On Tuesday, a United Nations-backed group of foreign police entered Haiti. Their arrival comes nearly two years after the troubled country requested help to quell gang violence. Hundreds of police officers from Kenya landed in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The Kenyan police will face violent gangs that control 80% of Haiti’s capital. Bands of thugs pillage neighborhoods in a quest to control more territory. Gangs have left more than 580,000 Haitians homeless. They have killed several thousand in recent years.
A UN office in Haiti welcomed the Kenyans: “It is a crucial step in the fight to restore security . . . and protect the rights of Haitians.”
The UN Security Council authorized Kenya to lead the global police mission in October 2023. That came a year after a government request for immediate help.
“We’ve been asking for security for the longest time,” says Orgline Bossicot. The mother of two sells carrots and charcoal.
Gang violence dampens her sales. Bossicot tries to stay out as late as possible before sundown to make up for the losses. But it’s a frightening experience.
“You don’t know who’s waiting for you around the corner. We are a target,” she says.
Still, some Haitians are apprehensive about the police mission. The UN’s previous 2004-2017 peacekeeping mission was marred by allegations of assault. Peacekeepers also brought a devastating cholera outbreak to the country in 2010. Nearly 10,000 people died from the disease.
The Kenyan deployment comes nearly four months after gangs attacked key buildings in Haiti. Gang members seized control of more than two dozen police stations. They shot at the main airport and stormed the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.
Former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in late April amid the surge in gang violence. In late May, an interim council chose former UN official Garry Conille as acting prime minister. They appointed a new Cabinet in mid-June.
Despite new leadership, gang violence persists. Experts say the government must address factors—such as poverty—that fuel gangs. The Caribbean nation is very poor, with an understaffed and under-resourced police department.
On social media, Conille saluted the resolve of the Kenyan government and its people to support Haiti “in the fight against the insecurity that is corroding society.”
The Kenyans will be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad, and Jamaica.
U.S. President Joe Biden praised the arrival of the first group of police. “The people of Haiti deserve to feel safe in their homes, build better lives for their families, and enjoy democratic freedoms,” he says. “Haiti’s future depends on the return to democratic governance. While these goals may not be accomplished overnight, this mission provides the best chance of achieving them.”
Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. — Matthew 7:12
