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Worsening Gang Violence and Kidnappings in Port au Prince

  • Posted on: 13 July 2022
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Gang violence in Haiti's largest city continues to have a pervasive negative impact that reverberates throughout the country, affecting security, the economy, food security, education, and health care.  According to Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, dozens of people have been killed and more than a hundred injured in a new round of deadly violence  "aggravating fuel shortages, raising transportation costs and making an already troubling humanitarian crisis even worse."  Further, 20,000 residents of the densely populated slums have been displaced by gang violence since May.  A July 8 article about gang violence in Port au Prince is copied below and linked is an update by Charles.

Gangs Steal Maternity Hospital's Generator - Now It Has to Close

  • Posted on: 16 January 2022
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Every aspect of Haitian society is being negatively affected by gangs, who in the absence of a functional government, operate with impunity.  Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald reported that a violent gang in Martissant stole the generator of the Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne and are holding it for ransom.  The hospital is forced to shut down unless the gang returns the generator or another is donated.  This is a tragedy upon an existing tragedy given Haiti's already very high infant and maternal mortality rates.  The full article follows. 

US Church Faces Neglect Allegations after Haiti Child Deaths

  • Posted on: 24 April 2020
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

On February 13th, a fire killed thirteen children and two adult caretakers at a "children's home" that the U.S based Church of Bible Understanding supported in Haiti.  I want to be clear that there are some faith-based groups doing heroic work for health, education, and social justice in Haiti.  There are, however, as many unscruplous organisations who see children as a way to fund-raise salaries, overhead, while providing little for the kids themselves.  Orphanages are money-makers and thus are plentiful, numbering oven 700.  Many of these children are abused and exploited in the name of God and money. If these organisations were really interested in helping, they would make familly planning available so parents have no more children than they want or can afford, would support families to take care of the children they already have, and expand adoption/foster networks for children who have no family to take them in.  The church refuses to comment on the allegations of children who have come forward to say they were abused.  The full article by AP journalists Michael Weissenstein and Ben Fox follows. 

New to Haiti: Foster Care for the Nation's Parentless Kids

  • Posted on: 2 August 2018
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Haiti it a tough country to be a child, but especially one without family.  Insitutionalising children is rarely the right answer, especially in a country where oversight of orphanages is lax.  The better option is to provide children with the option of living, even temporarily, with a foster family.  At long last, Haiti is developing a national network of foster families so children don't wind up in orphanages, on the street or worse.  Haiti is early in this process but it it still represents real progress.  Participating famiies are not paid - they quite literally do it out of the goodness of their hearts.  The full article by AP journalist David Crary follows. 

Haitian Comedian Becomes a Voice for #MeToo

  • Posted on: 5 May 2018
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Haitian women are holding the country together - yet are vulnerable to gender-based violence and other abuses.  According to USAID, one out of every three Haitian women between the ages of 15 - 49 has experienced gender-based violence.  In this era of #MeToo, women are increasingly choosing to be voices for change instead of suffering in silence.  Haitian comedian Gaëlle Bien-Aimé is a brave Haitian comedian who has shared her experience as a rape survivor and became a human rights activitist.  Through her performances, her outreach, and her example she encourages other survivors to do the same.  Most about this inspiring activist in the full article below. 

State Department Releases 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report

  • Posted on: 28 June 2017
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The U.S State Department has released the 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reports.  The Haiti Country Narrative (copied below) notes that while Haiit does not meet minimum standards for preventing and responding to TIP, it is making significant efforts to improve.  This included strengthening its interministerial anti-trafficking commision, working more closely with international organizations, improving investigations and prosecutions and obtaining convinctions under the 2014 antri-trafficking law.  In short, progress is being made although much more remains to be done. 

Haitian Orphanages Hotspots for Child Trafficking and Abuse

  • Posted on: 25 June 2017
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Individuals and groups give more than $70 million in donations every year to hundreds of orphanages in Haiti.  However, these orphanages vary wildly in terms of accountability - some are well-managed while others abuse and exploit children.  Children in orphanages should have their rights respected and opportunities for a better future.  It is important to remember though that most childen in Haitian orphanages are not orphans.  They are children from large families that could not afford to take care of them.  If their parents had consistent access to family planning, there would be far less need for orphanages in the first place.  Children's Rights NGO Lumos advises that funding would be better spent on helping Haiti to develop a proper foster care and adoption system.  The full article on this subject by Anastasia Moloney of the Reuters Foundation follows. 

Haiti Joins Global Effort to End Statelessness

  • Posted on: 27 March 2017
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Stateless persons are not recognized as citizens of any country.  They are often vulnerable to exploitation due to a lack of access to health care, education, work, and justice.  It is a major problem in the Dominican Republic where the the government has long been reluctant to grant citizenship to Dominicans of Haitian descent.  Last week, the Haitian Parliament voted to accede to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, making it the third member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the 69th country in the world to do so.  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a statement praising Haiti for its committment. To become involved, consider joining UNHCR's "I Belong" Campaign to End Statelessness

ELMA Matches Contributions to MSF for Maternal and Child Health

  • Posted on: 16 December 2016
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

MSF (Doctors Without Borders) has been present in Haiti for over 19 years, including by providing 24/7 maternal health care at its clinic in Port au Prince.  All contributions received between December 13-31 will be matched by ELMA Relief Foundation, a private charitable foundation that supports communities affected by disasters. If you are interested in making a contribution to help Haiti over the holiday season, protecting the health of women and children is a great way to do it.  Thanks to ELMA Relief Foundation, your contribution will now go farther.  For more information, read Jude Webber's article on the state of maternal health care in Haiti and MSF's role in promoting it. Click here to make your contribution. 

U.S State Department Releases 2015 Human Rights Report for Haiti

  • Posted on: 20 April 2016
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) is mandated to release annual country-specific human rights reports that address individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 2015 report for Haiti is linked and copied below. There have been some modest improvements from last year - for example in improving oversight of the police.  However, there is a long way to go in reforming the justice system, corrections, and protecting the rights of women, children, and the disabled. Post your thoughts about human rights in Haiti below.  

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