Almost 200 individuals have been killed in Haiti over claims of “witchcraft”. The killing spree within the capital’s coastal Cite Soleil over the weekend is believed to have been ordered by a gang chief who alleged that the victims had used witchcraft towards his youngster.
Right here is extra concerning the newest bout of gang violence within the Caribbean nation:
What occurred in Haiti?
Not less than 184 individuals have been killed on December 6 and seven in Cite Soleil, an impoverished, sprawling slum by the ocean which has lengthy been ravaged by gang violence within the capital metropolis of Port-au-Prince. The killings occurred within the Wharf Jeremie neighbourhood.
The spokesperson for the secretary-general of the United Nations reported on Monday that 127 of the victims have been aged. The UN added that gang members had burned the our bodies and thrown them into the ocean.
It has been reported that many Haitians have fled their houses in Port-au-Prince following the gang violence over the weekend.
On Monday, UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres known as on the Haitian authorities to correctly examine the killings and ensure “that perpetrators of those and all different human rights abuses and violations are delivered to justice”, based on his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. The Haitian authorities, in addition to the European Union, have condemned the assaults.
Who ordered the bloodbath in Haiti and why?
The bloodbath was “orchestrated by the chief of a strong gang” in Cite Soleil, UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk advised reporters in Geneva on Monday.
On Sunday, two native human rights organisations recognized that gang chief as Jean Monel Felix, who additionally goes by the moniker “King Micanor”, and mentioned he ordered the killings after his youngster turned sick and died on Saturday afternoon.
A neighborhood rights group, the Nationwide Human Rights Defence Community (RNDDH), mentioned that Felix had reportedly sought recommendation from a “Vodou” priest who accused aged individuals within the space of utilizing witchcraft to hurt the kid.
“He determined to cruelly punish all aged individuals and Vodou practitioners who, in his creativeness, could be able to sending a foul spell on his son,” Haiti-based civil organisation the Committee for Peace and Improvement (CPD) reported. “The gang’s troopers have been chargeable for figuring out victims of their houses to take them to the chief’s stronghold to be executed,” based on CPD.
In October, the UN estimated that Felix’s gang includes about 300 individuals and wields affect over the world between the capital’s major port and the worldwide airport, Toussaint Louverture Worldwide Airport.
Felix can also be allied to a gang coalition referred to as Viv Ansanm (Residing Collectively), which is led by a former policeman, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier.
What’s Vodou?
Vodou – additionally generally referred to as “voodoo” – is a monotheistic people faith that originated within the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries amongst Africans who had been kidnapped and enslaved from close to modern-day Nigeria and brought to Saint-Domingue, the French colony. Saint-Dominigue turned the unbiased state of Haiti in 1804 following the profitable Haitian Revolution.
The foundations of the faith are believed to be rooted in tribal religions from West Africa.
Vodou derives from the Fon language, and it interprets to “spirit” or “deity”. The faith is central to Haitian tradition.
Anthropologist Ira Lowenthal advised the UK’s Guardian newspaper in 2015 that Vodou was a response to slavery, which handled enslaved Africans like cattle. “Vodou says ‘no, I’m not a cow. Cows can not dance, cows don’t sing. Cows can not change into God. Not solely am I a human being – I’m significantly extra human than you,’” Lowenthal mentioned.
For a lot of within the West, the primary introduction to Vodou was the guide, The Magic Island, written by a white journalist, William Seabrook, and printed in 1929. Seabrook used racially coded language, comparable to “screaming, writhing Black our bodies”, to explain the follow.
Vodou has traditionally been attacked by different religions and unfavourable stereotypes about Vodou have lengthy been used to pathologise Haitian tradition. Earlier this 12 months, earlier than the presidential election in america, disinformation flooded the web within the type of claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been stealing neighbourhood pet cats and canine and consuming them. This was popularised by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who introduced the difficulty up throughout presidential debates to assist his anti-immigration marketing campaign.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2024
In September, Elon Musk shared a video on X that reveals a girl who claims to be of Haitian origin stating that sacrificing animals like cats is a standard follow of Haitian Vodou. This has been debunked by Ingrid Kummels, a Latin American ethnologist at Freie Universitat Berlin, who advised DW Information that cats and canine should not a part of such rituals.
How unhealthy is gang violence in Haiti?
Gang violence is rampant in Haiti and the most recent killings have introduced the demise toll from gang violence in Haiti to five,000 individuals this 12 months alone, Turk mentioned on Monday.
There was a pointy rise in violence in February this 12 months when Viv Ansanm launched a coordinated offensive, taking management of elements of the capital together with some rural areas, saying they wished to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. That occurred whereas Henry was on an official go to to Kenya requesting {that a} UN-backed, Kenyan-led police assist mission help in curbing gang violence in Haiti. In March, “Barbecue” Cherizier warned that if Henry didn’t step down, there could be civil battle in Haiti.
In late April, Henry resigned after being barred from returning to the nation for a few months, paving the way in which for the set up of a transitional council to select a brand new prime minister and ultimately conduct presidential elections. Henry’s resignation letter was signed in Los Angeles. On November 11, Alix Didier Fils-Aime was sworn in as prime minister of Haiti.
Gangs management 80 % of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the place violence is a frequent. Neither the federal government, weakened by infighting, nor the Kenyan-led police mission has been in a position to finish the assaults.
Rights teams have solely restricted entry to gang strongholds and depend on witness accounts to report gang violence. On November 25, the UN airlifted its employees from Port-au-Prince amid intensifying violence. Every week earlier than this, Docs With out Borders, identified by its French initials MSF, introduced that it was halting its providers within the capital as a result of “violence and threats from police”.
Gang violence has left greater than 700,000 Haitians internally displaced as of October, based on UN’s Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM). Greater than half of these displaced are youngsters.
