Displaying items by tag: fear and dread

Haitians are surrounded by gang warfare. One of the largest gangs is 400 Mawozo who kill police officers. Outmanned and outgunned by well-armed gangs, police are demanding that the government back them up with better support and more equipment. The G9 is an alliance of nine gangs led by an ex-policeman. They control coastal ports and oil terminals, seize goods lorries, and extort money from businesses. An estimated 60% of Haiti’s capital is classed as ‘lawless’ by human rights groups. The city, similar in size to Los Angeles, is paralysed by dozens of gangs battling for power and territories. Once buzzing with nightlife, it now looks and feels like a ghost town. Shops are shut and residents have vacated homes, fearing of being caught in the crossfire. On city outskirts, huge swathes of the community are living from hand to mouth, without electricity or access to clean water.