The shooting occurred on Tuesday leaving at least three people dead at Haiti’s largest public hospital known as the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince. There were two journalists and a policeman among the victims, others got injured as armed men who claimed to be Viv Ansanm gang members fired shots.
Press Briefing Madness Erupts Again
The shooting took place when officials were briefing media personnel on the preparations for reopening of the hospital. When the gunmen started firing, journalists, police, and medical care staff were around Health Minister Lorthe Blema.
Witnessing of the event gives first hand account of the incident. Speaking to photojournalist Dieugo André who was an eyewitness noted that was like being in a terrible movie— this was an account of how the blood of injured journalists drenched his clothing.
The General Hospital and the Attack
One of Haiti’s central medical facilities, the General Hospital, had been looted and burning by violent gangs before being reclaimed by the government in July. The reopening of the facility was expected to mark a new beginning of normalcy in a country that has been experiencing upheavals.
However the attack is a sharp reminder that 85 % of Port-au-Prince still falls within gang controlled area and lawlessness has worsened since the assassination of the former president Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
Responses of Governments and International Organisations
On the attack, the head of Haiti’s presidential transitional council Leslie Voltaire said in a video statement that he sympathized with the victims’ families, and assuring that consequence for the perpetrators shall follow.
Originally a transitional government was put in place in April and six months ago an international force mainly composed from Kenyan policemen was sent to the country, but still the problem of gangs is present.
Haiti – on the Edge
According to the United Nations approximately five thousand Haitians have died this year alone, a sign of Haiti’s worsening situation. That wave of violence has placed the country on the edge of collapse where its citizens are forced to endure conditions that they say they cannot bear.
Conclusion
The General Hospital attack is yet another brutal evidence that only radical and immediate action is required to bring back stability in Haiti. As with all governments, the promise of justice is given, however profound and systemic societal problems must be supported and change must be maintained on both an international and local level.
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