Rights group finds Haitian gangs lure hungry children, up to 30% of recruits are children – Firstpost

Hunger and poverty drive children to join criminal gangs in Haiti, so much so that 30 percent of gang members are children.

A report by Human Rights Watch shows that children are being forced to join criminal groups that operate in thousands of countries in Haiti. Their membership requires them to indulge in criminal activities and their vulnerability leads to abuse by high-ranking gang leaders.

Much of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, is controlled by armed groups. According to estimates by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2.7 million people, including half a million children, live among these gangs.

‘I can eat if I’m part of it’

The rights group’s report shows that gang members lure children into exploitation with food. At home they had to sleep on an empty stomach, but because they were part of criminal gangs, they had food in their mouths, forcing parents to admit their children.

“Before I joined, I lived with my mother… It was very difficult to get food and clothes. There was no food at home. But when I was with (the group), I could eat,” said a 16-year-old boy who joined the Village de Dieu group at age 14.

These children not only face violence within the group, but also experience brutality from rival gangs and the police. Girls are especially at risk of sexual violence.

A humanitarian worker said: “Gabriel, the gang leader of Brooklyn (in Cité Soleil), asks his henchmen to bring him a virgin girl every month. If the boss does this, there is no way to stop others from doing the same.”

There is also no way to escape, as gang leaders threaten to kill children who refuse to carry out their assigned tasks. “Once they told me to blindfold someone we were going to kidnap. When I refused, they threatened to kill me,” one boy told HRW.

What role do children play in gangs?

Children recruited into gangs are forced to loot, extort, kidnap and even kill people.

Initially, boys are used as informants to provide information about police patrols or to facilitate robberies. Some have to run errands, such as buying food, while others carry and transport weapons.

For the work, these children receive between 100 and 20,000 gourds (less than $1 to $150) per month, as well as food and shelter if they need it.