#40 - Jacmel Celebrates the Flag

Bicolore shines in the South-East, theater for peace in Port-au-Prince, which enjoys a little respite, and Watson-G pleads his case

Jean Elie FORTINE

Etienne COTE-PALUCK

Jean-Paul SAINT FLEUR

, and

Stéphanie Tourillon-Gingras

Jun 02, 2024

∙ Paid

Students in the streets of Jacmel on May 18. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

The Haitian flag, a symbol of freedom, was fervently celebrated throughout the country on May 18. In Jacmel, as in many other cities, students marched through the streets in the morning, proudly waving their flags.

This and more in HAITI WEEKLY #40 by DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO, a collective of journalists and media professionals based in Haiti.

Editor’s note: Over recent weeks, part of the Dèyè Mòn Enfo team has traveled to the mountains behind Port-au-Prince to visit the South-East department. We'll bring you the behind-the-scenes photos in our next issue.

Etienne Côté-Paluck

Summary #40

Bicolore Shines in the South-East
Theater for Peace: Children on Stage with BIT-Haiti
Music Video of the Week: Nou tout ki lakoz by Watson-G
‘The gangs are in charge': Haiti's Outgunned Police Fight a Desperate rear Defense
A brief respite in Port-au-Prince
Press reviews of the week

Bicolore Shines in the South-East

Schoolgirls in the streets of Jacmel on May 18. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

The Haitian bicolor is more than just a flag. At the dawn of independence, the leaders of the Haitian Revolution adopted this symbol at a congress on May 18, 1803. Since then, it has been a source of pride and the ultimate symbol of freedom.

Big parade in Jacmel to celebrate the Haitian flag. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

Every year, young people take to the streets in their uniforms. Parades are organized, often accompanied by brass bands or loudspeakers mounted on trucks.

Students in the street in Jacmel on May 18. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

Once again, the march was led by students from the public high school in Jacmel. In interviews with journalists, some of them took the opportunity to demand more teachers and better conditions, while hoping for a more festive atmosphere next year.

Young people film a video criticizing the conditions of their schools and the city on May 18, 2024. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

In the evening, people gathered throughout the country and in the Jacmel region to share a drink on this day, which is also a national holiday.

Daytime celebrations in Jacmel (1-8); an evening crowd in Marigot (9). Photos: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

A young girl celebrating the flag in Jacmel on May 18. Photo: Jean Elie Fortiné / Dèyè Mòn Enfo

Flag Day commemorated in Cap-Haïtien - Le National
Kominote Ayisyen Atlanta Selebre Fèt Drapo - VOA Nouvel
The province celebrates the flag - Le Nouvelliste
May 18: young people save the flag festival in Gonaïves - Le Nouvelliste

tidezod

A post shared by @tidezod

A boat launched on May 18 in Cayes-Jacmel. Photos: Jean Elie Fortiné/Dèyè Mòn Enfo

Theater for Peace: Children on Stage with BIT-Haiti

Flag Day at the ILO workshop with 11 teenagers. Photo: Carlin Trezil/ILO

Last Friday, the Brigade d'intervention théâtrale (BIT-Haïti) presented the final show of a theater workshop with 11 teenagers aged 11 to 13 who live in camps for displaced persons in Port-au-Prince. They created and performed a series of touching scenes about their reality.

The rare presence of the state and the attacks by armed groups in Carrefour-Feuilles, where most of them come from, have left deep marks on their minds, as have the harsh living conditions in the camps. These young people live in two public institutions converted to house them: the Lycée Marie-Jeanne and the École nationale Colbert Lochard.

They attended school in the morning and participated in their workshop in the afternoon. The workshops were led by actress and directors Jenny Cadet and Stéphanie François, who is also a psychoeducator.

“Many children cried during the show because their parents cried when they saw them,” Eliezer Guérismé, artistic director of the Brigade d'intervention théâtrale - Haïti, told Dèyè Mòn Enfo.

Le spectacle de théâtre vendredi (1-3) et des souvenirs des ateliers (4-6). Photos : Carlin Trezil/BIT

Forced to rebuild a life at 12, a Haitian girl joins thousands seeking an escape from gang violence - AP News
Meeting with Angy Desravines to Launch the “Teyat Kwape Vyolans” Project - Le Nouvelliste

Music Video of the Week

Nou tout ki lakoz - Watson-G

Watson-G's reflective songs are a great success in these difficult times. His new song “Nou tout se lakoz” (We are all responsible) is a plea to the police.

In this melancholic song, the artist tells how he finds himself caught in the crossfire. He sees himself as a victim of both the bandits and the police, and wonders where the police are when people need help.

