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Gas stations in Haiti reopen for the first time in two months

Gas stations in Haiti reopen for the first time in two months

Shouts of excitement resounded across Port-au-Prince as Haiti’s gas stations reopened for the first time in two months after a powerful gang lifted a fuel blockade.

“There is already gasoline! There’s gas already!” people yelled Saturday, honking their car and motorcycle horns as the Haitian capital slowly returned to its usual cacophony.

Sweat drenched the faces of people who pushed their vehicles toward the nearest gas stations and lined up next to the colorful “tap-tap” minibuses, emblazoned with messages like “Thank you Jesus.”

“I would say that this is the day that life begins again,” said Davidson Jean-Pierre, 35, who owns a small house painting business.

He and his employees are finally able to navigate Haiti with ladders and other equipment that could not easily be transported on the few motorcycles that continued to circulate during the blockade.

“My team is going to recover,” said Jean-Pierre.

Since a gang federation known as the G9 seized control of the area surrounding a major fuel terminal in mid-September, life in Haiti has come to a standstill, leaving millions like Jean-Pierre out of work.

The measure — aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry after he announced the rise in gasoline prices — forced the closure of gas stations, the reduction of critical services in hospitals and the reduction of hours in grocery stores. supplies. It also got worse an outbreak of cholera that has killed dozens of people and sickened thousands, with companies unable to distribute drinking water.

This week, nearly 400 trucks lined up at Port-au-Prince’s newly reopened Varreaux terminal, filling their tanks with fuel as heavily armed police escorted them to gas stations in the capital and elsewhere.

The trucks arrived after the G9, led by former police officer Jimmy Cherizier — nicknamed Barbecue — announced a week earlier that it was lifting the blockade after clashing with police trying to regain control of the area.

Although the trucks distributed 7.2 million liters of diesel and 4.5 million liters of gasoline, many on Saturday feared the fuel would run out soon as they waited for hours in the blazing sun.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to last,” said Arnel Fildor, 28, who expressed concern about high gasoline prices and the stifling economic crisis, whose inflation exceeds double digits in the midst of an increase in poverty in this country of more than 11 million inhabitants.

“We are not all in the same conditions. We do not have the same ability to survive. But we are all slowly died,” he added.

During the blockade, gasoline on the black market cost 4,000 gourdes ($30) for 3.8 liters (1 gallon), a price Jean-Pierre refused to pay, mistrusting that it was mixed with other liquids. .

On Saturday, Jean-Pierre planned to buy gallons of water and refill his propane tank, elementary tasks impossible to do during the blockade.

For their part, bus drivers such as Marc André, 40, said that while the reopening of gas stations was a relief, they were concerned about the high prices and the repercussions it will have on their livelihoods, due to the inability of passengers to pay a higher fee.

“They raised gasoline at the wrong time, when the economy is not working,” he said. “It will be very difficult for those who have nothing. Gasoline seems like a relief, but at the same time it will bring hardship to many.”

In mid-September, the prime minister announced that his government would no longer be able to subsidize fuel at the level it was doing. As a result, a gallon of gasoline increased from 250 gourdes (2 dollars) to 570 gourdes (4.78 dollars), diesel from 353 gourdes (3 dollars) to 670 gourdes (5.60 dollars) and kerosene from 352 gourdes ( 3 dollars) to 665 gourdes (5.57 dollars) in a country where around 60% of the population earn less than 2 dollars a day.

Bus driver Jean Joël Destin, 39, said the government does not understand what he has to go through to earn a living.

“We have nowhere to turn,” he said.

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