YazataMar 12, 2024 12:01 AM (This post was last modified: Mar 12, 2024 12:44 AM by Yazata.)
It's like the recent events in Ecuador (which seem to have subsided) except a lot worse.
Criminal gangs have taken over an estimated 80% of the capital of Port au Prince. They have released prisoners from several prisons who have joined them. Lots of rumors going around. The Prime Minister is said to have fled the country. Some of the criminal gangs are reported to be cannibals and are eating their enemies.
Yesterday the US flew in additional marines by helicopter to provide security at the US embassy.
Despite the Haitian government having (according to some reports) fallen apart, Haitian soldiers are still visible on the streets of the capital. It isn't clear where their orders are coming from. There's apparently still some kind of organization and the US is probably in contact with whoever it is. But whoever it is, clearly doesn't control most of the country.
There's internet talk that some rural towns in more peaceful parts of the country have set up their own local armed security to protect themselves from the chaos.
All civilian flights in and out are cancelled. Airports are closed. The Dominican Republic has closed their border with Haiti.
The US State Department says -
Events: The U.S. State Department’s Travel Advisory for Haiti remains at Level Four: Do not travel to Haiti. The current security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous. We are aware that there are few or no commercial options to depart Haiti safely at this time. As they become available, we urge U.S. citizens to take advantage of them.
The U.S. Embassy’s ability to assist U.S. citizens is severely limited. While the U.S. Embassy is unable to facilitate travel out of the country, U.S. citizens in Haiti who wish to record their presence and provide updated contact information should complete our crisis intake form at: https://mytravel.state.gov/s/crisis-intake.
Actions to take:
Do not travel to Haiti.
If you are in Haiti:
Avoid crowds.
Monitor local media for updates and avoid areas where violence, demonstrations, or disruptions are reported to be happening.
Keep a low profile.
Be aware of your surroundings.
Be prepared to shelter in place for an extended time period.
Avoid being outside after dark.
Stay alert in areas frequented by foreign visitors.
Review your personal security plans.
Have travel documents up-to-date and easily accessible.
Carry proper identification.
Avoid all travel to Haiti due to the threat posed by kidnappings, gang violence and the potential for civil unrest throughout the country.
Temporary closure of the Embassy of Canada to Haiti, in Port-au-Prince
The Embassy of Canada to Haiti, in Port-au-Prince, is closed temporarily to the public due to the unpredictable security situation. Consular services will be provided remotely.
The security situation remains volatile in Haiti. You should consider leaving the country by commercial means if you can do so safely.
Safety and security
The security situation in Ouest Department is deteriorating. There are frequent clashes between gangs and security forces. Kidnappings, robberies, and violent crime are increasing.
The Toussaint Louverture International Airport is closed.
While the state of emergency and curfew are in effect:
follow the instructions of local authorities
always cooperate with police officers
carry valid ID at all times and be prepared for various checkpoints
monitor local news to stay informed on the current situation
Avoid all travel to Haiti. If you are in Haiti despite this advisory:
shelter in place
stock up on essentials (food, water and medications)
limit your movements, if you are unable to shelter in place
be aware of your surroundings at all times
maintain a low profile when going outside
don't show signs of affluence
Border closure with the Dominican Republic
On March 5, 2024, the Government of the Dominican Republic closed its air border with Haiti. Land and sea borders between the two countries remain closed to travellers.
The Embassy of Canada to Haiti, in Port-au-Prince, cannot help you enter the Dominican Republic from Haiti.
Security situation
The security situation remains extremely volatile in Haiti.
Gang violence is concentrated in certain areas.
It is escalating in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and extends to the Artibonite region. Gangs are increasingly attacking residential neighbourhoods and kidnapping groups of people. Armed gangs control most of Port-au-Prince.
Police presence across the country is limited and not guaranteed.
Since April 2023, vigilante groups have violently attacked and killed alleged gang members in some neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince and in the department of Artibonite
Gatherings by protesters are spontaneous and unpredictable. They sometimes lead to clashes with security forces and violent acts. Protestors may suddenly erect roadblocks and burning barricades, disrupting major roads in various regions, including Port-au-Prince and the area around the Canadian Embassy. Access to Toussaint-Louverture International Airport could be affected. Telecommunications and Internet access could also be disrupted.
