Cap-Haitian, Haiti-When armed men invaded the Port-au-Prince district of Carrefour Leaves in August 2023, hundreds of families had no choice but to flee.
“They set fire to my house; We couldn’t save anything, ”explains Ruth, a 28-year-old man who was part of the exodus and now lives in Cap-Haitian. “They looted and burned houses,” said Ruth, who asked to be identified by his first name to avoid the risk of reprisals.
In the precipitation, Ruth and his family only took their identity documents; She took refuge with parents in Delmas, a town in Port-au-Prince, while her mother and three brothers found a shelter in another district of the capital.
For Ruth, like so many others, it was the first step in a trip that transforms Haiti. Pushed by violence, dozens of people leave the capital every day to try to rebuild their lives in Cap-Haitian, the country’s second city. Ruth’s family finally settled there in September 2024. Ruth joined them six months later by plane, once she was able to obtain a transfer of her customer service work in a cell phone supplier.
Port-au-Prince and other municipalities in Haiti face waves of violence linked to gang attacks, extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and sexist violence. In 2024, the United Nations estimated that between 150 and 200 gangs operated in all Haiti, with 23 workers in the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince. The groups control the strategic areas of the capital and the main roads connecting Port-au-Prince to ports, land borders and certain cities and coastal areas.
According to data from the International Migration Organization, more than a million people are now moved to Haiti, the majority from the Metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince. Many are looking for refuge in the Haitian provinces, overwhelming host communities.
In Cap-Haitian, Port-au-Prince refugees arrive at the bottle barrier station, animated by motorcycle drivers and street sellers, and often strewn with trash and stagnant water. Phone flights are sometimes reported in the crowd.
Donaldson, originally from Citi Soleil, one of the largest slums in Haiti, arrived in December 2023 after a long trip. His bus broke down several times along the way. A agronomy student who also asked to be identified by his first name, he had come to spend a few days of vacation in the city. But what he thought was a temporary stay transformed into a forced resettlement. With the increase in violence in Cité Soleil, where the clashes between the gangs and the police intensified, the return to Port-au-Prince has become impossible. Since then, Donaldson has registered at the University of Antenor Firmin and lives with a cousin.
“I continue my studies here, while waiting to be able to return to the capital one day,” he said.
Although it does not have access to water or electricity at home, Ruth feels more or less safe now, with affordable health services nearby. However, there are a lot of prejudices against those who come from Port-au-Prince. Even if police data show no increase in crime linked to newcomers, suspicions are easily attached to people from Port-au-Prince after flights and burglaries.
“Some people call us the mafia, accuse us of destroying the country and bringing insecurity. When I hear these comments, I feel isolated, as if I did not belong here, “says Ruth.
Faced with these tensions, local authorities are trying to manage the arrival of displaced people. Many do not have identity documents, which complicates their integration into local systems.
“With the arrival of these new faces, our workload has increased,” said Arold Jean, spokesperson for the provincial police service. Of the more than 700 people arrested in January, more than 100 came from other regions of Haiti, says Jean, a reality that requires even more coordination with the authorities across the country.
“We are also working to raise awareness of the population to explain how to welcome these people in good conditions,” adds Jean.
The municipal council, for its part, has set up a registration service allowing new arrivals to obtain an original certificate. This document is often necessary to rent accommodation or access certain services in the city. Since May, police have also asked public transport drivers to record the identity of their passengers.
Despite the insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Donaldson remains optimistic: “I live here for the moment, but if the capital returns to normal, I will be one of the first to leave.”