CNN calls them vigilantes and militias but what they appear to be are regular people who are trying to avoid being killed and taken hostage by the country’s gangs. They call themselves bwa kale and they are a violent response to the violence and threats made by the gangs who have taken over much of the country.
Since the start of the month, criminal groups have been attacking with unprecedented coordination the last remnants of the Haitian state – the airport, police stations, government buildings, the National Penitentiary. The culmination of years of growing gang control and popular unrest, their joint assault forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign last week, a stunning capitulation that has nevertheless proven futile in restoring calm…
In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Canapé Vert, the bustling side streets are evidence of a once-unthinkably harsh strategy to…
