Law-abiding Haitians need to unite for madness to end
THERE were two slivers of hope in Haiti earlier this month — a demonstration by citizens fed up with rampant gang violence, and the staging of a jazz festival that offered some Haitians a brief escape from the savagery that has scarred their lives.
Both events, though, had very little effect on the anarchy that criminals have wrought since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
In the case of the demonstration on April 2, reports say thousands of people took to the streets of Port-au-Prince from early morning, setting up barricades and blocking roads. The action created traffic snarls, closed shops and schools, and largely paralysed the capital city.
French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) said “demonstrators marched on offices of the transitional governing body but were dispersed by the police”.
The protesters were furious that the Transitional Presidential Council has failed to restore order nearly a year after its creation in a crisis that has seen Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign under pressure from well-armed gangs that control most of the city.
AFP reported one unidentified demonstrator as saying: “We cannot take this situation of lawlessness anymore in this country. It is unacceptable that we keep losing territory.”
His suggestion, the news agency explained, was that overwhelmed authorities are surrendering territory to the gangs.
Another demonstrator, who also requested anonymity, said: “We demand the restoration of security, free circulation, and the return of our children to school.”
The following weekend a small crowd got a chance to simply live as human beings, albeit for a few hours, as they attended the 18th edition of PapJazz festival at Karibe Hotel in the capital.
Notably, this festival was postponed in 2022 and moved to the city of Cap-Haitien in the north the following year, due to security fears. Last year it returned to Port-au-Prince in a reduced, four-day format.
This year’s staging was further cut to just two days, but it offered some respite to Haitians. “For us, this weekend is like coming up for air,” one patron reportedly said.
A member of the Haiti Jazz Foundation, which organises the festival, Ms Milena Sandler, relayed what we believe is the general feeling of law-abiding Haitians: “We can’t just endure what’s happening to us. We must have convivial moments like this one, creative moments, moments for resistance,” she told AFP.
We reiterate that no one should be subjected to the brutish existence that has plagued the Haitian people for decades. Their lot has only worsened as the gangs, in addition to controlling most of the capital, have been accused of murders, rapes, looting, and kidnappings.
The United Nations-sanctioned multi-national security mission led by Kenyan troops — which should have been 2,500 strong has just 1,000 police personnel from six countries — has not managed to push back the gangs.
The question, therefore, is how badly do the law-abiding people of Haiti want a peaceful, normal life in which they can pursue their dreams and aspirations — a life they and their children can enjoy, as is their right as human beings.
They certainly need much more help from the international community, but the final decision has to be theirs. The resolve of the April 2 demonstrators and those who attended the jazz festival needs to spread.
