Haiti’s children increasingly caught in gang violence
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO— Haiti’s children are increasingly caught in the crossfire of gang violence, forced to carry weapons, spy on police and rival gangs and run errands for gunmen, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International.
One of 51 children interviewed by the human rights group said he was constantly pressured by a gang to fight alongside it.
“They killed people in front of me and asked me to burn their bodies. But I don’t have the heart for that,” the unidentified boy was quoted as saying.
An estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of gang members are now children, according to UNICEF.
Amnesty International said the children “had no choice, and that their involvement was predominantly out of hunger or fear.”
Gangs in control
Nearly two million people are on the verge of starvation in Haiti, and more than one million children are estimated to be living in gang-controlled areas, with 85% of the capital of Port-au-Prince under their rule.
One unidentified boy, 16, said he’s paid to run errands for a gang.
“(The gangs) are in control. And there is nothing you can do about it,” he was quoted as saying.
If children refuse to follow a gang’s orders, they or their family would be killed, according to the report, which relied on a total of 112 interviews and research done from May to October last year.
Children are not only in danger of gangs, but of vigilantes and police officers who believe they’re working for them, according to Amnesty International.
Girls and young women also have been collectively raped by gang members and infected with sexually transmitted diseases, often ending up pregnant in a country where health care is extremely limited.
‘No police’
One teen was raped by six men, and her sister by five others.
“There was so much blood,” the unidentified younger sister said in an interview.
Another teen recounted how she drank bleach to try and kill herself after having a baby after being raped by three men who then left her naked in public.
“People found me on the street and put a dress on me,” she said.
