faced with the violence in Haiti, the diaspora suffers from France

Haiti, the poorest country in the Caribbean and controlled by gangs, is sinking deeper into chaos every day. The Haitian diaspora, very present in France, is witnessing this endless crisis helpless.

One eye on his phone, one eye on the television, which shows the terrified Haitian population. From Noisy-le-Grand, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Modeline Michaud, president of the Federation of the Haitian Diaspora of Europe, follows the situation in her country of origin minute by minute. “Our country is literally falling apart. To sink. I have no words. I am in amazement.”she laments.

A large part of the capital Port-au-Prince is in the hands of criminal gangs. These gangs attack strategic sites in the country, blocking ports, airports, roads and administrations. According to the UN, the month of January 2024 was the most violent in more than two years in Haiti, where nearly 5,000 people were killed in 2023. Prime Minister Ariel Henry, contested by a large part of the population, is still blocked outside his country.

“People live in fear, terror”

Modeline is afraid for part of her family there, her cousin in particular, who is studying in Port-au-Prince: “She had to return to the provinces because of the situation there.” A catastrophic situation according to Fedner Milfort, also a member of the Haitian Diaspora Federation, who regularly receives news from his loved ones there.

“People are living in fear, in terror. We can’t find anything to eat. There is a serious drinking water problem that has been occurring for two or three days now. Almost all activities are at stop, he describes. The ports are taken, the airports are taken, besieged by these gangs despite the efforts of the national police. This is one of the most catastrophic situations we have ever experienced in the country.”

So what can members of the diaspora do here in France to help their families? For them, not much. “For some time now, we have not been able to go to Haiti because quite simply, the security situation does not allow us to do so. concedes Fedner Milfort. The Internet network is going very badly. So even transfers sent by members of the diaspora cannot be withdrawn by these families.”

“We feel helpless. What do we do? There, we don’t know what to do,” laments Modeline Michaud. In the short term, there is only one solution according to her: sending an international armed force as quickly as possible to restore order in Haiti. Despite an agreement in October 2023 between the UN and Kenya for an international security mission, the sending of police officers there is still blocked.