This week we held our regular meetings with our partners in Gros Morne. The news from Haiti is dire, and we are seeing reports that the gang activity has ramped up in Artibonite Department, where Gros Morne is located. We asked our partners, including the Montfortin priests and the RJM sisters, to tell us about the situation, and the following paragraphs summarize their words.
First and most importantly, they want us to remember the positive. Despite all the reports, there is hope, because the people of Haiti have an extraordinary capacity to move forward even in the face of extreme challenges. The Haitian Montfortins express pride in their people and country and in their resilience. They are especially happy that in Artibonite the schools are open this year, and on time. Also they are noticing small local markets popping up, because people can no longer travel long distances to buy and sell. Farmers are still planting; people are still selling their products. Life goes on.
Gang activity impacts nearly everyone. Everyone knows someone who has been kidnapped. The gangs control the main roads, so travel and transport are severely curtailed. Gangs shoot at and steal cars; sometimes they kidnap entire buses. Some gangs kill their captives immediately. Other gangs can charge a million gourde in ransom, or sometimes $100,000 or even $200,000 USD. Families have to sell everything they have to try and pay the ransom, and even then the gangs may not release their family member. Gangs nearly always abuse their captives, meaning they are beaten and raped. So once a person is released they nearly always require medical care, which families also cannot afford to pay for, especially after they have sold everything they have.
Hunger has increased throughout the country as a result of the border closure with the Dominican Republic. The closure has led to inflation and food shortages. Many people simply do not have food. People illicitly harvest the gardens located within the Tet Mon forest, which diminishes the amount of produce the Grepen Center has available for sale or distribution.
Gros Morne itself is in a kind of bubble with respect to the gangs because although there is gang activity all around them, the gangs have not invaded Gros Morne proper. But people live with the fear that it could happen any time. Because the gangs control the roads, many fewer people travel into Gros Morne. Life is continuing, but with increased isolation.
They say our work and the work of our other partners gives them hope, because we are doing advocacy work in the U.S. to diminish the gangs’ power, funding, and access to weapons. On our side, our partners in Haiti give us inspiration. Against all odds, they remain in Haiti to serve and to keep hope alive.
Thanks to each of you for your support of our partners in Gros Morne and our advocacy work in the U.S. If you have not already participated in our most recent action for peace in Haiti, you can write your Member of Congress by clicking here.
