Instability

As violence in Haiti increases, there is talk of whether Port-au-Prince may fall entirely to the gangs.  The Multinational Security Support Mission, deployed too late and with two few members, has been unable to bring stability in Port-au-Prince or beyond.  Despite this, deportation of Haitians to Cap-Haitien continue.  Doing so has overwhelmed the city and put the lives of deportees at risk regardless of whether they stay, travel on roads frequented by bandits, or transit through Port-au-Prince which is primarily controlled by gangs.  Haitians, not for the first time, feel abandoned by the international community.

Every aspect of Haitian society is being negatively affected by gangs, who in the absence of a functional government, operate with impunity.  Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald reported that a violent gang in Martissant stole the generator of the Sainte Croix Hospital in Léogâne and are holding it for ransom.  The hospital is forced to shut down unless the gang returns the generator or another is donated.  This is a tragedy upon an existing tragedy given Haiti's already very high infant and maternal mortality rates.  The full article follows. 

This is not the first time that insecurity, poverty, a compromised police force, and a polticial power vacuum has enabled a surge in kidnappings.  What is different this time is both the extent and the methods - police officers, doctors, priests, and entire busses of people have been kidnapped.   Both rich and poor are vulnerable.  The companies that continue to operate in Port au Prince are moving their staff into compounds, transporting them in armored cars, and some are commuting by boat to avoid the roads entirely.  In this environment, instability will persist, the economy will not grow, and those who can will leave through either regular or irregular means will do so.  As is so often said, Haiti is at a crossroads - the way ahead is uncertain.   The full article by Washington Post contributor Anthony Faiola and Widlore Merancourt follows.  

While protests are nothing new in haiti, the scale of the ongoing demonstrations againt corruption and economic hardship are the largest in recent memory.   Unfortunately, the instability is negatively affecting operations at hospitals.  Even prior to the protests, many Haitian health care facilities lacked the medicines and equipment necessary to treat the sick.  It doesn't have to be like this and protestors understand that there will not be a better future until corruption is brought under control.  Below is recent article by CNN writer Sam Kiley about the impact on on health care facilities, staff, and patients.