The Haitian capital Port-au-Prince remains under siege: even if clashes between gangs in the northern suburbs ceased for a few hours Thursday, May 5, the security situation remains very precarious. At least 39 civilians have been killed in just 12 days in this area, which more than 9,000 residents have fled in haste. Forced to leave everything behind, they worry about their future.
With our correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Amelie Baron
A young man and his family heard the bursts of gunfire nearby for a week, but thought they would be spared the violence by staying in their home. Sunday, May 1, the gang members However, they arrived a few meters from their home: they had to flee in an emergency.
” I only had in mind the idea of leaving as far as possible from where I was, without any precise destination.he says. I just ran. I didn’t want to go where I am now. In the rush, running, then taking a motorcycle, with my family, we finally arrived at a place where we could reflect. We called a friend who lived in the area to spend the first night there. Then we took a car to take refuge in another place. »
Leaving only with his identity documents and the clothes he wore on his back, the young man remains panicked and frustrated:
” I can’t say that I’m comfortable where I am, I can’t be comfortable, I’m not at home. I don’t even know if my house is intact, if something was stolen, because I don’t know if we closed the door, locked the barrier before fleeing. I am told that there are starting to be burglaries. »
Unable to know if he will ever be able to return home, this young man worries the growing power of gangs. After the district of Martissant, and now the plain, it is said that the whole city is threatened.
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