GNV News, January 17, 2025

On January 14, 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that in Haiti the number of internally displaced people in 2024 rose to more than 1.04 million, three times the 2023 figure. In the capital, Port-au-Prince, most of which is controlled by multiple armed groups known as “gangs,” more than 5,600 people were killed by violence in 2024, and thousands were injured or kidnapped. These acts of violence, the collapse of essential services—most notably health care—and worsening food shortages have caused displaced people to increase by 87%, and more than half are said to be children. Eighty-three percent of displaced Haitians rely on already overburdened host communities—acquaintances, friends, and family—and even in shelters in the capital, basic services such as food, safe water, sanitation, and education are lacking. In addition, in 2024, 200,000 Haitians were forcibly returned from the Dominican Republic and the United States, placing further strain on already saturated social services.

Haiti is located in the Caribbean and was originally inhabited by the Taíno people, but it became a French colony and has a history of enslaved people being forcibly transported from Africa. In 1804, an uprising of enslaved people achieved independence. However, it has faced various difficulties, including the payment of enormous indemnities to France, U.S. intervention, the rise of dictatorial regimes with private militias often cited as the origins of the “gangs,” coups against presidents, and major earthquakes. After the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, a political vacuum emerged, and control by armed groups expanded across the country. In April 2024, interim prime minister Ariel Henry was ousted, and the Haitian government fell into dysfunction. A Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) has been deployed, but it has not produced sufficient results.

Learn more about Haiti → “Haiti: The Absence of Government and Its Prospects”

An IOM staff member interviewing a family who crossed from the Dominican Republic to Haiti (2015) (Photo: IOM – UN Migration / Flickr［CC BY-NC-ND 2.0］)