Slave masters. Tonton makouts (secret police force). Zenglendos (road bandits). Chimères (armed gangs). Throughout Haitian history, its compatriots have endured different forms of terrorism. The latest intimidators are the kidnappers.
A steady stream of reports of abductions has halted the flow of diasporic dollars and trade that nourishes the country’s hemorrhaging economy. Many Haitians canceled annual summer jaunts to their native towns.
Despite Haiti’s persistent problems, this is the first time that so many Haitians living abroad are staying away from the country, according to experts. This wave of violence, unlike others, is real and kidnappings, murders and armed robbery have become as common as the pounding sun that shines on this politically troubled nation of nearly eight million people.
“You have more people coming from Haiti, than going there,” said Marie-Pascale Lambert, an agent at Apel International Travel in Flatbush. “Now, most people go because of a funeral or a relative who has been murdered.”
Sixty percent of the flights booked to Haiti have been canceled, Lambert said.
Three months ago, would-be passengers were booking flights daily, but now they call to cancel their trips, she said. The rumors about flights not going to Haiti and families advising them to cancel influence their decisions, Lambert added.
Officials at American Airlines, the sole U.S.-based carrier [flying to Haiti], said they would begin canceling flights July 15, by removing one of JFK Airport’s two flights to Port-au-Prince.
“If there’s fewer passengers, it doesn’t make sense for us to send a plane in the air and put a crew on the ground, without the traffic to justify it,” American Airlines spokesman Ned Raynolds said.
Contrary to the summer season’s usual prices, this year’s fare is about half. American Airlines is offering $369 for a round-trip, non-stop flight to Port-au-Prince from New York in mid-July, compared to about $600 just two months ago for the same travel dates.
With the cancelled trips come concerns about Haitians who depend on these families’ annual summer trips from the Diaspora to spend on local items or bring various goods. Many rely on the frequent trips of business owners, missionaries and volunteers act as tourists when they visit to sell their goods.
Harold Jean-Baptiste, a Queens Village resident, closed down businesses he owns at Croix-des-Bouquets, a suburb north of the capital, after a relative was killed a few months ago. Uncertainty also prevented him from going to his mother’s funeral.
“Right now, Haiti is going through the worst time in its history,” he said.
Shubert Denis, owner of Port-O-Prince Star restaurant in Cambria Heights, had plans to open a school in Delmas, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. But with violence running rampant, he cannot risk his money nor his life.
Nevertheless, he will go at the end of the season because he has land and other properties there. He said the kidnappings are present in other countries, such as Mexico, not just in Haiti.
“It’s painful for any Haitian who lives abroad to hear about the violence in Haiti,” Denis said. “A lot of them would like to go open businesses or retire there, [but they] are unable to.”
Makini Armand, a Brooklyn entrepreneur, canceled her plans to go to Haiti this month. Instead, she booked a trip to Guadeloupe and plans to visit Morocco in September. Armand said she is running out of supplies, especially herbs that customers use a lot, and they are very disappointed by the scarcity.
“I spoke to people I do business with,” said Armand, who traveled there monthly. “They said, ‘Makini, as much as I know you love Haiti, please do not come.’ The kidnapping business is really out of hand.”
In Haiti, a home construction and management company executive who asked for anonymity, said four armed men robbed him at gunpoint in May in Delmas 60. Fortunately for him, the would-be kidnappers were satisfied with taking money from him instead.
At the Seaport in Port-au-Prince two weeks ago, workers went on strike to protest the kidnapping of two workers. Time-sensitive shipments like meats, to have been delivered to businesses, were ruined and many stores went without expected merchandise for more than one week.
“Everyone is paralyzed,” Pétion-Ville the businessman said. “Business and commerce has slowed down. In downtown [the traditional center of commerce], some storeowners open for only an hour and have to close up so they could make it home before dark. Everyone is afraid.”
The brave ones
Despite the turmoil, other Haitians living abroad still go to see their family and to take care of other business. Many of them say it is their country after all and they have to go no matter what.
Jacqueline Espérance, a Jacmel native who lives in Brooklyn, said New York is not her home and no matter what the circumstances, she must visit her homeland.
Aloudes Jean, a Brooklyn vendor, considered canceling her annual trip to Mirebalais, a town located in the south-central Haiti. But she must visit her children and relatives. They told her to come because the problems exist mainly in the urban areas.
“I hope God will protect me,” said Jean who left for Haiti last week. “Not only these people are hungry and suffering, now they are being kidnapped.”
Dr. Bette Gebriam-Magloire, a nurse in southern Jérémie who directs the Norwich, Conn.-based Haitian Health Foundation’s Public Health division, said flight cancellations have been occurring for years, particularly among groups of students and doctors.
The embargoes and hurricanes of the early 1990s completely grounded flights at the time, she said.
“People who have a commitment to Haiti’s development always come back,” Magloire said from Jérémie via telephone. “They might stay away for a while, but they come back. This is not new.”
Haitian Times staff writer Macollvie Jean-François contributed to this story.”
