“Amady had so much energy. He was always ready. And he loved the challenge of being a journalist. At the end of the line, Jérémie Dupin’s voice breaks. He knows that he will no longer report in the dangerous areas of Port-au-Prince with his friend. ” I can not believe he’s gone. ”
The tragic death of two journalists in Haiti last Thursday – including John Wesley Amady, who worked for a Montreal online radio station – shows that it is increasingly dangerous to do this job in this country, according to experts consulted by Press. The risks are increased tenfold for those who dare to take an interest in the armed gangs raging in strategic sectors of the country.
Hit by a burst of bullets after interviewing a gang leader in Laboule 12, south of the capital Port-au-Prince, John Wesley Amady (simply called Amady by his relatives) and Wilguens Louissaint were not on their first reporting. Amady had worked for three years, among others, for Écoute FM, an online radio station based in Montreal.
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
John wesley amady
“His job was to cover all the events in Haiti and to carry out the interviews, especially in the neighborhoods at risk and in the difficult areas”, explains Francky Attis, founder and director of Radio Écoute FM, who saw the day in 2018.
Amady was also a freelance writer and fixer, meaning he served as a guide for international media. Since 2020, he worked closely with Jérémie Dupin, a freelance journalist who travels back and forth between Boston and Haiti. They were reporting for the Al Jazeera news agency, for Vice News, for the American 24-hour news channel CNN and, occasionally, for the British channel BBC. “It was his dream, to be an investigative journalist,” says Jérémie Dupin.
Wilguens Louissaint worked for the online media Télé Patriote and Tambou Vérité, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In Montreal, Radio Écoute FM, which employs other journalists in Haiti, suspended its activities until Amady’s funeral next Saturday. Fundraisers have been started to support bereaved families.
A feeling of helplessness dominates in the Haitian community. “Yes, we’re in shock to see how far it can go. But the community cannot do anything, ”notes Jean Ernest Pierre, lawyer, journalist and director of CPAM radio in Montreal.
The risk of exposure to gangs
According to information from radio Écoute FM, the journalists were in Laboule 12 because they were investigating the death of a police inspector, Dan Jerry Toussaint, assassinated in this locality on 1er January.
Two gangs are in conflict in this sector for the control of the road which gives access to the south of the country.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Francky Attis, founder and director of Écoute FM radio
” [Le chef de gang] Timakak appealed to journalists to reveal who was the perpetrator of this crime. They finished the interviews, and while leaving, the other group killed them, affirms Francky Attis. A third journalist, Wilmann Vil, survived the attacks. He is currently in hiding to avoid reprisals, according to Agence France-Presse.
“The collapse of the Haitian state”
At the same time, Amady and Jérémie Dupin were also working on a story about arms trafficking. “The country is a kind of hub for drugs, as well as for all kinds of illicit trafficking, such as the distribution of weapons, because the borders are not guarded”, confirms Roromme Chantal, professor of political science at the ‘Université de Moncton, himself of Haitian origin.
The gangs in Haiti are therefore very armed, often more than the police. They also have links with the political powers of the country. “These gangs are the state,” sums up Roromme Chantal. They operate with their visors up, they don’t hide, they even give press conferences! ”
PHOTO RALPH TEDY EROL, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Ariel Henry, Acting President
The stranglehold of armed groups has grown since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last July. “The gangs are crippling vital parts of Haiti, such as the distribution of fuel,” explains Chantal. It is to push [le président par intérim Ariel Henry] to resign. ”
The situation is very complex: the legitimacy of Ariel Henry – supported by the international community – is contested by a large part of the population. The interim president is particularly suspected of having a link with the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, details Roromme Chantal. “Today, we are witnessing the outright collapse of the Haitian state,” he laments.
A controversial livelihood
Journalism in gang zones – rather than war zones – is controversial within the Haitian media. “The question we ask ourselves is what is the need to go talk to these people: highwaymen who are doing the population a great deal of harm,” asks Jean Ernest Pierre, from CPAM radio. It is reckless to go there, because there is no guarantee of getting out alive. “A vision shared by Professor Roromme Chantal, who speaks of” media populism “. “There is a balance to be found,” he believes. If this work is done with responsibility, and if it is to show how this country is in the hands of heavily armed gangs… but it must be done without complacency towards these gangs. “On January 8, Francky Attis, of Écoute FM, opposed these comments on his Facebook page:” If it is not the journalist who goes into the field, to show how the gangs are organized, how the population will be informed? he wrote. To condemn journalists for denouncing gangs is not only to ignore the history of journalism, but also the function of journalism itself. ”