The chaos caused by armed groups in Haiti continues. Last year alone, 5,600 people were killed and 1,500 kidnapped. There is no end in sight to this anarchy.
This was stated by Bishop Kenel Alphonse of Fort-Liberté to ACN. According to him, many Christians are desperate about what is happening in the Caribbean country.
He described the situation as “suffocating“, as daily life becomes increasingly difficult and the future is uncertain. Kenel Alphonse said that people feel very lost. Citizens are more than poor, they live in misery, and it is no longer a question of living, but of survival.
The problems facing Haiti are perhaps most acute in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where about a quarter of the country's 12 million people have migrated since the beginning of the crisis. Bishop Alphonse explained that in such crowded conditions, it is easy for armed gangs to organize among those who are desperate. These gangs attack citizens, steal from merchants traveling to the city to sell their goods, and brutal killings are a daily occurrence.
The current political, economic, and social crisis began with protests in Haitian cities in July 2018. in response to rising fuel prices.
The theme of Haiti is also a frequent feature of Pope Francis' speeches and prayers. "Let us pray for the people of Haiti who are experiencing violence and are forced to flee," he said last year. "I am following the dramatic situation in Haiti, where violence continues against the population, forced to flee their homes in search of safety elsewhere, both inside and outside the country. Let us never forget our brothers and sisters in Haiti. I ask everyone to pray that all forms of violence stop and, with the commitment of the international community, we continue to work to build peace and reconciliation in the country, always defending the dignity and rights of all," Pope Francis said, as quoted by Vaticannews.va.