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For months, Haiti has been the prey of armed gangs, which already control 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and kill, rape, kidnap and loot. For ten days, the country has been plunged into a movement of frustration, in which Haitians arrest and execute suspected gangsters. A movement that already has a name: bwa kale.
Ten days ago, the inhabitants of Canapé Vert, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, intercepted 14 suspected bandits, lynched them and burned their bodies. The night before, the gangs had tried to seize new areas of the capital, provoking the anger and mobilization of the inhabitants.
Since then, under the name of bwa kale, a Haitian slang expression meaning “erection”, lynchings have multiplied in the provinces, for example in Artibonite or Grande Anse, and always in the capital. Sometimes with reprisals: last week, several people carrying ammunition were lynched by residents of Carrefour Feuilles. Members of the Gran Ravin gang then attacked the residents, forcing them to leave their homes, before being repelled by the police themselves.
“Don’t take the law into your own hands”
On Monday, the Prime Minister spoke for the first time since the movement began. “Let’s not let bad plans make us play dirty,” said Ariel Henry, as he called on the population to continue cooperating with the police.
The police, whose spokesman had already condemned the lynchings last week: “Do not take justice into your own hands.” For his part, the UN special envoy for Haiti stated that this would lead “to a collapse of the social fabric in the country, with unforeseeable consequences for the entire region.”
