I’m about to describe a fictional city and you think about if you want to live there. It’s in the Caribbean, so it’s hot and exposed to hurricanes if they get close enough. A recent earthquake devastated the city. You won’t be able to walk on the streets because it’s too dangerous. Gangs infest the city and have mini wars between them right there in plain sight. This is what is happening in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince.

There are lots of videos, most of them by gangs who are broadcasting ransom for the people they kidnapped. A lot of them show terrible things happening to the people of Port-au-Prince, some of them I probably can’t name because this is a school newspaper. Over 2,000 people have been kidnapped off the streets in the fast growing trade. Gangs control about 80% of the city according to an estimate, and day by day the gangs will try to take more. Earlier in March Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency. 

Prisoners are being freed as the gangs destroy prisons which adds even more crime to the already chaotic streets. Law enforcement can’t do anything about this because police stations are being burned down and the police officers in them get killed. The remaining police officers risk their lives daily to fight the criminals.

Some neighborhoods in the city are getting creative to keep the gangs out. They use the biggest and heaviest things that they can find including dumpsters, RVs, and other automobiles to give them some time for peace in the violence. 

Even life for people in the gangs is terrible. A 14 year old told CNN that he doesn’t like to see people die in front of him every day. 

“The thing I hate the most is when [other gang members] kill someone and they make me burn the body.”

Is the government helping? No. The former Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, recently resigned. Although this might stop the protests, it will not help the issue of the gangs. Haiti is a mess, and if things keep going at this rate then the gangs might take over larger parts of Haiti.

Source: CNN