PORT-AU-PRINCE — On a recent December day, Anette, a vendor, sat on a high chair in the local market in Route de Frères, looking over the provisions displayed on a table, while calling out to customers to buy her food.
But she did so on alert and with no intention of staying out too long because “lari à twò sispèk pou mwen,” meaning the streets are unsafe.
“I used to sell some decorations during end-of-year celebrations,” the single mother-of-3 said. “This year, I played the card of caution and decided to offer pumpkins and other ingredients for the soup [joumou] on January First. But still, buyers are not rushing.”
Given the atmosphere, Anette said, celebrating the holidays is not primary.
“How can we talk about a party when there is no life in Haiti,” she said.
While some events are being held by some organizations, the massive effort to put the capital in a festive mood is absent throughout neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, Delmas and Pétion-Ville. The lack of preparations and activities for the holidays, at the market and elsewhere, indeed shows the departure from the celebratory mood that marked festivities in the area in years past — due to the numerous crises blanketing Haiti.
“These days, if children tried to set off firecrackers, they would bring on ‘madichon’ [curses] on themselves.”ADELINE MESIDOR, RESIDENT OF FRÈRES.
During the December 18 weekend, the market sat dusty, the walking paths uneven. Nowhere are decorations adorning businesses along the avenues as in years past. At the public markets, trash litters the ground, again a reminder that typical cleaning efforts were not taken this year to leave areas tidy.
Vendors who usually sell decorative items to adorn homes are going unnoticed. Banks, large restaurants and shops are no longer decorated as usual. Children and youngsters who at times set off firecrackers are nowhere in sight this year either. Absent too is the typical bustle of families rushing back to the provinces from the capital, running errands to finish their big house cleanings and workers cleaning the streets – all illuminated by Christmas lights and decorations.
Though the government of Haiti has officially opened up the holidays with customary visits to the Prime Minister, many residents say the scarcity of fuel, severity and perpetual insecurity that prevail simply make it impossible to be in a celebratory mood.
“When we hear detonations, it is the masters of the country – the gang members – who are in action and we have to take cover,” said Adeline Mesidor, 29, a resident of Frères. “These days, if children tried to set off firecrackers, they would bring on ‘madichon’ [curses] on themselves.”
“We live in too much fear and misery is too excruciating for us to think of celebrating,” Mesidor added.
On Dec. 18, just one week before Christmas, armed bandits took over the streets and fired gunshots around the Frères and Pétion-Ville intersection. By Monday, the taxi drivers who usually park their vehicle at the crossroads chose to wait for passengers outside the area, waiting for customers to move. As a contingency, drivers also have to find shortcuts to avoid the main thoroughfares that make them targets of gangs.
“Insecurity in Haiti does more than destroy the lives and property of citizens. It also destroys habits,” one van driver said, while waiting for customers. “Today, the rush to provinces to be with families also greatly diminished. People are too afraid to take to the roads.”
A call for peace, a dubious “peace” declaration
On Dec. 5, Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared he’d lower public spending on end-of-year gifts such as Christmas baskets, pricey greeting cards and lavish parties by his administration as a cost-cutting measure. On Dec. 19, Henry received official greetings from various diplomatic and consular missions, representatives of international organizations, senior state officials who marched to his Bourdon residence.
In his remarks and on Twitter, Henry said his main wish was to see “peace return to conflict zones” in Haiti and throughout the world.
All around the metropolitan area, armed bandits are still on a warpath, frequently attacking residents – particularly around Croix-des-Bouquets, Pernier, Torcelle and Frères. But in the 3rd District of Port-au-Prince, where Martissant is located, gangs who have controlled the area for nearly two years declared they had come to a truce for the holidays, according to local media and several residents.
During the first week of December, cleaning activities were organized throughout Martissant. However, some residents remain skeptical about this announced peace.
“I really don’t understand what could have happened, or when the chiefs met,” one resident, a 28-year-old man, said. “Frankly, it scares me.”
Another resident, a young woman, said there can’t be peace until the gangs turn over their weapons or guns are no longer in circulation.
“I don’t believe in it,” she said. “The groups still have their weapons so at any time they can start fighting again. In addition, they continue to control the road leading into the deep south. Can we speak of peace in this case?”
Regardless of its origins or weight, the lull in fighting still gives hope for the new year to come.
“If these men who have been fighting for all this time can now manage to get along, it’s proof that we Haitians can really reconcile and move forward,” said Jacqueline Abellard, who wishes to see peace in the neighborhood.
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