Many children join armed gangs in Haiti

According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on October 9, the organization recently spoke with six children in gangs. All said they wanted to leave. They joined gangs because they were hungry, and gangs are often the only source of food, shelter, or money.

HRW said boys were often used by gangs as informants, trained in the use of weapons and ammunition, and deployed in clashes with police. One boy, Michel, an orphan recruited six years ago at the age of eight, lived on the streets and was given a loaded Kalashnikov.

Meanwhile, the girls were sexually abused and forced to cook and clean for gang members. They were often abandoned after becoming pregnant.

Children walk with armed gang members in the Delmas neighborhood, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo: Reuters

In recent years, Haiti's powerful gangs have expanded their influence amid state institutions paralyzed by lack of funds and political crisis. The gangs now control territory home to 2.7 million people, including half a million children.

HRW said that as the gangs grew, they increasingly recruited children. According to UN estimates, about a third of gang members are children. The UN also warned that boys were being used to kill and attack organizations, and girls were being forced into sex and killed in broad daylight for refusing to have sex.

HRW says criminal groups are increasingly using popular social media apps to recruit members. For example, the leader of the Village de Dieu gang is a rapper who regularly releases carefully crafted music videos featuring his soldiers. He has a specialized unit that trains children to use weapons and set up checkpoints.

The United Nations approved Haiti's request to set up a security mission to help police fight gangs a year ago, but so far it has only been partially deployed.

HRW called on the Haitian government and other countries to provide more resources to security forces, ensure children can be fed and educated, and provide rehabilitation for new recruits.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhieu-tre-em-gia-nhap-cac-bang-dang-vu-trang-o-haiti-post315966.html