Haiti: New academic course begins amid gang violence

Children go back to school, October 1, 2024 Photo: @mohcaribbean

October 1, 2024 Time: 7:00 PM

The academic year started Tuesday in Haiti, but it was uneven, with some schools closed and others turned into camps for displaced people, amid violence, especially in Port-au-Prince, and without special measures to ensure student safety.

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In the capital’s metropolitan area, the start of the 2024-2025 academic year was timid and uneven: while in some streets and neighborhoods today children were dressed uniformly, in other areas dozens of schools no longer operate after becoming housing. inhumane conditions, of those who have had to flee their homes because of the violence.

Many other Port-au-Prince residents have moved to safer areas in the country and, as recently warned by the organization Save The Children, some schools will be overcrowded.

Although traffic in the capital increased slightly at the beginning of this year, there were no traffic jams caused by public and private transport to and from school.

After six long years out of school, Sofia is finally back on the path to education!

UNICEF and the government are working together to ensure that every child can return to school, even in these challenging times.

Together, let’s give every child the opportunity to learn and thrive. pic.twitter.com/rvuBuv5oWQ

— UNICEF Haiti (@UNICEFHaiti) October 1, 2024

Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille went to the Lycée des Jeunes Filles in Chemin des Dalles (Centre-Ville, Port-au-Prince), where he was greeted by three students dressed in their uniforms.

In addition to explaining efforts in the field of education, he expressed concern about the situation of students whose schools have been converted into camps for displaced persons.

“My special thought goes out to the children who can no longer go to school at the beginning of this year because they are hostages of criminal groups. I would like to take this opportunity to say to these children and their parents that the Government I lead is sympathetic to their situation and pledges to take all necessary measures to create the material and environmental conditions that will allow them access to obtain education. There should be no inequality in education,” he stressed.

The opening of the course in Haiti takes place in a context of extreme insecurity, with armed attacks, kidnappings, gang rape and clashes between police and gangs.

According to UN data, around 700,000 people have been displaced by the violence in Haiti, and more than half are estimated to be children.

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