“Is it because there's a lack of training at the [police] academy, that the bandits always target us [the population] first?” he wonders.

Armed groups sometimes organize concerts in the areas they control. DJs, rappers and singers who are popular with young people are often invited. Refusing such an invitation could put their lives or the lives of their families in danger, the musicians say.

“The bandits are threatening me, the police are threatening me”, Watson-G explains in the song.

Watson-G is said to have played a concert on May 18, during the Flag Day in Canaan, the northern suburbs stronghold of the armed group led by the man nicknamed Jeff. A picture of this concert circulated among some police officers, according to an online video that warned the singer. A few days later, this song was published on the artist's official accounts, followed a few hours later by the videoclip.

At least two rappers, H-Taliban and ASAP-Jesus, both quoted in the song, died since last year on their way back from a concert. Several popular radio hosts have even suggested that an undercover police officer may have been involved in H-Taliban's murder.

“I'm going to give up. I'll go back to my plan A, I won't take up arms, or I'll leave the country.”

Excerpt from Nou tout ki lakoz

Released a week ago, the video has already been viewed nearly half a million times on YouTube.

Haitian music hits (in French) in the L’effet Pogonat radio show on ICI Musique last week.

‘The gangs are in charge’: Haiti’s Outgunned Police Fight a Desperate Rear Defence

Report by a member of the Dèyè Mòn Enfo team for The Guardian on Haitian police officers..

With violent insurrectionists in charge of 80% of the capital, Haiti’s police cling to their mission in the face of deadly odds

Etienne Côté-Paluck in Port-au-Prince and Tom Phillips

A Haitian National Police (PNH) vehicle in front of the Haitian flag on the Champs-de-Mars, May 4. Photo : Jean Elie Fortiné

As the arrival of foreign troops in Haiti seems more and more inevitable, the armed gangs of the capital have begun to destroy the police infrastructure in the areas they control. Meanwhile, with the exception of Solino and its surroundings, and Gressier, the remaining free neighborhoods are enjoying a moment of respite. Schools have reopened and May 18 celebrations have been organized in some parts of Port-au-Prince.

Two weeks ago, in the southern part of the city, still under the control of armed groups, the Martissant police station was largely demolished, according to videos posted online. In addition, according to a report by the magazine Ayibopost, a dock has been built in front of the Village de Dieu neighborhood, with the use of a drone to monitor certain areas beyond police control.

Exclusive | Izo builds a wharf to wait for Kenyans - Ayibopost
Armed gangs destroy Martissant 1 sub-police station - Loop Haiti - Loop Haiti
Haiti - FLASH : Gangs worried about the arrival of the multinational force - HaitiLibre.com

In the same vein, in recent days, the Croix-des-Bouquets civil prison in the northern suburbs, the second largest of its kind in the Port-au-Prince region, has gone under a mechanical shovel. Built by the Canadian government, it was inaugurated in October 2012. It is located on territory that fell into the hands of an armed group last March, as did the police station in Croix-des-Bouquets, a town now almost entirely outside the control of the Haitian state.

It was therefore surprising to learn this week that two American citizens were still staying there. Sadly, they were murdered along with the local director of their organization, which was founded by relatives of the evangelist couple.

An analysis of the armed groups, the role of the United States and the multinational mission: in the podcast Ça s'explique with a member of the Dèyè Mòn Enfo team.

The commercial port and the National Port Authority (APN) have resumed their activities behind large barriers, guarded by men armed to the teeth. The entry and exit of tractor-trailers remains dangerous. They are regularly hijacked. Several different armed groups are now involved in these operations.

Interview on Radio-Canada Première's *Midi Info* program

DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO’s team

Photojournalists: Francillon Laguerre, Sonson Thelusma, Andoo Lafond, Milot Andris, Patrick Payin
Editorial board: Etienne Côté-Paluck, Jean Elie Fortiné, Jean-Paul Saint-Fleur
Interns: Wilky Andris, Donley Jean Simon
Special collaboration: Stéphanie Tourillon-Gingras, Carlin Trezil, Mateo Fortin Lubin
Media partners: Centre à la Une, J-COM, Nord-Est Info
Institutional partners: Kay Fanm, Mouka.ht

Special thanks to the Fonds québécois pour le journalisme international (FQJI) for its support.

How Does Your Contribution Help?

Your monthly support helps to finance the production and pay the salaries of the DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO staff in the communities of Cité-Soleil, Port-au-Prince and Cayes-Jacmel. In addition, donations are regularly distributed for medical expenses, school fees and other emergencies in these communities.