#52 - Les Cayes Airport Goes International
Les Cayes International Airport, Tempokata open-air theater, Domec Brusly celebrates his muse, Clarens Siffroy at World Press Photo, Mirebalais attacked, Seau d'Eau lost and Port-au-Prince trapped
The international section of Les Cayes airport was inaugurated with great fanfare at the beginning of March. A number of dignitaries travelled to the airport for the occasion, but many questions remain unanswered, according to locals who have been dreaming of a direct link with the outside world for decades. This and more in HAITI WEEKLY #52 by DÈYÈ MÒN ENFO.
Editor’s note : Producing a media outlet in Haiti, especially one with a socio-cultural vocation, is becoming more complex by the day. Unable to return to Port-au-Prince, a large part of our team was forced to stay in the Grand Sud, without knowing for how long.
Summary #52
Les Cayes International Airport: Between Hope and Cynicism
Ayida: An Open-Air Stage in the Streets of Les Cayes
Music Video of the Week - Ma muse by Domec Brusly and Roody Roodboy
Clarens Siffroy Wins World Press Photo Award
Mirebalais Attacked, Saut-d'Eau Lost
Port-au-Prince Residents Stranded
Les Cayes International Airport: Between Hope and Cynicism
The Antoine-Simon International Airport in Les Cayes was inaugurated with great fanfare on March 6 in the presence of the President of the Transitional Presidential Council, several ministers and dignitaries. The facility, which already functions as a regional airport, now houses immigration and customs office. According to the authorities, it will be able to accommodate 80 passenger planes, up from 30, and receive flights from abroad.
The transformation of the regional airport into an international airport has long been a dream of the people of the Grand Sud. The project will make the region less dependent on the capital, where the country's main airport is located. This initiative, driven by a desire for decentralization, has gained in popularity since the capital has been in a state of war and all roads leading to the South have been blocked.
But almost a month after its inauguration, no international flight has landed there. The flight from Columbia announced for March 28th did not take place. At the inauguration, it was revealed that a contract signed with Vorbe & Fils had extended the original runway from 500 metres to 1,850 metres. Two days before the end of his mandate, Leslie Voltaire, outgoing President of the Transitional Presidential Council, also promised the return of electricity to Les Cayes, which, like several other cities, has been without power for several years. He also spoke of his dream of creating an industrial park to process local products.
But skepticism remains. A real control tower is still missing, we were reminded. "Nothing serious is being done. It was Voltaire who wanted to inaugurate it before the end of his term of office," said an airport employee during our visit.
Ayida: An Open-Air Stage in the Streets of Les Cayes
The Tempokata theater troupe took to the streets of Les Cayes on March 23 to present Ayida, an allegorical play about the suffering of the Haitian people and the failure of its elites.
A woman dressed in the colors of the Haitian flag symbolizes a country torn between politicians and the media in search of personal interests. “It's a summary of what the country is going through right now,” said one of the actors in the play, which has about fifteen performers.
The play is based on poems by Jean Verra Charles and directed by him.
Music Video of the Week
Ma muse - Domec Brusly ft. Roody Roodboy
Young singer Domec Brusly scored his first big hit with Ma muse, a compas-sounding love song with troubadour influences, released in December. In the last two weeks, the song has taken off again with a remix and music video in collaboration with Roody Roodboy.
This new version has more than one million views, more than double the number of the original. Originally from Côte-de-Fer, Domec Brusly has announced that he is currently working on his long-awaited debut album.
Clarens Siffroy Wins World Press Photo Award
Photojournalist Siffroy Clarens, a contributor to HAÏTI MAGAZINE and AFP affiliate for the past year, has won the World Press Photo award for North and Central America. His ten-photo report documents the crisis in Port-au-Prince with sensitivity and humanity. He will receive the award in Amsterdam on May 13.
Mirebalais Attacked, Saut-d'Eau Lost
Dozens, if not hundreds, of armed men took to the streets of Mirebalais on Monday morning. They freed about 500 prisoners, mostly pre-trial detainees, before being repelled by the forces of law and order and locally trained vigilante groups. Several armed attackers were killed.
“There were so many of them that killing five or ten didn't make much difference,” explains our contributor Sadrax Ulysse, editor-in-chief of Centre à la UNE, HAÏTI MAGAZINE's media partner.
“The whole team is safe,” he said by phone last Monday night, after being forced to flee his own home because it was too close to the fighting.
The Centre department, north-east of Port-au-Prince, has been relatively spared from major offensives by armed criminal groups, unlike neighboring Artibonite, where Haitian police and Kenyan troops have been mobilized for several years.
According to the latest reports, police officers in Saut-d'Eau, the site of one of the most important Vodou pilgrimages, abandoned the town to armed groups on Thursday morning. For several days, the police had been complaining about the lack of reinforcements. Faced with the strength of the criminal groups, they had to give in and leave the commune to them.
Port-au-Prince Residents Stranded
The noose continues to tighten around Port-au-Prince. Although the attack on the Christ-Roi district was repelled, clashes continue there. The advance of armed groups beyond Carrefour-Feuilles also continues. Gunfire was reported on Avenue Christophe, home to the Humanities Department of the Université d'État d'Haïti and other academic institutions. The entire Bas-Peu-de-Chose district is now a conflict zone.
The Baryajou district has been emptied of its inhabitants in recent days, and the violence has moved closer to Croix-des-Prés, which is also largely deserted. With each new offensive, brigades from the Canapé-Vert district block the road to Pétion-Ville.
Surrounded on all sides, the inhabitants of the capital have found themselves trapped several times in the past month. The Bourdon road, which runs alongside Christ-Roi, is now the only passable exit to the highlands. All other roads are now impassable, especially when the self-defense groups in Canapé-Vert close their access to Pétion-Ville.
Since March 1, law enforcement agencies have been using new equipment in their fight against armed groups, including explosive drones. A new security unit, partly controlled by the Prime Minister's Office, is using these so-called “kamikaze” drones in a number of conflict zones.
The attacks targeted Village-de-Dieu, the stronghold of Johnson “Izo” André, and lower Delmas, the territory of Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier. The latter even declared in a video that he was planning to obtain similar weapons to retaliate.
Violence also intensified in Kenscoff, where a Kenyan policeman from the multinational force was shot and wounded. Hopes of reopening the last road linking Port-au-Prince to the rest of the country are fading as it becomes increasingly impassable.
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: Siffroy Clarens, Sadrax Ulysse, Stéphanie Tourillon-Gingras, 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.
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