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Ouanaminthe, Haiti in Flames: Rioting and Demonstrations Against the High Price of Food

11 April 2008

JRS-Haiti Calls for immediate action to address food shortages

On April 10, 2008 Jesuit Refugee and Migration Services of Haiti and the Dominican Republic asked the Haitian Government and firms with large investments in the agricultural sector in Haiti to act immediately to stimulate food production, as the current food shortages present a threat to social and political stability Haiti.  The request came in response to recent demonstrations and riots in the town of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, a Northwestern town that shares a border with the Dominican Republic, where JRS Haiti is based. 

The tensions spiked at dawn on Wednesday April 9, manifested by various tire fires set in the streets throughout the town.  The fires terrified much of the population and forced the temporary closure of schools and banks that feared being the victims of further acts of vandalism and looting on the part of desperate crowds.

The presence of National Haitian Police and UN mission troops (MINUSTAH) was noticeable in several parts of the city, particularly in front of the custom’s office.  The customs agents asked for extra protection, as citizens accused them of corruption and making the importation of goods difficult.  Apparently these confrontations followed a report by a Ouanaminthe retailer reported on a local station, Radio Power, that customs officials regularly confiscate “prohibited” merchandise such as eggs and chickens during the day, only to late resell the merchandise to other retailers later.  To prevent an escalation in violence, National Haitian Police patrolled certain sectors of the city they viewed as particularly susceptible to attacks.

At the base of the current turmoil lays a concrete fact: there is a scarcity in food and an dizzying rise in the price of the most basic human necessities in Haiti.  The violence currently affecting Ouanaminthe is not an isolated circumstance, but evidence of a dramatic increase in generalized unrest throughout Haiti. Citizens protest the inaction by the government to stem the tide of rising basic food prices, acting out of desperation because the rise in price does not correlate to any increase in the purchasing capacity of the population.  Most families are unable to meet their most basic necessities.

Historic Neglect

The Northwestern region of Haiti long ago lost the possibility of agricultural development. Local farmers today prefer to sell their labor as field-hands to the Dominican landowners, instead of working their small tracks of barren earth. These farmers are discouraged at the lack of State attention to their needs and the failure of the Haitian government to develop initiatives aimed at revitalizing the land.  Haiti’s economy remains essentially based in agriculture, even as the land yields fewer and fewer crops. Consequently, the populations of the Northwestern region of Haiti and many other departments have come to depend heavily on the products imported from Dominican Republic.

JRS-Haiti calls on the Haitian government, corporations operating in Haiti, and concerned international actors to take immediate action to curtail the current food-shortage crisis, and to develop sustainable long-term solutions to tackle the depravation of the population, induced by consistent neglect.  Failure to act without delay will have grave consequences for the future stability of the region. 

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