The PAW Revisits Haiti

[Uomo Senza Nome]

A woman hustles her young child into a waiting car, half-dragging him as she shields his eyes. Other family members follow with heavy suitcases, averting their eyes too. They're leaving the city, even though the drive through gang-controlled roads is risky.

The reason lies in the street before their house: A burned corpse; the remains of a suspected gang member killed by their neighbors. His knees are bent and torso pitched forward as if in supplication, metal wires wrapped around the charred flesh. This is the fourth such corpse CNN has seen in two days.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/21/americas/haiti-council-gang-intl-latam/index.html

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Armed gangs launched new attacks in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital.
Associated Press journalists reported seeing at least five bodies in and around the suburbs, and gangs blocked the entrances to some areas.
People in the communities under fire called radio stations pleading for help from Haiti's national police force, which remains understaffed and outmatched by the gangs. Among the communities targeted in the pre-dawn hours were Pétion-Ville, Meyotte, Diègue and Métivier.

The international response has been vapid at best. Nobody wants to get into the tar baby.

https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gangs-petionville-attack-violence-af4c9ffc2f94c58c6e8f3de4b289014a

[Raptor]

I have been to Haiti several times (last time was 2011 ish ). So I have no idea what it is like today.

I went there when Papa Doc ran the circus. I went there when Baby Doc was the ring master and again when others were in charge.

It was never a pleasant place. It kinda reminded me of NOLA at least when the "Docs" were running the place.

My last visit was as a backup for a pilot delivering supplies to an aid group on site. Those trips over 3 days left me with an absolute conviction that I would never return.

Haiti's history is remarkable. The occupation of the now Dom Rep provides anyone with an understanding of the animosity between those countries. BTW...the Dom Rep is also a place I will not visit again.

Where am I going with this? IMO the chaos in Haiti is useful to a group of people in Haiti. The group has changed over the decades and it will further change in the future. What will not change is the strong need for chaos in that country.

My advice is that distance is your friend when it comes to Haiti.

BTW.. if you ask about Haiti in other parts of the Caribbean (Jamaica, Bahamas, etc) the overwhelming reaction by their neighbors is less than positive.

[Uomo Senza Nome]

My concern is the now the number of Haitians that have relocated permanently to the US. More than 130K in the last two years.

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitian-immigrants-united-states

If the ran to get away then so be it. A few at least I imagine have come to start a new criminal enterprise, hence their less than stellar reputation in that part of the world. They will find America to be a more forbidding place for the free operation of criminals enterprise and the citizenry less compliant.

[Raptor]

I mentioned the fact that Haitians are not looked upon favorably by thier neighbors...that is due to the criminal activity and violence that seems to follow in thier wake.

The Bahamas deport them ASAP. They accept requests for refugee status, process it and  99% are rejected.

[Uomo Senza Nome]

In recent days, American military aircraft have arrived in Haiti taking contractors who will "set up the temporary living area" for the UN-authorised multinational security force.
The force will be led by 1,000 Kenyan police officers.

For those unfamiliar, the US employed Kenyans for security all over Iraq and other places during their time there. I believe at one time there were upwards of 15K in Iraq alone. I found them to be very professional and friendly. It will be interesting to see if they can restore ROL in Haiti. 


US flying weapons and equipment to Haiti as foreign forces combine to take on brutal gangs (msn.com)

[Raptor]

In recent days, American military aircraft have arrived in Haiti taking contractors who will "set up the temporary living area" for the UN-authorised multinational security force.
The force will be led by 1,000 Kenyan police officers.

For those unfamiliar, the US employed Kenyans for security all over Iraq and other places during their time there. I believe at one time there were upwards of 15K in Iraq alone. I found them to be very professional and friendly. It will be interesting to see if they can restore ROL in Haiti. 


US flying weapons and equipment to Haiti as foreign forces combine to take on brutal gangs (msn.com)

I have no doubt they will help in the areas they control. That said IMO it will take a lot more than 1,000 of any humans to improve the situation.

[NT2C]

I was there in '75-'76 during another PAW visitation.  I do not have good memories of that time. I hope they can get their shit together but I am not optimistic.

[Optimist]

I haven't looked into this partly because of so many people talking about cannibalism (I'm not sure if that's real or just some rumors that people started making jokes about). For some reason cannibalism freaks me out more than it should. I know that most people find it disturbing, but I find it scary all out of proportion to normal instances of murder and other horrible things.

I think that's why I like the zombie genre. It's close enough to cannibalism to scare me but fantastical enough to not be too scary.

I feel bad for people who live in places that seem to be in a cycle of dysfunction and chaos, and it's a disturbing reminder that we're all the same humans underneath and this type of shit show could develop here if allowed to take root.

[NT2C]

I would not rule it out, or even say it's unlikely, based on my past experiences.  Port-Au-Prince is the only place in the world where we ever issued watchstanders grenades.

[flybynight]

I haven't looked into this partly because of so many people talking about cannibalism (I'm not sure if that's real or just some rumors that people started making jokes about). For some reason cannibalism freaks me out more than it should. I know that most people find it disturbing, but I find it scary all out of proportion to normal instances of murder and other horrible things.

I think that's why I like the zombie genre. It's close enough to cannibalism to scare me but fantastical enough to not be too scary.

I feel bad for people who live in places that seem to be in a cycle of dysfunction and chaos, and it's a disturbing reminder that we're all the same humans underneath and this type of shit show could develop here if allowed to take root.

I bet you're not overly fond of the Bigfoot stories that involve people being eaten

[Optimist]

I haven't looked into this partly because of so many people talking about cannibalism (I'm not sure if that's real or just some rumors that people started making jokes about). For some reason cannibalism freaks me out more than it should. I know that most people find it disturbing, but I find it scary all out of proportion to normal instances of murder and other horrible things.

I think that's why I like the zombie genre. It's close enough to cannibalism to scare me but fantastical enough to not be too scary.

I feel bad for people who live in places that seem to be in a cycle of dysfunction and chaos, and it's a disturbing reminder that we're all the same humans underneath and this type of shit show could develop here if allowed to take root.

I bet you're not overly fond of the Bigfoot stories that involve people being eaten

I haven't read any of them. Didn't know there were such stories and I'm going to continue on pretending as if I had never heard of such a thing.