Violence Behind the Scenes in Haiti--June 2021

I received a couple of audio texts on WhatsApp today from a Haitian friend who lives in Soleil. 

He told me that his wife was up all night last night with severe abdominal pain. So he attempted to take her to the hospital this morning but there were too many armed "bandits" near and in the hospital so he had to abandon the plan.

Over the weekend, bandits blocked Route National 1 leading into Soleil and are now occupying the main police station in Soleil. 

With that being the case, my friend and his wife walked and tap-tapped it to a different part of Port au Prince and she saw a doctor at another hospital. The doctor ordered tests in a private lab downtown and so they are now on the dangerous and dirty streets again attempting to get these labs. And if the labs show something "bad" and she would need emergent surgery, then what? What would their plan be then with only pennies in their pockets and few functioning hospitals with medical staff that may not even be able to come to work?  

Civil unrest and corruption and gang violence all cause immediate and visible problems. However, much of the time the major damage to society is invisible to most people and occurs behind the scenes. Small problems can become big problems when too many obstructions take place for the average citizen as they attempt to find timely solutions.  

I spoke to a 60-year-old Haitian man the other day and asked him what should be done to save Haiti at this point. He calmly replied that the only thing that would save Haiti would be for the United States Army to come to Haiti again and take over. Many Haitians of course do not want the US or the UN soldiers to be on Haiti's streets. But my guess is that many Haitians, especially older Haitians like my friend, would be very glad to see a "foreign army" come in and create some organization in their country that is sinking. 

 

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org