The situation in Haiti is alarming, with increasing violence stemming from conflicts with armed gangs that have driven almost 580,000 people from their homes, according to a recent report by the United Nations Migration Agency. This crisis highlights the extent of the crisis facing the Caribbean nation.
Haiti has long faced unrest, but in late February gangs launched coordinated attacks, taking over police stations, opening fire on the main international airport which had been closed for nearly three months, and storming the country’s two largest prisons.
A report released by the International Organization for Migration found that the displacement of more than half a million people is mainly due to the exodus from the capital, Port-au-Prince, to other provinces that do not do not have the necessary resources to support them.
In March, the agency reported more than 362,000 internally displaced people in Haiti. Since then, violence has more than doubled the number of internally displaced people in the southern region, already ravaged by the 2021 earthquake, from 116,000 to 270,000.
“Nearly all internally displaced people are currently hosted by communities already struggling with overburdened social services and poor infrastructure, raising new concerns that tensions could lead to further acts of violence,” the report said.
With more than 2,500 people killed or injured across Haiti in the first three months of the year, the Haitian National Police, understaffed and overwhelmed by well-armed gangs, has failed to bring the situation under control .
Marie Jean, 49, and her two children were displaced from their home in Port-au-Prince after her husband was killed by a gang in February. She is now staying with her children in a public school.
“I lived in a comfortable house that my husband had worked hard to build,” Jean told the Associated Press. “Now I live in an inhumane situation.”
Juste Dorvile, 39, also resides in a public school with his 12-year-old daughter and her partner, while gunshots are heard constantly in the area. “Every day we hope to survive,” she said.
With gangs controlling at least 80% of Port-au-Prince and major routes to the rest of the country, many people are living in makeshift shelters, including schools and learning institutions that now house more than 60,000 people.
Gangs also collect fees from those who wish to use highways or blackmail drivers into recovering their hijacked trucks from roads, where police presence is rare.
Haiti’s new interim Prime Minister, Garry Conille, who was appointed last month with a Cabinet, attended a ceremony Tuesday in which more than 400 officers graduated from the police academy, along with the hope they will help stem gang violence in Haiti.
He reminded the graduates that the population was counting on their dedication to combat insecurity.
“You need to know that you are not alone,” Conille said. “You are the hope of the population at this crucial moment in our history.”
Violence is also on the rise outside Haiti’s capital. Last week, armed gangs attacked families in Terre-Neuve, a village in northern Haiti, forcing more than 1,000 people to flee their homes to safer locations.
This situation in Haiti is alarming, and the need for action to end this violence and protect citizens is crucial to the future of the Caribbean nation.