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HAITI: Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital
Port-au-Prince, Haiti – As the sun sets, a hefty man yells into a megaphone, drawing a curious crowd around him. Next to him is a little cardboard box containing many currencies worth 10 Haitian gourdes, or around 7 US cents.
“Everyone give whatever they have!” the man yells as he grabs the arms and hands of individuals approaching a district in the capital of Port-au-Prince that has been targeted by violent gangs.
The community recently voted to purchase a metal barricade and construct it themselves in an effort to protect inhabitants from the unrelenting violence that killed or maimed over 2,500 people in Haiti between January and March.
AP – VOR News Image
HAITI Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital
“Every day, I wake up and find a dead body,” said Noune-Carme Manoune, an immigration officer.
Life in Port-au-Prince has become a survival game, pushing Haitians to their limits as they struggle to keep secure and alive while gangs outnumber the police and the government is mainly absent. Some are erecting metal barricades. Others accelerate aggressively as they approach gang-controlled regions. The few who can afford it hoard water, food, money, and medicine, all of which have become scarce since the main international airport shuttered in early March. Marauding bandits have effectively stopped the country’s largest ports.
“People in the capital are trapped; they have nowhere to go,” stated Philippe Branchat, the International Organization for Migration’s leader in Haiti, in a recent statement. “The capital is surrounded by armed groups and threats. “The city is under siege.”
Phones frequently buzz with warnings reporting gunshots, kidnappings, and fatal shootings, and some shops have so many armed guards that they resemble tiny police stations.
Gang attacks were once limited to specific places, but they can now occur anywhere and at any time. Staying at home does not ensure safety: A stray gunshot hit a man in the back while he was playing with his daughter at home. Others were killed.
Schools and petrol stations are closed, with fuel on the illicit market retailing for $9 per gallon, or about three times the official price. Banks now ban consumers from withdrawing more than $100 per day, and cheques that used to clear in three days now take a month or more. Police officers must wait weeks to be paid.
AP – VOR News Image
Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital
“Everyone is under stress,” said Isidore Gédéon, a 38-year-old guitarist. “People are distrustful of one another following the prison breach. The state does not have control.”
On February 29, gangs with an estimated 80% control of Port-au-Prince initiated coordinated attacks on crucial governmental infrastructure. They set fire to police stations, attacked the airport, and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing over 4,000 inmates.
At the time, Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya to advocate for the deployment of a police force supported by the United Nations. Henry is still barred from entering Haiti, and a transitional presidential committee charged with appointing the country’s new prime minister and Cabinet might be inaugurated in as soon as this week. Henry has promised to quit once a new leader has been installed.
Few expect that this will be the end of the crisis. Not only are gangs causing bloodshed, but Haitians have also embraced a vigilante movement known as “bwa kale,” which has slain several hundred suspected gang members or associates.
“There are certain communities I can’t go to because everyone is scared of everyone,” he stated. “You could be innocent, and you end up dead.”
In only one month, more than 95,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince as gangs invade towns, torch homes, and kill people in opposing territory.
Those fleeing by bus to Haiti’s southern and northern provinces face the possibility of being gang-raped or killed as they transit through gang-controlled areas where gunmen have opened fire.
According to the International Organization for Migration, violence in the capital has rendered approximately 160,000 people homeless.
“This is hell,” said Nelson Langlois, a producer and camera operator.
Langlois, his wife, and their three children spent two nights sleeping flat on their home’s roof as gangs raided the neighborhood.
AP – VOR News Image
Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital
“Time after time, we peered over to see when we could flee,” he said.
Langlois, who was forced to split up due to a lack of shelter, now lives at a Vodou temple while his wife and children reside somewhere in Port-au-Prince.
Langlois, like the majority of city dwellers, spends much of his time indoors. The days of playing pickup soccer on dirt roads and drinking Prestige beer in pubs while listening to hip-hop, reggae, or African music are over.
“It’s an open-air prison,” Langlois explained.
The violence has also pushed companies, government organizations, and schools to close, leaving many Haitians unemployed.
Manoune, a government immigration official, stated that she has been making money by selling treated water because she is out of work due to postponed deportations.
Meanwhile, Gédéon stated that he no longer plays the drums for a living, saying that pubs and other venues have closed. He sells small plastic bags of water on the street and has worked as a handyman, repairing fans and fixing appliances.
As the crisis worsens poverty in Haiti, students are also entering the workforce.
Sully, a tenth-grade student whose school stopped over two months ago, stood on a street corner in Pétion-Ville, selling fuel he bought on the illegal market.
“You have to be careful,” added Sully, who requested that his last name be omitted for safety reasons. “During the morning it’s safer.”
He sells approximately five gallons every week, earning about $40 for his family, but he can’t afford to join his classmates who are learning online.
AP – VOR News Image
Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital
“Online class is for people more fortunate than me, who have more money,” he remarked.
The European Union confirmed last week the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge from Panama to Haiti. Five flights arrived in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s only working airport, bringing 62 tons of medicine, water, emergency shelter equipment, and other crucial supplies.However, crucial items cannot be guaranteed to reach those in most need. Many Haitians are still confined in their homes, unable to buy or look for food amid flying gunshots.
According to aid organizations, approximately 2 million Haitians are on the edge of hunger, including over 600,000 children.
Nonetheless, individuals are devising strategies to survive.
Back in the area, residents are putting up a metal barricade, and sparks fly as one man cuts metal while others shovel and mix concrete. They are well into the project and aim to complete it soon.
Others are doubtful, noting accounts of gangs jumping into loaders and other heavy machinery to demolish police stations and, most lately, metal barricades.
SOURCE – (AP)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.
Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”
The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”
Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.
Lawless protestors run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest.
The Prime Minister dances.
This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.
Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved. pic.twitter.com/PVJvR6gtmf
— Don Stewart (@donstewartmp) November 23, 2024
“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”
“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.
On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”
Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.
Pro-Palestinian protests
Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.
Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.
Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.
On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.
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The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.
The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.
The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.
“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”
According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.
Calgary Zoo Questioned
It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.
An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.
Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.
“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.
The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.
“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.
“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.
While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”
Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.
The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.
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Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.
Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.
The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.
While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.
Lotto Max History
Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.
The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.
Let’s have a look at the rules:
- Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
- Numbers cannot be repeated
- Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
- Each play buys 3 lines
- Each play costs $5
Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)
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