THE HAITI FACTOR, On the occasion of Children’s Day celebrated on Sunday June 9, 2024, the President of the KTPSL, Emmanuel Camille spoke out on the multiple crises facing Haiti. And children are the first to pay the most consequences, because they are deprived of the right to education and leisure, among others.
HERE IS THE FULL SPEECH
Emergency greetings in a country in emergency mode whether it is the State, international or civil society.
BYEN NOURI LESPRI TIMOUN YO POUN KONSTWI YON SOSYETE SOUDE SAN VYOLANS. Our country has found itself at a difficult crossroads in recent years. The crisis did not begin in the last three years to the extent that if we look back at history, we will find the roots of this crisis in the mode of social organization that we chose after independence. There are even authors who show that the current situation has links with the slave society that the great powers had created in Santo Domingo from the 16th century.
Whatever the origin of the crisis, one fact remains certain: it has serious consequences on all levels of Haitian society. However, children pay the heaviest price. The crisis deprives them of the right to education, the right to leisure, the affection of their parents, the nutrition necessary for their physical and psychological development, etc. Many schools have closed their doors over the past three years, forcing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of children to drop out of school. God only knows how many children are orphans today because their parents were killed. Other children are not strictly orphans but they are in fact so to the extent that they are abandoned by their parents for one reason or another, and have become adult children, most of them street or conscripted children.
The hardest observation, however, is the recruitment of children into armed groups and the use of the latter by the PNH. As recently as last week, the Haitian press cited figures from international organizations Save The Children, UNICEF AND THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS LEAD BY ARNAUD AUGUSTE ROYER specifying that nearly half of the members of armed groups are children. A revelation that sends shivers down the spine. An observation which should not leave Haitian society indifferent to the extent that children are supposed to be the adults of tomorrow. They are the future of the country today and tomorrow. As there is no such thing as spontaneous generation, children will reproduce tomorrow what we give them today.
WELL NOURISH CHILDREN’S SPIRITS TO BUILD A WELDED SOCIETY WITHOUT VIOLENCE.
At KPTSL, we are not surprised by the revelations of international organizations. We were very early affected by the problem of enlisting children in armed gangs. This is why, with the support of our partners, we sought to address the problem. We have carried out several projects for children. We can cite the Psychosocial support for children affected by armed violence supported by UNICEF and Psychosocial Support for displaced persons supported by the High Commission for Human Rights in Haiti/BINUH ect and this activity fully supported by the High Commission of Human Rights in Haiti. Even though the situation is critical, we have remained committed to children who constitute a vulnerable group of the population. I salute the courage of each member of the team who sacrifices themselves for the well-being of the children of Martissant. I also salute the collaboration of notables, parents, young people who facilitate our work in Martissant and in particular the inter platform. community led by Valex Julmé director of the Community School in Village de Dieu, a hard worker.
KPSL alone cannot solve the problem. Our means are too limited. This is why we are calling on the State through its institutions specializing in the care of children to look into the problem of children enrolled in armed groups. This problem deserves a multidisciplinary approach. It takes psychologists, social workers, communicators and other humanities specialists and professionals to determine the best strategy to address the problem.
WELL NOURISHING CHILDREN’S SPIRITS TO BUILD A WELDED SOCIETY WITHOUT VIOLENCE is the theme of today’s activity.
A lot of money is being invested for peace in the popular neighborhoods, where they pass, why not dialogue with the real actors, those who care?
A lot of money is being invested for the dialogue where they happen and what are the results and accountability? Have they thought before the year 2020 that Matisan and Fontamara children will not be able to enjoy rights and education, what are all the psychological problems they have and the civil society and the state in all this? Have you thought about how many school days the children lost in the agenda of the Ministry of National Education and how the state will remedy this?
Have you thought about all the suffering children endure that prevent them from studying because they are not well nourished and do not have peace of mind?
The muscular operations of the Haitian police and the soldiers or police officers of the future multinational force will not solve the problem. On the contrary, we must think about treating children as victims, as human beings and as fragile beings. We need to find a strategy to give them back their humanity. We must give them back their childhood that the country stole. They must be treated with compassion and humanity. Without forgetting the quantity of people who are languishing in poverty because of the absence and weakness of the State who are among the civilian population in Martissant, Fontamara Bicentenaire e, Bolosse and Grand-Ravine who are numerous and who no one somewhere to go. When will we establish this community and local dialogue with a reliable process of disarmament and confident reintegration of armed civilians, particularly used children?
This is my appeal today to the Haitian National Police, to the multinational force that will enter the country, to the Haitian government. I also call on international donors to finance integration programs for the benefit of children and young people under 24 enrolled in armed groups. We must first exhaust all the stages of negotiations with the actors before arriving at confrontations and we must put in place alert mechanisms because, with the vulnerability of the population, the precariousness and the poverty we cannot in any case move and postpone our community activities and assistance to the most vulnerable, already the activities of local and international partners are the only reasons for living of members of the civilian population in particular children, young people and women without counting people of 3rd ages.
Investments are needed at macro and micro levels in the area to eradicate poverty, social exclusion and economic and social discrimination in order to facilitate social cohesion and financial empowerment of young people through new physical infrastructure and human reinforcement in term of competence for a strengthened community accessible through sustainable physical and human development, and this will contribute to a responsible citizen with a love for the community and love for one’s country.
BYEN NOURI LESPRI TIMOUN YO POUN KONSTWI YON SOSYETE SOUDE SAN VYOLANS. 67 people, particularly women victims of GBV, gunshot wounds and displaced people, have already received financial assistance for medical follow-up and small AGRs or transport thanks to CERF funds from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ( BINUH) in the sites of internally displaced persons in the commune of Port-au-Prince, while 4,000 children and 13,000 families are made aware of the notions of protection through 2 child-friendly spaces in Martissant and Fontamara thanks to the UNICEF and finally 2,800 people between May 18 and June 9, 2024 received hot meals in Village de Dieu and Fontamara thanks to the WFP following the facilitation of the Peace Platform including the Director of the Village de Dieu Community School Mr. Julmé Valex and Saul Molin. The KPTSL is pleading to assist the vulnerable population otherwise they will be fed due to the non-assistance of the state and non-governmental and international organizations and this will be a serious violation of human rights.
On this day dedicated to children, I call for an end to discrimination against children and young people. All children are children. They deserve to live their childhood. Haitian society must give back their childhood to children enrolled in armed gangs or affected by armed violence. Let’s say together: BYEN NOURI LESPRI TIMOUN YO POUN KONSTWI YON SOSYETE SOUDE SAN VYOLANS.
Merci.
Emmanuel CAMILLE
Executive Director KPTSL
THE HAITI FACTOR (LFH)