The country is experiencing significant shortages, such as:
fuel
water
food
Access to cash and commodities of all kinds is difficult. Emergency services and health care are also affected.
Avoid all travel to Haiti. If you are in Haiti despite this advisory:
limit your movements
plan to have adequate water, food and fuel supplies
avoid crossing road blockades, even if they appear unattended
allow extra time to reach your destination
ensure that your passport and other travel documents are up-to-date and secure at all times
register or update your personal information through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service and encourage other Canadian citizens in Haiti to do so
monitor local media to stay informed on the evolving situation
follow the instructions of local authorities
Your personal safety is at risk if you are currently in Haiti. You should consider leaving the country by commercial means if you can do so safely.
C CMar 17, 2024 06:28 PM (This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2024 06:35 PM by C C.)
Another promised social justice utopia that went downhill, not unlike the later Marxist states of the 20th-century. The leaders and intellectuals (secular priesthood) of such rebellious movements using radical equality as the seductive lure, but entrenching themselves in power as the new ruling inner circle and heavy-handed bureaucrats after a successful revolution.
- - - - - - - - - -
The history of Haiti is one in which the nation’s governing classes have exhibited a contempt for the masses extraordinary even by the standards of the global south. It is also one in which foreign powers have never shrunk from repression and bloodshed, or straightforward theft, in pursuit of their aims, sometimes in alliance with local elites, sometimes in opposition to them. Haiti is now the poorest nation in the Americas and among the most unequal in the world.
The tragedy of Haiti is not just the devastation wrought on its people but also that, while today it may be a symbol of corruption and lawlessness, 200 years ago it symbolised, indeed was the living embodiment of, the opposite: the possibilities of human emancipation. Haiti was born in 1804 out of a 13-year revolution in which the enslaved people of the then French colony of Saint-Domingue dismantled their chains, defeated, in succession, the armies of France, Britain and Spain, and established a new nation.
Their astonishing success turned the revolution into an inspiration for those resisting slavery and colonialism across the globe.
In the independent Haiti, though, the necessities of a class-driven world ensured that the new ruling class governed as would any elite, whether in Haiti, France or America. Its objectives were to maintain power, suppress dissent and enforce the exploitation of labour. A weak and divided ruling class ensured that Haitian political life was punctuated by a succession of coups and insurrections. The suppression of democratic movements became the constant thread of the nation’s history.
The ruling elites in Europe and America, meanwhile, fearful that the Haitian example might embolden others struggling for freedom, sought to isolate the new nation, refusing for decades even to recognise it.
In August 1791 the first slave armies were established in northern Haiti under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture inspired by the Vodou houngan (priest) Boukman, and backed by the Spanish in Santo Domingo – soon a full-blown slave rebellion had broken out across the entire colony.
[...] The independence of Saint-Domingue was proclaimed under the native name 'Haiti' by Jean-Jacques Dessalines on 1 January 1804 in Gonaïves and he was proclaimed "Emperor for Life" as Emperor Jacques I by his troops. Dessalines at first offered protection to the white planters and others. However, once in power, he ordered the genocide of nearly all the remaining white men, women, children; between January and April 1804, 3,000 to 5,000 whites were killed, including those who had been friendly and sympathetic to the black population.
Only three categories of white people were selected out as exceptions and spared: Polish soldiers, the majority of whom had deserted from the French army and fought alongside the Haitian rebels; the small group of German colonists invited to the north-west region; and a group of medical doctors and professionals. Reportedly, people with connections to officers in the Haitian army were also spared, as well as the women who agreed to marry non-white men.
[...] Struggling to revive the agricultural economy to produce commodity crops, Boyer passed the Code Rural, which denied peasant laborers the right to leave the land, enter the towns, or start farms or shops of their own, causing much resentment as most peasants wished to have their own farms rather than work on plantations.
Starting in September 1824, more than 6,000 African Americans migrated to Haiti, with transportation paid by an American philanthropic group similar in function to the American Colonization Society and its efforts in Liberia. Many found the conditions too harsh and returned to the United States.
Mar 12, 2024 12:01 AM
(This post was last modified: Mar 12, 2024 12:44 AM by Yazata.)
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