It’s been over 240 days since protests first started, and the streets of the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, and its neighboring provinces have all been shut down by the government.
The remaining streets that are accessible to the public are filled with angry protesters voicing their frustrations through acts of violence and aggression. The cause? The country’s U.S.-backed president, Jouvnel Moïse, and his corrupt government system. Things only got worse this past October 1st after a news photographer and a security guard were both shot by a Haitian Senator.
Soon after the incident— and in retaliation to it— angry crowds started shattering windows of passing cars with rocks, while other protesters blocked streets with burning tires and garbage pilings.
But these recent protests have not been the only ones — they have just been part of Haiti’s constant state of revolt. Since the beginning of last year, thousands have repeatedly marched in the capital to demand President Moise to step down from his position.
Half the protesters have been either shot, beaten, or arrested while the rest of the country’s population has been suffering from the economic backlashes of the chaos. Riots were only fueled as the government announced earlier this year that it would cease to provide gas and diesel, which ultimately caused many people to spiral further into poverty.
Since September 16, 2019, the capital of Port-au-Prince has been almost entirely locked down with protesters burning schools, banks, and businesses to the ground.
Besides the obvious animosity against President Moïse, marchers were also upset about what other politicians were doing behind the scenes. There have been massive corruption scandals with big name companies and current government officials (including the president).
Businesses within Haiti have partaken in illegal cash distribution and many public officials even admitted to taking bribes of up to $100,000 in exchange for a vote in many elections.
“Corruption has been a disease for Haiti for I don’t know how long,” stated Jean Boulay, a Haitian native and teacher at Miami Lakes Educational Center. “If there wasn’t so much corruption, I could’ve seen a future in my country and I could’ve stayed there.” he continued.
With the government making many financial mistakes, there is now an additional $100 million debt that caused the country to completely stop gas production for three weeks, which didn’t sit well with the Haitian people.
“They are fighting for a better life. To them, there is nothing to lose,” stated Boulay. “They have tried to find another way to bring change [without violence], but in those cases people do not want to hear what they have to say,” he continued.
Protesters have even taken the blame for the burning down of clinics and stores — a move that many allege is an effort to ultimately get media attention. Some protesters have even taken the blame for carjacking a government minister’s vehicle. Protestors are now forcefully demanding that the president step down.
But many are not only blaming Haiti’s long corrupted government. Many too blame the United States.
“The U.S. is the number one problem for Haiti. They aren’t looking [out] for the interests of Haiti. They are looking out for their own interests,” said Boulay. “Every year you hear the U.S. say they gifted Haiti hundreds of millions of dollars. But where does that money go? Right back into the pockets of the U.S.,” he continued.
And with the increasing poverty levels, more than half the population lacks the proper amount of food and many children are malnourished.
“There is no government service; there is no social service: there is no hospital service; there is no hygiene service. Everything the people here in the U.S. have and take for granted– the Haitian people don’t have any of it,” said Boulay.
“Electricity, they don’t have that. They don’t even have water. You go to a hospital and it’s completely empty because the Haitian people, they have nothing,” Boulay continued.
With many people being critically injured at protests, the few hospitals that do exist can not keep up with the hundreds of patients who are now coming in everyday. With people constantly getting arrested because of the current state of the government, these people never get the representation that they need and stay in jail while the government continues to be corrupt — and with the U.S backing Moise and the recent gas shortage, the protests have only escalated further.
After many months of silence, the Haitian president, Jouvnel Moïse, finally addressed the nation and its current disheveled state on September 25th.
Moïse had called for a “government of national unity.” But because of the lack of electricity and the speech being at two in the morning, only a select few were able to hear the supposedly national speech.
Many have lost hope for a new era as things only seem to have gotten worse.
“It seems like every time we take one step forward we take 50 steps back,” stated Magalie Desire, a Haitian Native and teacher at MLEC. “The government is looking out for themselves and their own interests. The country will not advance. If change needs to happen, something has to be done now.”
The president and the government have become completely corrupt and have now left the country to destroy itself. The people are meant to be represented by its government–but in the case of Haiti, the people are left to fend for themselves.
“The president is incopetent and corrupt and so were the ones before hand. It’ll take a completely new generation of people to retake the new Haiti,” said Boulay.
“Haitians have to now stand up and decide to work together to rebuild our country, they can not depend on others,” he explained.
