Intensified gang violence, US flights ban leave Haitians with few options to flee

When Haiti orphanage founder and author Mitch Albom heard that U.S. commercial flights into the troubled Caribbean nation were banned for 30 days after gangs shot at three commercial planes and the main international airport was shuttered, his thoughts immediately went to his kids.

Five of the children at Albom’s Have Faith Haiti Mission & Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, including a 4-year-old with severe developmental problems, had pending medical appointments in the United States and no way out.

“I have seen how close you can be to death with a kid,” said Albom, who finally found a way out for the children on a helicopter to Cap-Haïtien provided by HERO Client Rescue, a crisis response group.

Haiti is once again in the throes of chaos and the intensified gang violence is leaving both locals and foreigners with few options to get out.

In response to the alarming level of violence, foreign embassies and international aid groups are reducing their staffs in Port-au-Prince.

The United Nations International Office for Migration told the Miami Herald that it has “relocated a very low number of support staff” but most of its people remain in Port-au-Prince to assist with stepped up operations as the agency confronts an unprecedented displacement crisis due to gang violence.

The agency said the violence has led to the highest number of people fleeing their homes — 41,000 people in 10 days— since January 2023. More than 700,000 Haitians were homeless because of gang attacks over these last three years.

“The violence is forcing families to abandon their homes, often for the second or third time,” the agency said. “Displaced people face dire conditions with limited or no access to water, food, sanitation and healthcare.”

Hindering efforts to leave the country, the airspace between Haiti and the Dominican Republic remains closed as well, amid simmering diplomatic tensions between the two neighbors that share the island of Hispaniola.

Some government officials have been relying on a helicopter — provided by Taiwan to move security forces around the country — to get out of Port-au-Prince. Others with deep pockets have paid thousands of dollars for one of just six seats on a private helicopter, on which each passenger is only allowed to bring a 20-pound backpack.

The closure of the capital’s domestic and international airports means flight operators need to apply for a permit from Haitian aviation authorities. If the aircraft are licensed in the U.S. they need a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration.

In some cases, staff like those working for the World Bank are temporarily relocating to Cap-Haïtien, in the north of the country, where the small international airport was recently exempted from the FAA’s ban and offers the only way in and out of Haiti.

Last week three privately chartered helicopters ferried World Bank staffers from Port-au-Prince. The organization told the Herald that the temporary relocation of staff and their dependents was done on a voluntary basis “as a precautionary measure.”

The choppers set down at the top of a mountain in Pétion-Ville, the wealthy Port-au-Prince suburb that was later targeted by gangs in the middle of the night. Over the course of the day, residents said choppers landed at least 17 times.

On Friday, the State Department deployed two U.S. government aircraft to Port-au-Prince, one to evacuate embassy staff and another to watch from above as diplomats boarded. It was the fifth time since 2019 that the embassy, which has been closed for routine visa appointments since the pandemic, evacuated staff from Haiti.

On Sunday, a U.S. Air Force C-130 landed in Port-au-Prince to evacuate U.S. citizens. There were accusations of favoritism and lack of transparency after U.S. citizens registered with the embassy said they had not received any updates about evacuation flights.

The State Department said Monday said that U.S. citizens in need of assistance should contact the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince at acspap@state.gov, or call 202-501-4444 from abroad or 888-407-4747 in the U.S. and Canada.

People with experience in Haiti say things are worse than they have been all year. Gang disruptions, roadblocks and the recent attempt to invade Pétion-Ville, an area that had been insulated from the armed attacks, have made movement around the capital even more dangerous.

“With all the violence in Port-au-Prince, we can’t get to any places; you can’t even get to a hospital,” said Albom, who had the kids stay at another orphanage in Cap-Haïtien for two nights until they could send a plane to evacuate them to the U.S. “Most of the hospitals or therapy places are either closed or it’s too dangerous to try to drive there, if they even have any staff and are open.”

The FAA’s 30-day ban on U.S. carriers flying to Haiti is supposed to end on Dec. 12. But even if the ban is lifted, it is unclear when regular commercial air traffic will resume. American Airlines announced it won’t resume daily service between Miami and Port-au-Prince until Feb. 12.

On Tuesday, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq dismissed reports that the agency was leaving Port-au-Prince. However, he said that due to the “significantly deteriorating security situation” the U.N. “is adapting its operations to ensure the continued delivery of critical humanitarian program.”

“We continue supporting the Haitian people and authorities, with critical humanitarian assistance and political support,” he said.

Operators of charities, like Albom, say it is becoming increasingly difficult to function in the capital safely and to get children out to the U.S. for care.

“It’s doubly frustrating to know that there’s care available here and you just can’t get there from here,” said Albom, who has other kids in need of help who can’t get visas from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince because of cutbacks in consular services. “It’s like your hope has an expiration date, and that’s crazy because hope should never expire.”

U.S. lawmakers plea for kids

Earlier this week, five Republican members of Congress wrote to Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé asking for his approval for the evacuation of approximately 70 Haitian children currently in adoption procedures with American families.

Among the children are a dozen kids being adopted by their Haitian-American blood relatives, the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was signed by representatives August Pfluger of Texas, Mike Flood of Nebraska, Cory Mills of Florida, John Curtis of Utah and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

“The U.S. Department of State has communicated its willingness to collaborate with the Haitian government to allow the children to enter the United States. It has been relayed to us that the Haitian government is unable or unwilling to allow for these children to leave Haiti without a full and final adoption and a Haitian passport,” the letter said.

Haiti’s child welfare office has argued that it wants to avoid a repeat of the situation after the devasting earthquake in 2010, when some children were taken out of the country and trafficked.

“Due to the recent events, we are asking for emergency measures to be taken to get these children to their American families while the adoption is finalized. These American families have a deep love for their Haitian children,” the lawmakers wrote.