Haitians seek to flee gang-fueled anarchy

With no
sign yet of a long-promised transitional council to usher in the
deployment of international troops and restore order, Haitians
who can are trying to flee the country.
Violent gangs have taken over much of the capital, killed
thousands, and forced millions into acute hunger.
“Every day is a matter of life or death,” Pierre Joseph, a
34-year-old Save the Children worker, was quoted as saying by
the charity in a statement. It said he had been forced to leave
two different homes with his wife and six-month-old baby, and
was struggling to find basic supplies.
“For the first time, we are facing a crisis where nothing
works, where the government is simply not functioning,” he said,
adding that food and power supplies have collapsed. “Everyone is
afraid and leaving the country.”
The airport and maritime ports at Port-au-Prince have been
closed for a month due to gang activity, although the airport in
the northern city of Cap-Haitien restarted flights to Miami last
week, prompting many who are able to try to leave.
Neighboring countries have bolstered border security
measures, including the Dominican Republic, the only country
that shares a land border with Haiti and which has ruled out
refugee camps on its territory and deported tens of thousands.
In remarks released by the Dominican government on Thursday,
Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez told the BBC that
some 10,000 military personnel had been deployed to its nearly
400-km (250-mile) border, at a “heavy burden” to the national
budget and disrupting cross-border trade.
Haiti has no elected representatives and has descended into
a state of anarchy as gangs expand their near-total grip on the
capital.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation
on March 11 as worsening violence blocked his return from
abroad, pending the installation of a transitional council
brokered by regional leaders to install his replacement.
Henry had in 2022 requested an international force to help
police restore order but the process lagged and has been put on
hold until the council is in place.
Soldiers from the Bahamas and Belize traveled to Jamaica
last month for training by a Canadian task force to support
deployment of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) troops to Haiti.
“This is just another iteration in ongoing efforts to ensure
regional forces are proficient, integrated, and ready for any
contingencies that may arise within the region,” Jamaican
Defense Force Lieutenant Colonel Kevron Henry said in an
interview.
Alvarez said military intelligence suggested many recruits
were unwillingly forced into gangs by economic need and threats
of violence.
The new provisional council would need to secure “hard cash”
to fund police intelligence and equipment within Haiti, he
added.
“I certainly did not say it would be easy but I believe it
is possible; the national police still exists,” he said.
Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in international
pledges, few funds have been handed over to the U.N. dedicated
security mission trust fund. Gangs meanwhile, benefit from
extortion, ransom payments and alleged backing from corrupt
elites that have allowed them to amass large arsenals.