This morning I’ve just heard another report on the BBC World Service concerning the gang violence in Haiti–the situation there, particularly in and around Port-au-Prince is heartbreaking. The reporter interviewed a young woman who had been shot in the street while trying to avoid a terrifying gun battle. Weeping as she spoke, she recounted how at least ten people around her were killed in the incident, including her 22-year-old business partner. She had fled to Cap Haïtien, saying it was the last safe place in the country. Cap Haïtien is where I spent virtually all of the time I spent in Haiti, so it is good to know that it is relatively calm in the north of the country.
With that said, the U.S. State Department is still advising that no U.S. citizen travel to Haiti because of the gang violence, the risk of being kidnapped, crime, and poor health-care infrastructure. There appear to be few, if any means of commercial travel into Haiti from the U.S. at this time.
There is essentially no functioning government in Haiti for the time being. Prime minister Ariel Henry has resigned and there are plans for a provisional presidential governing council to be formed, but it hasn’t happened yet, and it appears that many in the country are suspicious of this plan. And there are no guarantees that the gang violence will end once there is a functioning government in place. The gangs apparently control about 80% of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and recently they have moved beyond the city and begun conducting raids in the suburbs.
Even in Cap Haïtien there has been gun violence, but not like in the capital, which has been described as a “war zone.” Ever since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, gang violence has increased, supported by a flood of guns from–where else?–the United States. And not just handguns, but assault rifles, machine guns and sniper rifles, as well.
There are signs of positive U.S. influence everywhere in Haiti–in the largest cities, Port-au-Prince and Cap Haïtien, the proliferation of U.S.-based aid and relief organizations, medical aid organizations, schools, and other religious organizations providing various kinds of aid to children and families is remarkable. My own work in Haiti was with a U.S.-based organization that built group homes for orphaned children, with full-time Haitian house parents, schools, food assistance, health care, and even higher education or trade training. There is no question that without this kind of support from the U.S., Haiti would be a very different place. The lives of many children have been saved and they have been provided with a far better future because of this and many other U.S.-based organizations.
But evil and greed seem to always find a way. So on the one hand my country has sent not only millions upon millions of dollars of aid money over many years ($143 million just in the past year), but also thousands of people to provide humanitarian aid, education, and hope, while on the other hand, someone in the U.S. is also providing (for a price, to be sure) weapons and ammunition that have empowered gangs to terrorize and murder innocent Haitians, and turn their country into a hellscape of violence, gunfire, burning tires, burning buildings, and corpses in the streets.
Although human beings have always found ways to behave violently toward one another, with or without guns, increased violence follows increases in the availability of firearms. There is no question that the gangs who are terrorizing the people of Haiti have gained considerable strength and power because they have more guns than ever before. The guns are not the only factor affecting the political unrest and chaos in the country, but they have certainly elevated the level of suffering, destruction and death.
There are some who would argue that in spite of massive amounts of U.S. humanitarian aid to Haiti, U.S. policies and interference in Haitian politics and government over the years are also a contributing factor to the chaos and unrest that has overtaken this little nation. That may be true. But now that so many guns are there, one wonders if Haiti will ever be able to recover from this tragic mess.
Lord, have mercy.
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doug heacock: words 