopters because they are often coming and disappearing.
Will we pass away? Tell me if you know, please,” she remarked.