Haiti's child crisis: Hunger drives minors into armed gangs

More and more Haitian children are joining the armed gangs terrorizing Haiti and exerting control over 90 per cent of the territory of the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, which is home to over a million people. They are compelled to do so due to the widespread hunger in the country - as highlighted in a report released on Wednesday by the organization Save the Children.

The report issued by Save the Children on Wednesday alerts to the growing number of Haitian children enlisting with armed factions that dominate and intimidate over 90 per cent of Port-au-Prince, a city with a population exceeding a million. Hunger pervasive across the country is the primary driver behind this distressing trend.

The report starkly notes: "Some children have resorted to killing and stealing simply to obtain food".

The document sheds light on the harrowing measures to which famished young Haitians, conscripted into bands of professional assassins, are driven. Save the Children's findings reveal an increasing number of Haitian families are now forced to survive on just one meal daily.

In interviews with organization representatives, single mothers disclosed that engaging in prostitution seems the only viable option to feed their families.

The report draws a parallel between the current dire state in Haiti and the turmoil following the assassination of the country's president in 2021, which sparked a "power crisis". According to the report, "violence in Haiti has surged by 140 per cent" in comparison to the year prior. From January to the end of March, over eighty minors were killed while participating in armed group activities.

Currently, between 30 and 50 per cent of the gang members terrorizing the eleven-million population of this Caribbean nation are minors, coerced or voluntarily joined.

Save the Children is appealing to global leaders for immediate intervention to safeguard the children and adolescents of Haiti. This urgent plea is directed towards influential figures capable of facilitating the dire circumstances faced by the country's youth.