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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 8 augusT 2023
Thousands in Haiti march to demand safety from violent gangs as

killings and kidnappings soar

By Evens Sanon women and children are
Associated Press increasingly being kid-
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) napped and used for fi-
— Several thousand peo- nancial or tactical gain.
ple their faces covered Among those kidnapped
to conceal their identities in late July was Alix Dorsa-
marched through Haiti’s invil, a U.S. nurse from New
capital on Monday de- Hampshire, and her young
manding protection from daughter.
violent gangs who are pil- Dorsainvil works for El Roi
laging neighborhoods in Haiti, a Christian organi-
the capital Port-au-Prince zation that offers medi-
and beyond. cal care, education and
Haitians’ daily lives have other services. She and
been disrupted by inces- her daughter remain in
sant gang violence that the hands of their captors,
has worsened poverty who are demanding $1 mil-
across the country as it lion in ransom. Parents of
awaits a decision from the young children are particu-
U.N. Security Council over a larly fearful that gangs will
potential deployment of an snatch them when they go
international armed force. Protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by police during a protest against insecurity in Port-au- to and from school. Nach-
“We want security!” Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. eline Nore, 40, said her
the crowd chanted as it (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) two boys, ages 10 and 8,
marched for two hours have to call her every day
from the troubled commu- vendor and mother of two in 2021, experts say gangs months of 2022, according as soon as they step inside
nity of Carrefour-Feuilles who joined the march out have seized control of up to the newest U.N. report. their school, and she rides
to Champ de Mars in the of frustration. to 80% of Port-au-Prince, kill- On Monday, UNICEF an- back home with them ev-
downtown area and then “I worry about my kids be- ing, raping and sowing ter- nounced an “alarming ery afternoon: “You don’t
to the prime minister’s of- ing shot because bullets ror in communities already spike” in kidnappings, with know who’s going to be
ficial residence, where po- are flying from all directions suffering endemic poverty. nearly 300 confirmed cas- the next target,” she said.
lice broke up the demon- all the time,” Joseph said of From January to March, es so far this year, almost Mario Jenty, a 36-year-old
stration with tear gas. her children, ages 5 and 7. more than 1,600 people equaling the number re- cell phone vendor who
“I can’t work. I can’t go “The situation is unaccept- have been reported killed, ported for all of last year, joined Monday’s march,
out. I’m like a prisoner in my able.” injured or kidnapped, a and almost three times the said the increase in kidnap-
own home,” said Wilene Since the assassination of nearly 30% increase com- total for 2021. pings is pushing Haitians into
Joseph, a 36-year-old street President Jovenel Moïse pared with the last three The agency noted that even deeper poverty.q

Panama criticizes Colombia for not helping stem record flow of

migrants through Darien Gap

Associated Press the dangerous jungle of moving through the gap, which has grown consider- der communities, presum-
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Pan- the Darien Gap. which connects North and ably in recent days.” ably so fewer people work
ama’s top immigration offi- Immigration Service Direc- South America. In 2022, “Unfortunately, we have at smuggling migrants.
cial lashed out at Colombia tor Samira Gozaine said an average of about 700 not been able to reach The number of migrants
on Sunday, saying it is not that in recent days, be- migrants per day trekked any agreement with Co- crossing the Darien Gap
helping to slow the record tween 2,600 and 2,800 mi- through the roadless re- lombia, which continues swelled to almost 250,000
flow of migrants through grants per day have been gion. to indiscriminately send us in the first seven months of
In April, the United States, not only people from other 2023, surpassing the num-
Panama and Colombia countries, but Colombians ber that crossed in all of
agreed to try to crack as well,” she added. 2022.
down on the smuggling There was no immediate The United Nations project-
rings that bring migrants reaction from the Colom- ed that if the pace keeps
through the gap. bian government. up, as many as 400,000
But Gozaine said there has A joint statement issued may cross the gap by the
been a lack of information after the April agreement year’s end.
sharing and joint action on said the U.S., Panama and Migrants from South Ameri-
the part of Colombia. Colombia would offer ca mainly Venezuelans use
“Instead of getting bet- “new lawful and flexible the Darien Gap to travel by
ter, it has gotten worse, in pathways for tens of thou- land through Central Amer-
spite of the negotiations sands of migrants and refu- ica and head on to the U.S.
with Colombia,” Gozaine gees as an alternative to southwestern border. But a
said. “There has been no irregular migration.” host of people from other
agreement, no information They also promised invest- places, including Africa
Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama sharing, nor any effort that ment to reduce poverty and Asia, travel to South
in hopes of reaching the U.S., May 9, 2023. might help Panama man- and create jobs in Colom- America to use the gap as
(AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File) age the unregulated flow, bian and Panamanian bor- well.q