Streets controlled by gangs, newsrooms closed: how violence is eroding Haiti’s media

Around 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes, largely due to violence perpetrated by gangs.

According to the UNESCO Observatory of Murdered Journalists, 14 media workers have been murdered in Haiti since 2021.

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day celebrated annually on May 3, UN News spoke with two journalists currently working in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Jean Daniel Sénat: work for the newspaper The nouvellelist and Radio Magik 9. At the moment Journalists operate in a particularly harsh and restrictive environment characterized by security challenges.. The gangs currently control more than 80 percent of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Oberde H. Charles: I am editor of the newspaper The National and for Pacific Television. We cannot move freely. There is little communication between the different departments of the country, and between certain neighborhoods of the city to which we have restricted access. All this limits our work as journalists.

Jean Daniel Sénat: Our job is to go out into the field to gather information, look for first-hand sources, talk to witnesses, tell stories. This is very challenging because We are constantly threatened by criminal groups..

Sometimes we are also under threat from the police.who may suspect that journalists work for gangs, since they can enter neighborhoods controlled by them.

At the same time, criminal groups also believe that journalists sometimes conspire with law enforcement authorities by providing them with information.

Oberde H. Charles: Recently, two fellow journalists were kidnapped. In 2022, there were street protests led by textile workers demanding better conditions. Unfortunately, that day, police shots caused injuries. That same day a journalist colleague was also murdered.

Jean Daniel Sénat: Several dozen journalists have been murdered. Some have been kidnapped and others have had to flee the country and live in exile due to threats from criminal groups.

Some media outlets, some journalists, have had to flee their neighborhoods, their offices, their homes. Personally, I have had to move house twice due to insecurity..

The nouvellelistlost its historic headquarters in downtown Port-au-Prince in February 2024 and Radio Magik 9had to abandon its facilities due to the advance of criminal groups.

One of my colleagues survived an assassination attempt and had to flee. But I also know fellow journalists who have been murdered. Some are missing and their families have not heard from them..

So on a personal level, I am deeply affected.

Oberde H. Charles: This is a very risky profession. In recent years, Many fellow journalists have decided to leave the country. and seek refuge in Canada, France or the United States.

They feel threatened and decided that the best way to protect themselves or their loved ones was to leave the country. Today, that seems to be the best decision.

The journalists who continue to work in Haiti despite the dangers are brave, truly brave.

Jean Daniel Sénat: Some radio stations simply stopped transmitting. There are journalists who have lost their jobs.

There are also journalists who bear the physical scars of gang violence. I know a journalist who lost an eye, another who was shot in the leg and has difficulty moving, and another who is still hospitalized in Cuba.

And then there is the emotional trauma. There are journalists who live with the trauma caused by the violence of criminal groups.

But despite everything we continue doing our job, because every profession carries risks.

Oberde H. Charles: Our country is not at war with another State, but there is war. AND This war is much more terrible and much more deadly than what is happening in Israel or Ukraine..

Jean Daniel Sénat: At the end of the day, we tell ourselves that if we do not document, if we do not inform, if we do not seek information, then it will be the population that will pay the price.

There are voices that will no longer be heard, stories that will no longer be told, facts that will no longer be documented.

Strong media is needed to tell the truth, to help people outside understand what is happening. in Haiti and obtain a clear and accurate understanding of the situation within the country.

Oberde H. Charles: Haiti needs a strong media that works objectively and provides good and truthful information. As a result, people know which areas they can go to and which they should avoid, during a day or for a certain period.

Lack of information can endanger democracy and, therefore, individual freedom.