Thousands take to Haiti's streets to protest gang violence

Thousands of people marched through the streets of the Haitian capital on Monday to protest against the rising insecurity and violence caused by gangs throughout the country. 

The protesters, many of which were using masks to cover their identities, confronted the country’s police, demanding their protection and aid.

“We want security!” they changed as they marched from the community of Carrefour-Feuilles to Champ de Mars and the prime minister’s official residence in Port-au-Prince. 

“I can’t work. I can’t go out. I’m like a prisoner in my own home,” said Wilene Joseph, a 36-year-old street vendor and mother of two. “I worry about my kids being shot because bullets are flying from all directions all the time.”

Throughout the march, some demonstrators threw stones at government buildings, while others set government vehicles on fire. Authorities dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas. 

Gang violence in Haiti has increased since President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. Since then, gangs have sought to extend their territory, leaving thousands of residents caught in the middle of violent fights. As a result, hundreds of Haitians have been left dead and thousands of others displaced. 

“The armed gangs refuse to let us sleep in peace. They’re forcing everybody to leave their homes. All the young people have had to flee … They recently killed a peace-loving policeman,” a citizen told EFE.

According to the United Nations, around 73,500 Haitians have fled their country in the last year alone, due to the worsening economic conditions and insecurity. About half of Haiti’s population, 5.2 million, are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. 

During the first three months of 2023, there were at least 389 kidnappings recorded in Haiti, three times more than the 127, human rights group CARDH recorded in the previous quarter.

The kidnappings between January and March of this year also represent a 72% increase from the same period last year, which saw a total of 857 kidnappings. 

At the end of last month, the U.S. State Department ordered all non-emergency government personnel and their family members to leave Haiti, given “kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, poor health care infrastructure” in the country. 

One day after the announcement was made, an American nurse and her child were kidnapped while serving in their community ministry near Port-au-Prince. 

"There are thieves. We can't sleep. We can't eat. We can't even live. We didn't create the gangs," one person at the march said.