Merchants fleeing the city center of the Haitian capital scattered everywhere 

PORT-AU-PRINCE—- It is 7 a.m. on June 17, 2024. We are on Avenue John Brown, an area located about three kilometers from downtown Port-au-Prince. Next to a renowned school, it’s noisy. The space is occupied by small merchants driven from the lower part of the city. Trucks full of goods settle in the area. And like in a bus station, we are deafened by voices inviting passers-by to board a minibus or a tap-tap. Merchants, against their will, are being forced to abandon downtown Port-au-Prince, which used to be—before gangs ravaged the Haitian capital—one of the most crowded commercial centers in Haiti. 

Faced with attacks from armed gangs in the areas surrounding the capital’s commercial areas, merchants no longer have a choice. To continue their activities, they are scattered across several streets of the metropolitan region and neighboring communities, spaces that are normally reserved for other activities.

On the streets of Pétion-Ville, Canapé-Vert, Delmas and Clercine—it is as if, in addition to the public markets, all the bus stations were located in this place. The living space of the Haitian capital is shrinking more and more, and gangs’ grip is on all economic activities.

“I was reluctant to take my place here because I was among the first merchants to find refuge in this area after having fled the city center because the bandits were terrorizing us,” said Jeanila Pierre, a merchant who displayed her goods on the ground. Talking to The Haitian Times using a pseudonym of fear for her life, she did not want to speak out loud to avoid getting into trouble. The mango seller whispered in our ears, demanding we not use a tape recorder so that people around her did not suspect that she was communicating with a journalist.

Indeed, if they manage to escape the dangers of the city center, they still cannot escape their fear. 

They are always on alert. They still occupy areas considered sensitive and dangerous, which explains why they are not exempt from stray bullets. However, they have no other choice but to face this fear daily because the survival of their families depends on it.

“I’m afraid to be in this space, but I can’t spend my whole life running away,” explained Jacob Innocent, a vendor who delivers bags of vegetables to small retailers.”Things are becoming increasingly difficult because I am forced to come here and there to deliver goods to small retailers. It was different when I had the opportunity to peacefully go to the Croix-des-Bossales market, the largest public market in the country.”

More or less dense from one place to another, the merchants stretch for miles. 

The sidewalks are busy, and all kinds of items are sold on the streets. From food products, vegetables, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, charcoal, fruits, and cosmetic products, to new and used clothes, and shoes, everything is on display.

The situation is more worrying in Delmas, a commune about six miles northeast of downtown Port-au-Prince. From Delmas 15 to Delmas 35, both ends of the street are crowded with small merchants. Next to the DelmasViaduct, about two miles from Toussaint Louverture International Airport, it’s a public market without the name.

“We have been occupying this space for almost a month now,” Lamerci Silencieux, a produce merchant who sells food products, said. She used to sell products inside Marché Hyppolite, a public market in downtown Port-au-Prince. “I resisted for years, but at the beginning of March, I was forced to leave the city center,” she told The Haitian Times, still fearing attacks from Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier’s “Viv Ansanm” gang coalition. The space she occupies now is less than two miles away from Barbecue’s stronghold.

So, it’s quite an adventure for these merchants in Port-au-Prince. As evidenced by their statements, leaving the city center does not necessarily guarantee them the security they expect to go about their business.

That makes Silencieux feel worried. She evokes the uncertainty that hangs over this crossroads because of the bandits who operate nearby. “On several occasions, projectiles fall near us when the gangs carry out attacks in the area,” she lamented. “Every now and then, we have to take cover at each crackle of automatic weapons.”

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