Last updated on February 18, 2023
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – On July 7, 2021, assassins crept into the house of Haitian president Jovenel Moise. The first shots rang out at 1:00 am, shattering the quiet of the night. The people in the neighborhood recognized the sounds and feared the worst. Despite being protected by a private security team, President Moise was murdered and his wife was wounded.
Over the past two years since the murder, violence has risen across the island nation. Gangs are roaming the streets pillaging and robbing from businesses and private individuals alike. The gangs are fighting for control The United Nations reported that gangs are raping girls as young as 10 years-old. Sexual violence, the UN Report said, was being used as tool to instill fear, punish, subjugate, and inflict pain on local populations.
In recent days, it was reported the three men entered a house in Cite Soleil. Inside the house was a pregnant woman named Rose and her four children. The men beat Rose and raped here in front of her children. Earlier in the day, Rose’s husband had been murdered by suspected members of the gang who beat her, raped her, and then set her house on fire.
Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the situation in Haiti can only be described as a “living nightmare.”
Some content courtesy of The Associated Press, The BBC, The United Nations, and YouTube.