In early March of 2024, the President of Haiti Ariel Henry took a trip to Haiti. What happened next was unforeseen.
The island nation of Haiti located in the Caribbean has long been overrun with armed gangs and the violence they have caused and in the month of March, it hit a tipping point. The armed gangs that have long caused turmoil in Haiti seemed to have joined forces under one leader Jimmy Cherizier also known as Barbecue.
During the President’s trip, the gangs stormed the Capitol building and took all the politicians out of power; also, in the jails in Haiti, the gangs freed a lot of people, causing them to grow even larger with more and more gang members joining As many know Haiti’s military disbanded back in 1995 so when all the gangs joined forces Haiti’s small police force faced no chance leading to the Island’s eventually falling.
Now, the gang controls most of the capital city of Haiti, known as Port-Au-Prince. The group that took over the capital could be called a “gang coalition” under one leader “Barbecue”. News sites such as CNN, FOX NEWS, and ABC News all describe a gang that teamed up to overthrow the Haitian government, which they succeeded.
Haiti Now
Since the Gang attack on the capital Haiti has been under control by the gang coalition, President Henry has not been able to re-enter Haiti from his trip due to fear for his safety.
With Haiti in turmoil, and their police force now destroyed there are many question marks around the Haiti many questions asked are, should the U.S intervene, should there be a special U.N council in Haiti all these different factors and different choices for the island nation make this a very interesting situation.
11th grader Kensey Fredric said, “Honestly, I’m very concerned about what’s happening right now in Haiti. The state of the country is really bad, the government is being overrun by gangs, hard to get resources and stability, etc. You know as a Haitian I have a personal connection because that’s my country, my people, I have family going through struggle and like there’s not much anybody can do right now, ya know SO, I feel bad for the situation, and the people living there.”
With so many people of Haitian descent here in Coral Springs High, I asked for their opinion regarding the situation. 11th grader David Puello said, “… what’s going on in Haiti is crazy. Yeah, it’s really sad to see what’s happening right now. The situation there is really tough and people are going through a lot.”
Another student with an opinion on Haiti is 10h grader Aneika Francois, she told us “It is an extremely difficult situation that I think starts with the people of Haiti. There needs to be a definite government that applies these laws so people can obey”
With Coral Springs and the greater Broward area being a hotspot for many Haitians there is no secret our community has been greatly impacted by the problems going on in Haiti.
If you were in a position of power regarding Haiti, what would you do for this country and its people?
