Haiti Gang Violence Killed 5,601 People in 2024
Haiti Gang Violence Killed 5,601 People in 2024
Sawako Utsumi and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
Gang violence in Haiti killed at least 5,601 people in 2024. This shocking figure was announced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
On top of this, 1,494 people were kidnapped by gangs. Also, 2,212 people were injured to varying degrees.
Hence, gang violence and criminality aren’t relenting despite the international force led by Kenya being deployed primarily in Port-au-Prince.
AP News reports, “About 400 police officers from Kenya are leading the mission and were joined days ago by some 150 military police officers from Central America, the majority from Guatemala. Jamaica, Bahamas and Belize have sent a handful of personnel, while other nations including Barbados, Bangladesh and Chad have pledged to do the same, but it isn’t clear when they would be deployed.”
However, many people in Haiti distrust outsiders concerning countless scandals – from abusing young girls to spreading cholera.
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Sadly, the horrendous history of the UN in Haiti is a cause of tremendous pain and suffering. For example, Sri Lankan peacekeepers were involved in child sex gangs – along with other international peacekeepers. Also, cholera was spread by peacekeepers from Nepal that killed vast numbers of Haitians – and several charities, including Oxfam, were also involved in abusing women and children.”
UN News reports, “OHCHR recalled that in one of the most deadly and shocking incidents, at least 207 people were killed in a massacre in early December orchestrated by the leader of the Wharf Jérémie gang in the Cité Soleil area of the capital, Port-au-Prince.”
Furious Haitians lynched 315 gang members – or people deemed linked to gangs. Some lynchings can also be traced by the murky role of police officers who are tired of gang members running amok.
Volker Türk (the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) said, “It has long been clear that impunity for human rights violations and abuses, as well as corruption, remain prevalent in Haiti, constituting some of the main drivers of the multi-dimensional crisis the country faces, along with entrenched economic and social inequalities.”
The BBC reports, “Chronic instability, dictatorships and natural disasters in recent decades have left Haiti the poorest nation in the Americas.”
Lee Jay Walker says, “It is difficult for Haitians to trust their politicians, the UN, and international charities – given the recent history of Haiti. Accordingly, if one nation sums up internal and external failure – it is Haiti.“
It remains to be seen if Haiti can escape the cycle of gang violence, the ineptitude of politicians, and the abject failure of the international community.
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