UN report warns children facing lack of schools, witness gang violence in Haiti

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 8th April. UN agencies on Sunday warned that children are suffering not just from a lack of schooling but witnessing gang violence in Haiti

According to a new UN report the students in Port-au-Prince have missed hundreds of hours of class time over the past year and more than one million Haitians are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity.

The UN examined the situation on the ground and how the UN is responding to the worsening educational crisis as deadly threats to school security continue in Port-au-Prince, and northern parts of the Artibonite department.

UNICEF said that by the end of January, a total of 900 schools had temporarily closed mainly in Port-au-Prince, deprived 200,000 children of their right to education.

Many schools abruptly shut in Port-au-Prince in late February, when armed gangs coordinated breakouts in jails, freeing around 4,500 prisoners, the agency noted.

IT stated that gangs control 80 to 90 per cent of the capital, and the UN agencies on the ground reported cases of armed groups recruiting children, spiraling violence, looting and destruction.

Catherine Russell, head of UNICEF said “The Haitian population is caught in the crossfire.”

“Spaces for children have been transformed into battlegrounds. Each passing day brings new deprivations and horrors to the people of Haiti.”

Basic security is urgently needed for the lifesaving services and for aid workers to reach those in desperate need, she said.

She called for the protection of schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure children rely on and for safeguarding humanitarian spaces.

The violence had displaced at least 362,000 people, with many caught up in the capital and thousands finding temporary shelter in public buildings, including schools.

UNICEF stressed that each classroom turned into a temporary home for multiple families.

Playgrounds became tented shelters. Gymnasiums were transformed into open dormitories for those seeking safety.

UNICEF representative in Haiti, Bruno Maes said “Many schools are not accessible as violence is ramping up around them,”.

“Some are occupied by gangs, others by displaced people and still more have been looted or destroyed.”

The heavily armed groups entered a downtown Port-au-Prince school and set fire to 23 classrooms. Aid agencies condemned the incident.

In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of La Saline, 3,500 children were trapped in two schools as gangs fought around them.

UNICEF engaged with the armed groups for four days before they could secure the safe release of the children.

The agency has urged all parties to safeguard students, educators, parents and educational infrastructure in line with the Safe Schools Declaration, a global political commitment endorsed by 119 countries, including Haiti, for better protection measures and support for continuing education during armed conflicts.

“The situation is desperate for children,” said UNICEF’s Mr. Maes.

“Children are killed, wounded, raped, displaced and denied access to basic services, including school.”

He added that they are “terrorized and traumatized”, some after witnessing burnt bodies on the streets.

Mr. Maes said after the very clear dangers, parents “still want to send their children to school”.

“Education is at the heart of every Haitian family; people put a very high value on it.”

As gangs continue to expand their control of vital roads and ports, their grip is extending outside the capital and the threat to school safety is mounting.

The majority of schools outside the troubled gang-controlled areas of Port-au-Prince and Artibonite are still functioning.

Many have admitted children who have fled because of violence and insecurity, although some parents are unable to pay school fees due to increasing poverty.

UN agencies have been working together to provide lifesaving essentials, like food, water and shelter, to thousands of Haitians in need and helping to get children back to school using new approaches.

International Organization for Migration initiative providing psychosocial support to students forced out of school by the violence, and the WFP supports hot meals for 250,000 children across the country.

UNICEF is assisting families affected by violence and displacement to reintegrate children into formal education.

The agency works with partners to establish alternative, safe and temporary learning environments.

According to a UNICEF report, the goal is to get children back to learning and into school meal programmes.

If schools remain closed, distance learning can be deployed via radio, television and e-learning platforms.

UNICEF is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to find a way to deliver this via Radio Télé Éducative broadcasts on Haiti’s national radio station.

It added that other opportunities to engage students during the crisis is to boost capacities at schools currently accommodating displaced pupils.