Another Take: Lost childhood - Haiti’s kids in the grip of gangs

This episode of The Take revisits a harrowing examination of the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, focusing on how over a million children have been trapped in the grip of gang violence. Rauya Raghih, a senior crisis advisor at Amnesty International, shares firsthand accounts from 51 children she and her team interviewed during a 2023 mission to Port-au-Prince. The testimonies reveal a devastating reality: children as young as eight are being recruited into gangs, forced into violent roles, subjected to sexual abuse, and living in constant fear of death, injury, or being targeted by self-defense groups. Despite the trauma, many children express a fragile but persistent hope for a better future. The episode traces the collapse of state authority since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the failure of the Haitian National Police, and the unchecked proliferation of illicit weapons, all of which have enabled gangs to control over 80% of the capital. International efforts, including a delayed multinational security force led by Kenya, have come too late to prevent widespread devastation. The crisis is compounded by extreme poverty, hunger, and the normalization of violence, where children expect danger as part of daily life. The report underscores that while the Haitian state is currently nonfunctional, there are active civil society actors and community resilience efforts that offer pathways forward.