Haiti: Kidnapped from church, shot at during an evening commute, chased out of their homes as flames licked up the street.
Stories of abduction, lethal attack and indiscriminate destruction are endless in Haiti’s seaside city of Port-au-Prince, where everyone seems to know someone who barely made it out alive — and where many did not, in what rights organizations describe as a particularly dangerous year even before the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise drew the world’s attention.
Haiti’s elite were congregating Friday in the historic northern port city of Cap-Haitien for Moise’s funeral. Once he is laid to rest in his home region, expect political jockeying to recommence with vigor, with observers eager to see if the recent alliance between two rival prime ministers will hold; whether the interim government will finally hold elections as hoped for by the international community; and if Haiti’s civil society coalition can finally unite to propose an alternative transitional government.
But in the capital city Port-au-Prince, many have far more pressing issues on their minds.
Since June, more than 15,500 people in the city have had to flee their homes due to gang violence and rampant arson. City residents who manage to avoid direct exposure to violence are navigating skyrocketing inflation, frequent blackouts, and shortages of food and fuel, due in large part to gang activity choking off key delivery routes.
