“On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned”
[May.02.2022] Haitians in the capital Port-au-Prince fled their homes as clashes broke out between rival gangs in the area for their territorial control. According to foreign media such as AP and AFP on the 29th of April (local time), gang fights have intensified in the northern region of Port-au-Prince.
Gunshots have been fired since the 24th of April as battles between the rival Chen Mechan and 400 Mawozo gangs, the latter of which kidnapped a group of American missionaries last year, broke out to further their territorial control. Twenty people, including children, have been killed in the area so far.
Thousands of residents felt their lives were threatened and fled the area. They fled their homes empty-handed and now stay in temporary shelters provided at schools, or live homeless on the streets.
60% of Haiti’s population is in poverty, making it one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean. it has not been a country of public security. Amidst continued economic hardship, political, and social unrest, gang abductions for ransom were frequent. Gang violence in Haiti has worsened since the assassination of president Jovenel Moise last July, with large parts of the country’s territory now out of reach of state authorities.
The administration of Prime Minister Ariel Henry has struggled to improve security however it is the ordinary people who pay the price of the lack of stability and bear the pain. ”I left everything behind,” said Kerline Brutus, 35, who fled with her three children from home, to AP News. She worried about her 96-year-old paralyzed father who was left behind at home.
They have been huddling under the front step of a store. “It seems like this country has no government. No one came to see how we are doing. We don’t’ know how long we’re going to be here or how long this is going to last,” she said.
Melissa Vital, who has fled with her 3-year-old daughter from her house when a gang broke into her house, said, “I don’t’ know where to go from here. I’ve been in the same clothes several days.” Lucien, who sleeps in the street with his sick mother, told AFP, “Some 400 Mawozo gang members set our house on fire. They break into houses and rape women.”
People who decided not to flee are locked up in their homes and lived without water or food. A young woman told AFP that her father’s diabetes and high blood pressure had worsened, but she could not go out to buy medicine because it was too dangerous to go out.
Haiti authorities are concerned that the roads leading to Haiti’s northern region could be blocked this time while the warring gangs have already occupied the road between Port-au-Prince and the south last year, AP reported(Source: YeonHap News).
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.(Isaiah 9:2,4)
Dear God, please come with the power of salvation to Haiti, where the number of refugees is increasing because of the collapse of society’s security and order. Shine Your great light on the gangs who dwell in darkness threatening people for their gain in the economic and political unrest, so that they may turn around from their sins and repent. We pray for Haitians who live in the land of the shadow of death. Please protect them and let them hold on to the hope of the Kingdom of heaven through the gospel of the Cross that overcomes sin and darkness.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
