Gangs

According to the United Nations, over 470 people have been killed, injured or are missing in recent violence as gangs war with each other and the government.  Government officials have been told to stay home and the violence is getting closer to key governmental institutions including the National Palace.  This is not the first time that elites have used gangs as mercenaries and/or pawns for achieving their political or economic ambitions.  What is new is the sheer scale of the violence, made worse by illicit shipments of weapons.  The Haitian police are simply out numbered and out-gunned.  Unless the Haitian government and its partners can develop sufficient numbers of well-trained, well-armed, sufficiently paid and reasonable accountable police officers with the right leadership, the situation will only get worse.  The full NYT article by Maria Abi-Habib and Andre Paultre follows. 

Gangs in Port au Prince thrive when there is an absence of governance, no rule of law, and economic stagnation.  The UN has described current levels of gang violence as unprecedented and affecting all aspects of life - for example, 11 medical centers and 442 schools have closed.  National roads connecting Port-au-Prince to the rest of the country are dangerous, limiting the movement of people and goods.  While the security situation continues to deteriorate Haiti's developmental issues remain unaddressed - environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure and investment, poor basic services, and unrelenting brain drain.  Security is not enough to address these underlying problems but it is a prerequisite - and the gangs will not give up territory willingly. The full CNN article follows. 

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.