Skipping ropes, dominoes and light manual work: this is how the more than 300 Haitian children in the Saint-Louis de Gonzague school, which has been converted into an emergency shelter, are trying to forget the gang violence that has been forced on them, at least for a while, as they try to flee their homeland.
Separated from their parents, they spend the time between organized activities resting on the foam mattresses laid out on the school’s concrete floors in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
“They are traumatized, but when they start playing football they become children again,” says Sister Paesie, director of the organization Kizoto, which is responsible for their accommodation in the facility run by Catholic priests.
“But when we start talking to them, we realize they’ve seen terrible things,” the French nun, who has lived in Haiti for 23 years, told AFP.
Almost two weeks ago, the violent Cite Soleil slum in the Port-au-Prince suburbs where these children lived turned into a battleground between rival gangs.
According to the latest UN count, more than 471 people were dead, wounded or missing. And many more had to flee.
According to Sister Paesie, the homes of the vast majority of rescued children were burned down by gang members.
“A mother had her little baby in her house; it was burned in it. A little girl saw her father being sacrificed in front of her,” she said.
Few parents have found shelter with their children. Many did not make it out of the conflict zones, while others set up makeshift camps in public spaces away from the fighting. Due to the lack of space in the schools, the children had first priority.
– Dangerous evacuation –
Among the refugees sheltering at the school is Dieula Dubrevil, a frail, distorted woman with four children in tow. They had to leave their homeland in a hurry.
“The bullets hit my house,” she recalled, horrified.
“My husband walked out, they hit him … and hurt his head,” added Dubrevil, who hasn’t heard from her spouse for more than two weeks.
“Everyone is helping us here in Saint-Louis,” says Nicole Pierre, mother of nine and one of the few adults who was able to flee the conflict zone at the same time as the younger refugees.
Her brother wasn’t so lucky. He was killed, shot in the stomach while trying to leave their neighborhood. In all, more than 800 children and 20 adults managed to flee Cite Soleil with the help of religious groups, who carried out a very risky evacuation operation.
“The principal of one of our schools was very brave because the boys (gang members) had their guns pointed at her,” Sister Paesie said.
“She spoke to them and told them that these were just children and she managed to convince them,” the nun said.
The evacuees were gradually distributed among six shelters, including the Saint-Louis de Gonzague school. The school’s chairs and tables have been pushed back along the walls, and staff have converted a classroom into a storeroom for clothing and toiletries donated by NGOs and individuals.
Humanitarian organizations have also provided assistance: in particular, the World Food Program has delivered more than 10,000 hot meals to all locations where unaccompanied minors have been resettled.
As much as they may enjoy this respite, families know it is only temporary. With the start of the school year approaching, they will have to leave their sanctuary in a few weeks.
“People who have family outside of Cite Soleil will stay with them,” but half of the refugees have “no alternative solution,” Sister Paesie said with concern.
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