Haiti’s bleak humanitarian situation is once again in the spotlight after gangs on Thursday attacked an Oklahoma-based missionary group working in the capital, Port-au-Prince, killing two Americans and the Haitian director of the organization, Missions in Haiti.
The attack left many asking why American missionaries are still working in Haiti considering the immense violence that has paralyzed the country and the grip gangs have over most of Port-au-Prince. Thursday’s incident follows the 2021 kidnapping of 17 missionaries who were working in Haiti with Christian Aid Ministries. A Haitian gang kidnapped 16 Americans and a Canadian in that attack; weeks later, 12 of the hostages escaped and the others were freed.
While Haiti is no stranger to violence and instability, the situation has worsened considerably since the 2021 assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse. Since then, the state has collapsed and gangs have proliferated, filling the vacuum.
The killings this week come as Kenyan-led forces are set to arrive in Haiti in the next few weeks to confront the gangs and help stabilize the country. They are being funded by the United States and other members of the international community.
The gangs now control much of the capital, including vital infrastructure, like national highways and seaports. They are able to hold up imports of basic food items and other necessities for a country that produces very little and relies heavily on foreign goods.
What is the current humanitarian situation?
Gangs now control or can exert their influence over about 90 percent of the capital, according to research groups. In many respects, Port-au-Prince is a giant, open-air prison, with much of the population of six million unable to move freely, gang violence dictating their everyday lives.
From March 1 to May 20, gang-related violence has killed 1,160 people across Haiti, including 136 women and 35 children, according to the latest figures from the United Nations. There were also 294 kidnappings, including six children, in that time.
More than 160,000 people are currently displaced in the capital’s metropolitan area, according to the International Organization for Migration, or I.O.M.
The organization reported in March that 15,000 Haitians were displaced within a single week, many of whom were previously displaced from earlier gang violence. The I.O.M. counted 10 displacement sites that were entirely emptied during a period of a few weeks, from February to March, by people fleeing “successive waves of violence,” according to a statement from the organization.
About 59 percent of the country lives below the poverty line and nearly one in four children suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
What is the history of aid groups?
Aid groups have been active in Haiti for decades, but their presence ramped up after a devastating 2010 earthquake that leveled entire parts of the capital and killed some…
2024-05-25 19:46:08
Source from www.nytimes.com