UNICEF says number of children recruited by gangs in Haiti has increased by 70 percent

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children at unprecedented levels, and the number of minors targeted has increased by 70% in the past year, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF.

Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents flee their homes to escape gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A girl with asthma rests while taking shelter at a private school that serves as a refuge for residents fleeing gang violence in the Nazon neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

According to the UN, 30 percent to 50 percent of all gang members in the country currently subject to violence are children.

“This is a very worrying trend,” said Geeta Narayan, UNICEF representative in Haiti.

The increase occurs as poverty deepens and Violence increases in an environment of political instabilityGangs that control 85% of Port-au-Prince are attacking once-peaceful communities in a bid to gain full control of the capital.

Young men are often used as informants because “they are invisible and not seen as a threat,” Narayan said in a telephone interview from Haiti. Some are given weapons and some are forced to take part in attacks.

Girls, on the other hand, are forced to cook, clean, and even be used as so-called “wives” of gang members.

“They are not doing this voluntarily,” Narayan said. “Even if they are armed with a gun, the child here is the victim.”

easy prey

In a country where more than 60 percent of the population lives on less than $4 a day and hundreds of thousands of Haitians live they are starving or approaching starvationIt’s usually easy to recruit kids.

According to a UN Security Council report, one minor involved in the gang said he was paid $33 every Saturday, while another said he was paid thousands of dollars during his first month in gang operation.

“Children and families are becoming increasingly desperate, in some cases due to extreme poverty,” Narayan said.

If children refuse to join a gang, gunmen often threaten or simply kidnap them or their families.

Gangs also prey on children separated from their families. Deported from the Dominican RepublicIt shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.

“These children are increasingly being targeted,” Narayan said.

Gangs are not the only threat an illegal movement that started last year Efforts to target suspected gang members are gaining momentum.

UNICEF said the children were “often viewed with suspicion and risked being labeled as spies or even killed by vigilantes.” “When they refuse or refuse to engage in violence, their lives and safety are immediately put at risk.”

A video shared on social media after the gangs last week attacked an area The body of a child was spotted lying next to an adult who was also killed, around an upscale community. Police said at least 28 suspected gang members were killed that day as residents armed with guns and machetes fought side by side with officers.

Increased vulnerability

According to the UN Security Council report, the gangs that recruit the most children are 5 Segond, Brooklyn, Kraze Barye, Grand Ravine and Terre Noire.

Often new recruits are ordered to buy food and given money to “buy friends”, as gangs observe. They then participate in conflicts and are promoted when they kill someone, for example. According to the report, after two or three years in the gang, the new member becomes part of the gang if he proves that he is not a spy.

Hiring is on the rise as many schools remain closed and children are increasingly vulnerable, while gang violence has left more than 700,000 people homeless in recent years, including an estimated 365,000 minors. Many living in makeshift shelters where they are hunted by gangs and subjected to physical and sexual violence.

“Criminal groups in Haiti subject girls and women to horrific sexual abuse,” Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.

In the report, it was stated that a 14-year-old girl living in the capital said that she, along with six other girls, was kidnapped and raped many times by different men in the same house for five days, and that these girls were also raped and beaten.

Human Rights Watch noted that clashes between armed groups have decreased this year, but attacks on Haitians, police and critical infrastructure have increased.

“Criminal groups often resort to sexual violence to instill fear in rival regions,” the report said.

‘Everything is not a bed of roses’

Gangs target children as young as eight, experts say, and the longer they spend with an armed group, the harder it becomes to rescue them and reintegrate them into society.

Violence is rewarded and encouraged, which Narayan said is extremely harmful to the child’s psychosocial development.

Kids leave gangs in a variety of ways: Some leave willingly, others run away, and sometimes nonprofits find them and take them to centers where they can receive medical care if necessary. psychological help and other assistance.

“There is a transition period,” Narayan said. “Everything is not a bed of roses. “It takes time in every aspect.”