The number of students in classes has fallen from 238,000 at the start of the gang crisis in April to 184,000 now.Violence, school closures and idleness lead inexorably to the enrollment of children into armed groups. “There are always shootings where I live and often people cannot get out. The schools are closed, and we are all abandoned in the streets. When you live on the street, you become a street child, and that’s what gets us into gangs,” says Steve.
I’ll be killed if I leave the gang
“Giving children weapons to fight and using them as soldiers or spies is a violation to their child rights and condemned by both national and international laws,” says Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Haiti. “It saddens me that children who are willing to learn and teachers willing to educate cannot do so because they feel unsafe. Children must be able to attend school safely, play freely and enjoy being a child and given a chance to develop to their fullest potential.”
Steve led a peaceful life as a suburban child. He played with his younger brother and two younger sisters, and thoroughly enjoyed his childhood with his grandmother. “I used to ride my bike, play video games and watch movies until dark. Sometimes, I went to fetch water for my grandmother and I also cleaned the house,” he recalls.
Broken childhood
Violence is impacting an increasing number of schools and has shattered the dream of many children. An education ministry assessment between April and May 2022 of 859 schools in Port-au-Prince revealed that 31 per cent of had been attacked, and over 50 had closed their doors to students. A large number of schools have been occupied by gangs or are serving as temporary accommodation for families displaced by violence.
This year, the gang war has intensified. Since 24 April, half a million children have lost access to education in Port-au-Prince where some 1,700 schools are closed, according to government figures.