Since armed gangs made their laws in the Republic of Haiti, no family has been spared. No city, no place and no one is safe. Who knows that the country will not die?
THE HAITI FACTOR, March 20, 2024._The former pearl of the Antilles is currently going through dark times. Even the average citizen doesn’t know whether to cry about it or whether to pray for things to change. It is a country that is succumbing. In Croix-des-Bouquets, for example, life is on pause. When will it resume? Only God knows. Since the escape of the prisoners on the night of March 3 to 4, 2024, this city has become a cemetery. The police abandon the police stations, the prisons are empty, the banks are robbed, state institutions, they are all vandalized. The State is no longer present.
In May 2022, the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) revealed, in an investigation, that the bloody clashes in Croix-des-Bouquets left 39 dead, 68 injured and more than 9,000 displaced. Well, after this escape, all the inhabitants abandoned their homes. Among the displaced, one case concerns us. It’s that of Pierre Berlineda, mother of two children, who has been sleeping in public squares for ages.
With her two children, and without permanent shelter, this Haitian woman carries with her the after-effects of a tragic story. She seems to be dragging all her homesickness behind her. She constantly recounts the unimaginable scenes she has just experienced. “Firstly, I lived at the entrance to the artistic village Noailles, the bandits from 400 Mawozo forced us to flee, they threatened my husband”, “they burned down our house” “I had to leave the area” , “They chased us to Santo 24 and executed my brother-in-law.” At least that’s what we were able to gather from these statements. Tired, exhausted, Madame Berlineda does not know which way to turn. For someone who doesn’t have a decent place to lay her head, talking is therapy. At least she’s letting off steam, she says.
In a call for testimonies launched, Internet users praised the kindness of the lady’s husband. Known as “Frè”, Alix Aristude is a very popular trader in Croix-des-Bouquets, at the Dargout market. Persecuted, he fled to save his skin. Which leads us to believe that this is why his family is being pursued so much.
The Aristude family is one example in a thousand. Some people fled the gang war without their families knowing where they ended up. Some others did not have the chance to bring with them anything to eat or wear. The story is tragic, but it turns out to be true. Haiti is a country that hunts its offspring.
THE HAITI FACTOR (LFH) / Junior LUC
