Many children join armed gangs in Haiti

According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on October 9, the organization recently spoke to 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 as informants by gangs, trained in the use of weapons and ammunition, and deployed in clashes with police. One boy, Michel, an orphan recruited six years ago when he was 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 a lack of money and political crisis. The gangs now control territory home to 2.7 million people, including half a million children.

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

Criminal groups are increasingly using popular social media apps to recruit members, HRW said. For example, the leader of the Village de Dieu gang is a rapper who regularly releases elaborate 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