HAITI: Salesians help vulnerable people
Salesians remain as insecurity ravages country
HAITI
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries living and working in Haiti are doing their best to help vulnerable people as they too have faced the insecurity that is ravaging the country.
The United Nations has noted that the first quarter of 2024 has been the deadliest for Haitians with 2,500 people killed or injured due to gang violence. Children are particularly vulnerable. Close to 30-50% of the gangs have children in them. In addition, close to 180,000 children are displaced with many facing severe malnutrition.
“Life in Haiti, especially in the metropolitan area Port-au-Prince, is difficult to describe in words. We are in a state of almost total anarchy. People are generally unable to carry out their activities and the main roads are closed,” said Father Victor Auguste, a Salesian missionary who lives in Haiti, in a recent article in Agenzia Fides. “The violence of the gangs is causing a significant number of displaced people, especially women and children. Despite the great insecurity and misery, Salesian missionaries, along with many others, continue to stand by the Haitian people.”
In the article, Fr. Auguste added, “Every day we face enormous risks and when I hear that an institution has been attacked, I think about when it will be our turn. A few weeks ago several nuns were kidnapped. The perpetrators entered their house and took them away. After a few days, they reappeared. And the same thing happens to the civilian population. They disappear and the perpetrators ask for money to release them. We live in the midst of the events and, like our brothers and sisters, we face the same difficulties. But we never considered the possibility of leaving the country because that would mean giving up our mission to help the most needy in difficult times.”
Salesian missionaries began working in Haiti in 1935 in response to the Haitian government’s request for a professional school. Since then, Salesian missionaries have expanded their work to include 11 main educational centers and more than 200 schools across the country.
The 11 main centers each include a number of primary and secondary schools, vocational training centers, and other programs for street children and youth in need. Salesian programs are located throughout Haiti, including in the cities of Port-au-Prince, Fort-Liberté, Cap-Haïtien, Les Cayes and Gressier. Today, Salesian missionaries in Haiti provide the largest source of education outside of the Haitian government.
It has been difficult for the Salesians but they persist with their mission. In the article, Fr. Auguste explained, “We live in a constant climate of insecurity, with forced displacement and famine. The problems of food, hygiene and drinking water must be solved urgently. It is also very difficult to ensure economic survival. The little money we had was intended for the enrollment of students. Now most of the schools in Port-au-Prince cannot open. As an economist, I have to ask the community for drastic rationing because we really do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is clear is that the gangs want to control the whole country. Most of the financial resources we have come from abroad. It is very difficult to get help in the urban areas because the communication routes are closed. However, something can be done in the rest of the country, especially in the north. There we can buy products and distribute them to those closest to us, such as students, their families and our collaborators.”
Fr. Auguste calls on the entire international community to participate in initiatives to help aid the Haitian people during this difficult time. He concluded, “Haiti has been in a serious political, economic and social crisis for years and for this reason it is difficult to mobilize concrete and practical help that can counteract the criminal gangs. We are grateful to all those who help us and for the interest they show in learning about this crisis that we are going through in silence and in the face of the indifference of the international community.”
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Agenzia Fides – AMERICA/HAITI – Father Víctor Auguste: “The situation is difficult to describe in words”
Salesian Missions – Haiti
World Food Programme – Haiti
